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SIL Translation News - Dec 2021

BMBrian Migliazza · Dec 3, 2021, 12:57 PM · Last modified: Sep 28, 2026, 11:39 AM
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 International Translation Services (ITS) works in collaboration with colleagues in SIL and other agencies to creatively steward and advance the translation practices, tools, methods, and training necessary to enable a supportive environment for individuals and communities to flourish and engage with Scripture.
We value: Interconnectedness. Capacity Building. Diversity. Innovation.

December 2021

  • May Everything you have said about me come true! - Greg Dekker
  • New Consultants
    • Ajit Kumar Pradhan - South Asia
    • Derek Harman - Asia
    • Bryan Hinton - Asia 
    • Michael Ayotte - Cameroon
  • New Senior Translation Consultants 
    • Angeline Foo - Asia
    • Paulus Kieviet - Pacific
    • Judi Merrifield - Asia 
    • Amber Jasa - Asia
  • Translation & Survey Pilot Project - Roger Hanna
  • KTOT Fifth Release - Paul McLarren
  • Mentoring Matters Upcoming Courses - Eszter Ernst-Kurdi
  • EMDC 2022 Netherlands Conference in-person - Steve Baughman

Useful Links
SIL International Translation Services Leadership Team

Inspirational Quote
"When various organizations come together and speak the same language of seeking to advance the cause of Bible translation, that stimulates those who are wanting to invest, to believe in this group of organizations because they are not competing --
instead they are seeking to draw from the strength of each other."
Michel Kenmogne

May Everything you have said about me come true!
Greg Dekker (ITS Director)

As parents we learned to take care with what we said about - and to - our children. And we took care not to call them any useless names. What we learned is that children will “live out” or “act out” or “live up to” what we attribute to them. The principle is that if a child continually hears that they can’t do something right, or they continually feel they are thought to be useless in some way, they will begin to believe that about themselves and what they believe about themselves will be evidenced in their lives. 

The angel Gabriel called Mary a name. He called her “favored woman” (Lk. 1:28 NLT), and he followed up to say that she had found favor with God, that she would conceive and give birth to a son under the overshadowing power of the Most High, that she would name him Jesus, and that her child would be called the Son of God. My imagination starts to look at this from every angle…

The angel did not say, “Mary, you have a chance to redeem your life” or “Mary, prepare yourself, it’s time to rise to this challenge you’re being given” or “Mary, put the idea/identity of “unknown” and “ordinary” behind you.” The understanding we get from what Gabriel calls Mary (“favored woman”) is that Mary’s life exemplified submission to God. And this is made clear from Mary’s confession, “I am the Lord’s servant.” (Lk. 1:38) 

But this announcement was, presumably, a shock and surprise to Mary. This all came to Mary in a short time after Gabriel appeared to her. Mary’s life was changed in a matter of minutes. The thoughts that might have passed through her mind, “Imagine! Favored of God! Birth mother to the Son of God, parent to a child called “the LORD saves”! And caregiver to the Son of the Most High!” But what came out was something like doubt or wonderment, “How can this happen? I am a virgin.” 

In the end, Mary took this all in and her response? “May everything you have said about me come true.” (Lk 1:38 NLT) She accepted and determined to live up to her given identity.

Our savior and God says many things about you and me… and they’re all good! He calls us by name, too. We are His possession. We are called his friends. We are part of his family, his children. And we have a new identity: servants in God’s Kingdom. Ambassadors. Witnesses to the Good News. Baptizers. Teachers. Imitators of Jesus.

In this season in which we celebrate the birth of the Son of the Most High, may we live up to- and live out the name, the identity we have been given. We have been bought with a price, delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the place where God’s beloved Son rules. We remember and meditate on the precious gift that God gave us: the human representation of himself. He walked among us and conversed with us and then paid the ultimate price for our redemption. Thank you, Lord. May everything you have said about us come true! We are your servants.

New Consultants
Ajit Kumar Pradhan, Derek Harman,
Bryan Hinton, Michael Ayotte

Ajit Kumar Pradhan - South Asia

Congratulations to Ajit Kumar Pradhan (Rhema For the Nations, India) on completing all the requirements for certification as an entity-level Translation Consultant, including completion of the Asia TCDW 2020. Angie Foo and her Asia Bible Translation Coordination Team have verified that he is a qualified Translation Consultant and is now able to work independently with translation teams. Paul Schmidt was Ajit's primary mentor, and he received positive recommendation from three other translation consultants who supervised him in checking sessions.

His supervisor, Sudharani Prathipati, says: 

  • I highly recommend Reverend Ajit Kumar Pradhan to be a consultant to offer exegetical consultancy and to certify that the translations checked by him can be published. 
  • Ajit has been serving faithfully at every given responsibility.
  • While Serving at Beulah Ministries of India (BMI), Ajit has demonstrated that he relates well to co-workers, he has a genuine interest and involvement in the work of other people, he is able to motivate co-workers and others to change.
  • He has the desire to affirm positive qualities in his co-workers at BMI.
  • He also has ability in resolving conflicts, with a good degree of sensitivity and tolerance to differing situations and viewpoints.
  • With this God given ability and ample amount of experience, he has also contributed a lot to many translation teams through teaching on the NT and OT books as well as Biblical Hebrew and Greek Grammar and Translation principles.
  • He has also helped several translations teams in drafting, pre-check, and assisting in consultant checks. 

Derek Harman - Asia
Congratulations to Derek Harman (SIL Asia) on completing all the requirements for certification as an entity-level Translation Consultant -- including successfully completing the Asia TCDW 2020! Angie Foo and her Asia Bible Translation Coordination Team have verified that he is a qualified Translation Consultant and is now able to work independently with translation teams. Derek and his wife, Kristie, joined Wycliffe Canada in 2002 and have been working in Indonesia since 2005. He completed the M.A. in Applied Linguistics and Exegesis at Trinity Western University (2004). Derek has been working with a local translation team, which has completed Mark, Genesis, and a collection of 50 Bible stories. Plans are in place for a November consultant check for 73 Scripture verses from the liturgy.  He has also been consulting with other teams in the region.  

Paul Emch (Mountain Service Group Coordinator, SIL South and Islands Asia) says: 

  • I wholeheartedly endorse and welcome Derek as a Translation Consultant.  
  • I have worked with Derek for 14 years and have always found him dependable, efficient, and full of godly integrity.
  • I have seen him handle conflicts and other difficult situations with remarkable patience and admirable tact.
  • He loves people, works hard, and always tries to lift the spirits of those around him - characteristics which exemplify all that is good in SIL.

Kathy Taber (SIL Translation Consultant) says: 

  • Congratulations to Derek Harman who has recently been recognized as a new Translation Consultant for narrative material!
  • Derek has worked for a number of years among the *** people of Indonesia, attended SIL's TCDW (Translation Consultant Development Workshop) in 2020 and has now finished his required supervised checking for that training.
  • Derek has a quick sense of humor and is a pleasure to work with.
  • Glad to have you join the ranks, Derek!

Bryan Hinton - Asia
Congratulations to Bryan Hinton (Seed Company Asia) on completing all the requirements for certification as an entity-level Translation Consultant -- including successfully completing the Asia TCDW 2020! Angie Foo and her Asia Bible Translation Coordination Team have verified that he is a qualified Translation Consultant and is now able to work independently with translation teams. Bryan and his wife, Tori, joined Wycliffe USA in 1986 and served for nine years in Indonesia, with the Tugun people of Maluku and with the Kartidaya organization. After Tori was injured in an automobile accident they had to remain in the USA. He has a BA in Biblical Studies from Wheaton College (1982) and he completed a one year Hebrew course at the Biblical Language Center.

His mentor, Roger Hanna (SC Translation Consultant),  says: 

  • I wholeheartedly endorse Bryan to be recognized as a full translation consultant, having known him for over 30 years and working together in cluster projects in Indonesia for the past 12 years.
  • Bryan is amazing in his constant attitude of service, shown by his prompt responses to requests for exegetical help and for the ways he trains translators, facilitators and CiTs to grow in their exegetical skills.
  • Bryan regularly goes the extra mile in helping others. He is humble and always ready to learn from others.
  • He has more than 25 years of experience helping the Indonesian Bible Society prepare the Translator’s Handbook in Indonesian for every book of the Bible.
  • For the past 12 years, Bryan has worked extensively as an Exegetical Checker and Coach, serving translation teams all over Indonesia.
  • May God continue to use Bryan’s passion, training, gifting and experience for the furtherance of His Kingdom through Bible translation ministry in Indonesia and Asia.

Michael Ayotte - Cameroon
Congratulations to Michael Ayotte (SIL Cameroon). Michael Jemphrey (SIL Francophone Africa Domain Team Leader for Translation) announced that the SIL Accreditation Committee for Translation Consultants in Africa has reviewed his dossier and accepted the recommendation that Michael Ayotte be declared a translation consultant. He was mentored by Josh Ham. Michael has an M.A. in Biblical Literature (1994) from Oral Roberts University Graduate School of Theology, an M.A. in Linguistics (2002) from the University of Texas Arlington (UTA) and the D.Min. in Bible Translation (2016) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. 

Michael and his wife, Charlene, joined Wycliffe USA in 1994 and have served for the past twenty years in Africa. He began with survey work in Cameroon in 2000 and then initiated a language project among the Coastal Bantu, starting in the Kwasio language group. He also developed linguistics courses for the local training program and then served as the Language Project Facilitator for the Coastal Bantu Cluster (Kwasio, Batanga, and Iyasa). Currently he has been working in translation and consulting for a few other language communities. 

Fabienne Freeland (Directeur Général SIL Cameroun) and Josh Ham (mentor) say:

  • Since the early 2000s, Michael Ayotte has been involved in the Coastal Bantu Bible translation project, a cluster of three languages in the southeastern corner of Cameroon.
  • Despite many difficulties, he still demonstrates a great desire to see God’s Word translated and used among the peoples of Cameroon.
  • He has invested in the next generation of translators through formal training (such as the Francophone i-DELTA program), less-formal workshops, and one-on-one mentoring.
  • He has persevered through the long process of gaining and demonstrating all of the skills and experience needed to function as a qualified translation consultant.
  • The people of SIL Cameroon are delighted to see him recognized in this way, and pray that the Lord will continue to use him mightily for His name's sake.

Michael Jemphrey says:

  • Congratulations and thank you to all who have helped and encouraged Michael to this point.
  • May the Lord bless Michael and all with whom he works as a consultant.

New Senior Consultants
Angeline Foo, Paulus Kieviet, Judi Merrifield, Amber Jasa

Congratulations to Angeline Foo, Paulus Kieviet, Judi Merrifield and Amber Jasa on their recent accreditation as Senior Translation Consultants. This certification is an official recognition by SIL International of advanced professional competence as a consultant -- in addition to advanced academic credentials and a history of successful consulting, Senior Consultants demonstrate a strong commitment to lifelong learning and scholarly service to others. 

Angeline Foo (Asia), Senior Translation Consultant, expects to complete an M.A. in Biblical studies in 2022 (University of the Cumberlands). She is the Papua Translation Coordinator and head of the Asia Translation Coordination team. She has also been involved in the Asia TCDW (Translation Consultant Development Workshop) since 2013, and with the Indonesian TCDW since 2014.  She and her husband Peter joined Wycliffe Malaysia in 2001 and work in the central highlands of Papua, Indonesia. They have three grown children. Angie currently serves on the Sensitive Translations Task Force and the Journal of Translation Editorial Board.  

Paulus Kieviet (Pacific), Senior Translation Consultant, has MAs in Semitic Languages and in General Linguistics (both from Leiden University) and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (2016). He has been a Translation Consultant since 2003 and is currently serving as the SIL Pacific Group Director. His dissertation, A grammar of Rapa Nui, was published in 2017.  Paulus and his wife Antje joined Wycliffe Netherlands in 2002 and have worked in Papua New Guinea, French Polynesia, Easter Island and Australia. Paulus is involved in translation projects in several Polynesian and Micronesian languages as well as providing translation consulting in other languages in the Pacific region. They are currently based in the Netherlands with their two daughters, Mattie and Nina.

Judi Merrifield (Asia), Senior Translation Consultant, has an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Dallas International University (2010) and a B.A. in Linguistics and Asian Studies from Cornell University (1986). in 1987 she joined Wycliffe USA and in 2008 became a Translation Consultant. She served for five years as an SIL entity Translation Coordinator, and also served on staff at the Asia TCDW (Translation Consultant Development Workshops). She and her husband Scott have served in translation work in Asia since 1989 and now have three grown children. They have worked with the Elo  people group translating both the Old and New Testament for more than 20 years. Judi is currently pursuing a PhD in Theology at SATS (South African Theological Seminary). Her research interests are Biblical Hebrew discourse features and verbs. She enjoys studying Biblical Hebrew, especially utilizing various monolingual programs and resources that are now available online. Currently, she is consulting on Psalms and Poetic literature for several teams. She has recently published two papers: 

Amber Jasa (Asia), Senior Translation Consultant, has an M.A. in Linguistics from Payap University (2008). She is the MSEA Translation Coordinator, the MSEA Director of Academic Affairs, serves on the Asia Translation Coordination Team, and for the past three years has been on staff with the Asia TCDW (Translation Consultant Development Workshop). Amber joined Wycliffe USA in 2001 and with her husband Upai, completed the Lahu Si (lhi) New Testament in 2014.

Translation & Survey Pilot Project
Roger Hanna

An innovative pilot project combining translation with survey was launched recently in Indonesia. The Collaborative Language Research Initiative and Taste of Translation (ToT) surveys were piloted in two language communities by Kartidaya and Suluh from November 1-13, 2021. The purpose was two-fold: 1) Gain a better understanding of language community interest in language development and Scripture translation and 2) Refine and improve linguistic survey data, including language vitality and dialect mapping.

During these two-day surveys, the survey team gathers linguistic information while the local language speakers learn to translate a few verses of Scripture (e.g. Luke 8:22-25 – Jesus calms the storm) for the first time into their language. They take this passage through oral drafting, team check, community testing and consultant checking.  After experiencing Scripture in their own language, these language communities were given an opportunity to express their hopes for the development of their language and for further Scripture translation. 

This thorough research project is needed to help identify the remaining language needs along with finding the kinds of information on each language that will help the partner organizations to identify and prioritize languages where they are uniquely suited to make a valuable contribution. This is not a traditional survey, but a gathering of information about the local languages from many sources.  This research will provide guidance to each organization for making decisions with the input of the local language communities about which projects to engage with and what partners and strategies would be best for engaging each language.  

In the next phase in early 2022, Kartidaya, Suluh, and SC (Seed Company) are planning to carry out these Taste of Translation surveys in eight more language  communities. For further information, email Karl Anderbeck or Roger Hanna.   

KTOT - Fifth Release
Paul McLarren

Paul McLarren announced that the Key Terms of the Old Testament (KTOT) team has made a fifth release of nine articles, bringing the total number of articles to 63.  There are five new articles and two summary articles: 

  • אָדוֹן /ְ אֲדֹנָי - Manie van den Heever
  • גאל / גֹּאֵל - Paul McLarren and Jason Sommerlad
  • דין - JoAnna Hoyt
  • פֶּתִי -  Marlute van Dam
  • שׂנא - Peter de Niet
  • שְׁאוֹל - Drew Maust
  • שׁפט - JoAnna Hoyt
  • Forbidden Religious Practices - Peter Schmidt
  • Body Part Terms - Nicholas Bailey and Janet McLarren

For Paratext, the latest release can be downloaded and installed at Paratext Extras website. Scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find the download link and directions for installing the latest release. Eventually the updated versions of KTOT will be made available on the TW/Logos platform, though it may take a while for the update to be distributed.

Mentoring Matters Upcoming Courses
Eszter Ernst-Kurdi

The  Mentoring Matters Training webpage has been updated to provide the dates of all upcoming courses offered in both English and French, along with a syllabus and links where you can sign up.  For further information, feel free to email Michael Jemphrey about the English courses or Eszter Ernst-Kurdi about the French courses. 

EMDC 2022 Netherlands Conference in-person
Steve Baughman

The Exploratory Committee has decided to proceed with plans for an in-person EMDC (Eurasia Media Distribution Conference) in The Netherlands (De Betteld conference center) on 31 May to 03 June 2022 (arrival on 30 May). This will be a 4-day EMDC, with no pre- or post-EMDC Training Tracks.  Registration should be open in January 2022. Email EMDC 2022 Registration with any questions.  There will be further information coming soon on the EMDC website.

Useful Links

SIL International Translation Services Leadership Team

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