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Translation News SEPTEMBER 2022

BMBrian Migliazza · Sep 5, 2022, 12:33 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.

September 2022

  • Transformation - Greg Dekker
  • New Consultants
    • Karen Vinton - Africa
    • Mamy Raharimanantsoa - Africa
  • BT Conference Coordinator - URGENT NEED  
  • Translation Training and Development Updates - Phil King 
  • Proverbs as a Door to the Bible - Larry C
  • Now With The Lord
    • Ursula Wiesemann (1932-2022) Brazil
    • Carl DuBois (1936-2022) Philippines 

Useful Links
SIL Translation Services

  • International Leadership Team
  • Area Translation Coordinators

Transformation
Greg Dekker

Are we seeking a product? The translated Word of God? Or are we seeking transformation? If the latter, what is it? If the former, what role does it play in the latter? And where should our focus be? On translation or on transformation?

I tend to say, and this is the reason I “signed up” for Bible translation, and the end to which I pray, that the product, the translated Word of God, will be the means by which people realize the “end”, transformation, and not just spiritual. But total.

Last week the Una Bible was dedicated in Papua. We celebrate with Dick and Margreet Kroneman and the Una translators and community this wonderful event! In his report, Dick said this, “Rev. Barnabas Nabyal… read Isaiah 55:10-11 from the Una Bible. He then held a meditation on these verses using the theme “God's Word Shall Bear Fruit According to God's Promise.” In his meditation, the pastor further explained how the Word of God through the work of the Holy Spirit leads sinful people to faith and repentance. God's Word will surely bear fruit, just as the rain moistens the earth and makes sweet potatoes and other crops grow.”

The SIL Philippines Vision Statement, at least at one time, was “Transformed lives through the translated Word.” I always thought it could not be stated much more succinctly than that. But, of course, there are many things that work together to accomplish transformation.

One of those “things” is prayer. Some say the modern missionary movement had its origins in Saxony around 1792 when the Moravians initiated an around-the-clock prayer vigil to support their mission outreach around the world. This 24-hour prayer vigil continued for 100 years!

So, what is transformation? At the root of the meaning of transformation is “change”. Dr. Ravi Jayakaran who served for decades in various roles with World Vision in India, Cambodia, China and other parts of Asia defines transformation as “Progressive, permanent, God-intended change.” We’re talking about spiritual change. We’re talking about how people view their world and the truth about it, because ultimately, all truth is God’s truth. We’re talking about how that new worldview affects them in every way. We’re talking about a change of heart and mind. Change which affects all of life.

On a visit to their home in New Delhi back in 2010, the wife of a prominent mission leader told my wife, Diane that when the Good News came to her community, the Hmar of NE India, “everything changed.” It’s the result of no longer living for oneself, but for others. It’s a perspective on life which changes the focus from self to others, and ultimately results in newness of life.

Transformation is easier to define than it is to accomplish, individually and organizationally. Knowing, and being reconciled to God through the reconciling work of Jesus, changes everything. It changes us, and it can change those around us, our society. So, do we focus on bringing the translated Word? Or do we focus on affecting transformation? For me, focusing on the latter gives perspective to our focus on the former. Transformed lives… through the translated Word, supportive prayer, development efforts, education and literacy, confronting social injustice, and much more… A focus on transformation gives meaning to how we engage with communities. And it's the impact we seek from Bible translation.

New Consultants
Karen Vinton  & Mamy Raharimanantsoa

Karen Vinton - Africa
Congratulations to Karen Vinton (Eastern Congo). Michael Jemphrey (SIL Francophone Africa Domain Team Leader for Translation) announced that the SIL Accreditation Committee for Translation Consultants in Africa has reviewed her dossier and accepted the recommendation that Karen be declared a translation consultant.  She was mentored by Lee Higdon (ECG) and also gained consulting experience under the supervision of Rev. Choro Kapiteni (ECG) and Rev. Masumbuko Shabani (DTB).

Karen and her husband served with another mission organization in Zaire/DRC and Tanzania from 1989 to 2011, and returned to Congo in 2019 with SIL. Her consultant training included the July 2021 AFA Consultant Training Course (via Zoom). She had supervised consulting experience, working with the Ndrǔna OT translation team (ECG) on Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Psalms, and leading an Acts check with the Hunde team (DTB). Karen also independently led three intermediate checking sessions on Acts with the Kobo and Havu teams (DTB). She has particularly enjoyed training translators in Paratext skills. Karen has a BA in Intercultural Studies from Biola University (1988) which included two summers of linguistics courses at Oregon SIL, and she completed the MA in Linguistics and Biblical Languages, also at Biola University (2016). 

Mamy Raharimanantsoa - Africa
Congratulations to Mamy Raharimanantsoa (Congo). 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 Mamy be declared a translation consultant.  He was mentored by Anne Kompaore, who lives in Burkina Faso. He began his training as a Bible Translation Consultant in 2017 attending sessions in Yaoundé, Kinshasa, and Johannesburg with the SC Bible Scholars program and SIL. Mamy participated regularly in translation checking sessions for projects run by SIL-Congo, in particular the Kituba OT translation project and the Gangulu NT project, working under different consultants.

Mamy grew up in his homeland of Madagascar, where he obtained an undergraduate degree in history and geography and worked as a secondary school teacher for several years. He then went to Paris to study for a Masters in Theology at the Evangelical Faculty of Theology of Vaux-sur-Seine, and continued on to obtain a PhD in Theology at Uppsala University in Sweden. He also was granted a scholarship to study Hebrew in Israel for a semester in 1998. His doctoral thesis was Mort et Espérane selon la Bible Hébraïque (Death and Hope in the Hebrew Bible), published in 2006 in Stockholm. In Madagascar, he observed Bible translators at work, and during his PhD studies had opportunities to discuss with Swedish Bible translators during Old Testament seminars. As an OT scholar and lecturer at the theological seminary in Brazzaville, Congo, in the 1990s and from 2005 onwards (teaching Biblical languages, OT studies, OT exegesis and OT theology), part of his role was to equip students to translate texts from biblical languages into French, to help them understand and apply the Word of God. He is married to Ruth, a British member of SIL-Congo, who is a linguistics consultant. 

BT Conference Coordinator 
URGENT NEED  

There is an URGENT NEED for a BT Conference Coordinator. If you are interested, or know someone who could fill this role, please contact immediately Dick Kroneman. A volunteer (supported) is preferred, but we are also open to consider candidates that would be dependent on a salary.

In order for the BT Conference to go ahead in October 2023, the Steering Committee is looking for a person gifted with organizational skills to fill the role of Bible Translation Conference Facilitator. This is an open SIL assignment for someone with a vision to make the conference an efficient and positive experience for all participants. Could it be you, or do you know someone who might be a good fit? Ellen Jackson has been the facilitator for the past few conferences and will be there to provide support. The most significant time commitment will be between March and October of 2023.

The individual interested in filling the BT Conference Facilitator role should be someone with some event planning experience, good people skills, and exhibit keen attention to detail while also being able to keep the ‘big picture’ of the event in mind. It would also be helpful to have skills in the use of spreadsheets, creation of online forms, Mailchimp, and report writing.

General categories of responsibility include: serving as a BT Conference steering committee member, managing communications, managing the BT Conference website, overseeing registration, interacting with SIL Finance, arranging the conference schedule, managing the conference app, interacting with exhibitors, recruiting volunteers, preparing conference materials, and coordinating the Conference Proceedings. The BT Conference Facilitator will work with a large team of staff and volunteers to accomplish many of the tasks related to the above responsibilities. He/she will also relate to the ILC Event Coordinator responsible for on-site logistics and the Tech Manager responsible for the A/V equipment and online support.

Translation Training and Development Updates 
Phil King  

As you’ll know from previous newsletters, for the past few months I’ve been looking for online resources to help people develop as translators, facilitators and consultants, in order to build a site that points to these resources. In the interim, let me share some of the best resources I have found so far. Please let me know of others that I’m missing!

  • The Seed Company ‘Field Technology’ site has a lot of training videos on different tools (Paratext, Render, HearThis…). It also has excellent video materials from Stephen Payne for a couple of workshops: a 3-week training for translators workshop that includes sessions on all foundational topics; and a transitioning to epistles workshop.
  • The UBS page of resources for translators and consultants points to training for Paratext and to the Translation Insights and Perspectives database which is full of helpful snippets. The MAP site offers access to announcements and discussions amongst a vibrant interagency Bible Translation community.
  • EMDC online has both individual classes, and recurring communities of practice (including those for exegetes / advisors, and one focused on Bible Translation training and development). You can either join live sessions or search the archives for relevant content. 
  • The websites for Aleph with Beth and Alpha with Angela offer a growing ecosystem for learning biblical languages for free, including videos, grammars, interactive quizzes, dictionaries and other resources.
  • The Digital Training Library being developed by Biblica and Fuller has online certificates related to Bible Translation, beginning with ‘Foundations in Bible Translation’. They are available initially in English, French, Spanish, Hindi and Indonesian. The first few modules are free, and while the rest have a cost, there are scholarships available.
  • SIL has videos about using Logos Translator’s Workplace.
  • SIL International Media Services has a set of Bible Background videos (compiled from the UBS Bible Lands as Classroom DVDs) that can be used as is, or translated into local languages.
  • UnfoldingWord has open-licensed Bible translation training manuals and videos as part of their ‘Translation Academy’.
  • The Bible Project has a wealth of professionally produced videos on Bible book overviews, biblical themes and word studies. 

I’m sure this is just scratching the surface, so please let me know what you’ve found helpful yourself, or when training others - thanks!

Proverbs as a Door to the Bible 
Larry C

I was sitting with my Bedouin hosts near the fire on a cold blustery evening. We were chatting about many different topics, including local politics. Recently a political scandal had been in the news, and some of my hosts criticised the latest high-level politician caught taking bribes. One of those present said, ‘And of course, the greatest in a nation is their servant.’ What? Had I heard correctly? My hosts told me, “Yes, that is one of our local proverbs, but, unfortunately, our leaders don’t follow it very well.”

I was amazed at this clear parallel to the verse in the New Testament, “Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.” (Luke 22:26, NLT)

I soon discovered that local proverbs are widespread as the Bedouins pepper their speech with these proverbs. As I began to systematically collect local proverbs and poetry, I came across many bits of wisdom that paralleled the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, as well as other passages in the Bible.

Some Bedouin Proverbs and their Biblical parallel 

  • The lazy person who doesn’t work gets no gain (Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense. Prov. 12:11) 
  • Evil is from a spark. (Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. James 3:5-6)
  • One who guarantees a debt will suffer loss. (Do not be one who shakes hands in pledge, or puts up security for debts. Prov. 22:26) 
  • Follow the one who makes you cry, and do not follow the one who makes you laugh. (Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Prov. 27:5)
  • Whoever covers a fault, God will cover his own faults. (Whoever would foster love covers over an offence; but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends. Prov. 17:9)
  • The house of wrongdoers is a ruin. (The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish.    Prov. 14:11) 

Bedouin bridges to the Bible - As we worked on translating Bible stories for this community, we found that many of their proverbs were helping us to know how to word Bible stories. Popular proverbs are often short, and many times they rhyme. We were able to reproduce these features as we translated the book of Proverbs.

Many ideas and themes in the book of Proverbs echo Bedouin values and ways of teaching wisdom. For example, Bedouins have a type of wisdom poetry where a father teaches his son. The book of Proverbs (Proverbs 1-7) has the same kind of wisdom instruction. Bedouins also like to write acrostic poems, where the first letter of each line, taken together, spell out the alphabet. This same style is used in the Bible, in Psalm 119, Proverbs 31:10-31, and many other passages.

Another bridge is the personification of Wisdom. In Proverbs, she is a woman, a generous hostess who calls travelers to her table. In Proverbs 9:1 it says, “Wisdom has built her house, and she has hewn her seven pillars.” In Bedouin culture, a generous person is highly praised and valued. The most generous person builds a tent with seven poles or pillars because a seven-pole tent has the most room for guests! The generous host also pitches his tent near a crossroads or at a visible place on a hill, so he can invite many guests to his home. Notice how it says in Proverbs: “She has sent out her servants, and she calls from the highest point of the city, ‘Let all who are simple come to my house!” (Proverbs 9:3-4). This bridge not only helped us better express the concepts from the book of Proverbs in this Bedouin dialect, it also gave me a greater insight into these passages about Wisdom. Sitting in a Bedouin home and experiencing the extreme hospitality and generosity of my hosts gave me a vivid appreciation for Christ as the generous host!

Learning from Bedouin wisdom - Among Bedouin proverbs, there is one with great importance for the New Testament. Once I heard someone quote this proverb: “So-and-so is like a mountain; if you fall on him, he will shatter you. If he falls on you, he will shatter you.” I said: “What does this mean?” The man replied: “It means the person is impossible to defeat. If you attack him, he will destroy you, and if he attacks you, he will destroy you.”

It so happened that at the same time we were working with several other translators from different languages, all of us translating the Gospel of Luke. One passage that was quite challenging was the Parable of the Tenants in Luke 20. When Jesus finishes telling the parable, the religious leaders realize it is about them, and they say, ‘God forbid!’ Then the passage says: “Jesus looked directly at them and asked, ‘Then what is the meaning of that which is written: “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone”? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.’” (Luke 20:17-18, NIV) The insight from the Bedouin proverb helped us to understand and bring out the meaning of the passage in the Gospel of Luke more clearly!

As we continued our work, we found that biblical proverbs were incredibly helpful as a door-opener for people in our part of the world. Many of them are suspicious of Christians and say, “Why do you only talk about Jesus? Don’t you believe in any other prophets?” Starting with Solomon and his wisdom is a much more natural and less intimidating way to introduce our friends to the Bible. There is also much material which is relevant to the issues of everyday life, such as teaching on wealth, the value of hard work, honesty, sexual purity, and much more. We have found that such Bible proverbs are an excellent way to start conversations about living an ethical and upright life, and even to move into deeper spiritual topics. Many of our friends think that Christians live loose and immoral lives. Sharing these passages with our friends helps to break down that stereotype and makes people feel more comfortable as they listen to other stories and teachings from the Bible.

Now With The Lord

Ursula Wiesemann (1932-2022)
SIL Brazil
Ursula (Ulla) Wiesemann (from Wycliffe Germany) was welcomed to her heavenly home on 15 August 2022 at the age of 90. She was instrumental in founding Wycliffe Germany back in 1962.

Susanne Krüger (Head of Wycliff Germany) says, “Ulla Wiesemann helped shape Wycliffe right from the start. As a great linguist and professor, she has always challenged us to carry out the scholarly side of language work and Bible translation to the highest standards. She was an outstanding personality who, like many others, challenged and encouraged me in the best sense of the word."

In 1958, Ursula went to Brazil and served with the Kaingang people, completing the New Testament in 1977.  She received her PhD (1966) from the University of Cologne. She taught at various SIL schools, served as a linguistic consultant in many countries, held various teaching posts, and also served as a UNESCO consultant. From 1994 until her retirement in 2002, Ursula headed the Seminar für Sprachmethodik (the SIL Training Center, now called the Seminar for Language and Culture in Holzhausen, Germany). Even in her retirement, she still traveled regularly to Brazil. In 2014 she wrote her autobiography Mein Leben für die Sprachforschung (My life for language research. Bible translation among the Kaingáng Indians) (SCM Verlag).

Carl DuBois (1936-2022)
SIL Philippines
Carl DuBois arrived home on 24 August 2022 at the age of 85. After graduating from BIOLA (1959), he and his wife Lauretta served 43 years in the Philippines. They worked with two different people groups in rural southern Mindanao,  translating the New Testament and portions of the Old Testament into the Sarangani Manobo and Tagabawa languages. Carl also privately published a practical guidebook, Hammock Weaving: The Two-Shuttle Method.

Useful Links

SIL Translation Services

International Leadership Team

  • Greg Dekker - ITS Director
  • Dick Kroneman - International Coordinator for Translation Research and Practice 
  • Paul O'Rear - International Coordinator for Translation Resources
  • Phil King - International Coordinator for Translation Training and Development
  • Nathan Payne - International Coordinator for Oral Translation Services
  • Bill Bivin - Director, Global Consultant Pool 
  • Brian Migliazza - ITS Operations and Project Management

Area Translation Coordinators

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Copyright © 2022 SIL International Translation Services. All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because of your interest in translation updates.

This newsletter is produced by SIL International Translation Services. Editors are Tuula O'Rear and Brian Migliazza. It contains items of interest for translation personnel within SIL and related organizations. It includes notices of upcoming conferences and workshops, announcements of recent dissertations and journal articles, and pointers to useful information related to translation.
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