Feb 2023 Translation News

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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.

February 2023

• Some thoughts on “Speed” and “Urgency” - Greg Dekker
• New Consultants
  • Keith Barkman - Brazil
  • Beth Merrill - Mexico
• News and Updates
  • Francophone Bible Translation Conference and Consultant Development Workshop- Drew Maust
  • DIU Graduate Certificate in Translation Consulting - George Payton
  • DIU Hebrew Discourse Conference - 18 October 2023
  • Online Psalms Course - Murray Salisbury
  • Call for Papers - Quality in Translation
  • CanIL Workshop in Discourse Analysis for Translation - Steve Nicolle
  • Textual Criticism Workshop (Thailand EMDC) - Thomas Hemphill
  • New JCBT Director - Bob Carter
  • Bible Translation Conference - Registration Open

Useful Links
SIL Translation Services

• International Leadership Team
• Area Translation Coordinators

Some thoughts on “Speed” and “Urgency”
Greg Dekker
International Translation Services Director

In the supporting documentation for the 5 Themes of Vision 2025, John Watters describes the theme of Urgency in this way, “As we serve God and his desire, we seek to be good stewards of the resources he has given us.” Urgency in Vision 2025 is described, in part, as stewarding resources. [The implication here is that better stewardship of resources directed to Bible translation efforts can result in speedier production, with the result: accomplishing clear, accurate, and natural translations... sooner.]

What I have observed, however, is that, “Urgency” in the task of realizing the Vision has taken on a focus of “speed”. Rightfully, this focus stems from the description of the Theme which states, “Urgency includes making the Word of God accessible to the language communities of the earth sooner than later by starting limited goal and broader goal projects as soon as possible.”

Is “faster” a legitimate interpretation of “sooner”? And what actions and strategies are appropriate in the task of speeding the Vision?

In the description of the Theme, Watters states in this way what Urgency demands of us, “To achieve this raises issues of how we might work differently rather than harder and so meet the needs of waiting language communities sooner rather than later. Urgency, thus, motivates us to be more inclusive in the people leading language projects and those with whom we might partner, to consider additional creative strategies, and to allocate our human and financial resources more effectively.”

Regrettably, it could be said that some efforts to speed Bible Translation (BT) cannot be described as sustainable and the result of building capacity, or adding creative strategies to established methods for accomplishing quality translations.

Some would argue with that statement and say, “You’re assuming BT must be carried out using “established methods”. Why not employ new methods to speed the Task?” Good question. My thinking is that new methods should not ignore the principles underlying established methods for best practices in BT. The “Urgency” theme description states, “urgency in our ... corporate lives involves… diligent, earnest, resolute, insistent, firm, purposeful effort. We seek to effectively manage our time and other resources, and to continuously improve our…productivity.” The description says nothing about abandoning established best practices or the foundational and transformational language development work that is needed to support accurate, natural, and clear translations of God’s Word.

In a follow-up message talking about urgency, Watters states, “Urgency calls our attention to those things that need immediate attention. It can have the sense of haste or speed, but in Vision 2025 we are not looking for frenetic or frantic behavior. We are not to be nervous, disordered or anxiety-driven. But we must proceed with the recognition that people without the Word or the benefits of language development are an immediate need.”

The question, then, naturally arises, “Do we not need to stop doing some things in order to put a priority on others? Does speeding the Task not require us to refrain from some good things in order to speed the goal?” On this question I think of the process of “building” anything. Removing a logical step, a supporting activity, in construction changes the product. To illustrate: Many manufacturers want to maintain the price of a product for consumers even though it costs them more to produce the product. So they reduce the size or in some other way change the product or its production in order to maintain the illusion that the consumer is receiving the same product or the same amount of product. It’s been dubbed “Shrinkflation”. In the end, it’s an illusion. If we are not careful, speeding the Task can be illusory.

We should focus on speeding the Task through increase: greater engagement; adding creative strategies, not by reducing or eliminating necessary steps in established best practices. 

My prayer is that partners in the BT Movement will not seek to change or reduce established, foundational best practices by removing them in order to speed the Task, but will seek to speed the Work by adding creative strategies which serve to steward resources more efficiently and add participants to the Movement in order to accomplish “sooner” in the Vision of Provision, the task of making God’s Word available to all who need it in a language and modality that serves them best.

New Consultants
Keith Barkman and Beth Merrill

Keith Barkman - Brazil
Congratulations to Keith Barkman (SIL Brazil) on completing all the requirements for certification as a Translation Consultant with SIL Americas. His primary mentor was Rodolfo Senn. Rick Floyd and Dwight Shaver and the Americas Area Bible Translation Coordination Team have verified that he is a qualified Translation Consultant, now able to work independently with translation teams.

Keith has served with SIL Brazil since 1985 primarily assisting the Bororo community with their translation program. The New Testament (NT) was completed in 2019 along with the Audio NT that was completed in the Faith Comes By Hearing format. And the Scripture app was launched by the end of that same year. The NTs were printed by the Brazilian Bible Society.

Keith has a BA in Bible/Missions (1982) from Grace College of the Bible, in Omaha, Nebraska. His two-year translation CiT training began in January 2021 under the guidance of Rodolfo Senn. Keith completed the Americas Area translation certification program including attending the JCBT two-week consultant study tour in Israel. 

Beth Merrill - Mexico
Congratulations to Beth Merrill (SIL Mexico) on completing all the requirements for certification as a Translation Consultant with SIL Americas. Her primary mentor was Elizabeth Willett.  Rick Floyd and Dwight Shaver and the Americas Area Bible Translation Coordination Team have verified that she is a qualified Translation Consultant, now able to work independently with translation teams.
 Beth has been a Linguistics Consultant since 1996 and has been serving as a linguist/translator with the Tilquiapam Zapotec translation project since 2000. She facilitated the publication of the Lachixío Zapotec New Testament and the Santo Domingo Albarradas New Testament (both dedicated in 2011), and the Santa Catarina Albarradas gospel of Luke and the Luke video (2021) and audio recording. Beth completed the Mexico Branch translation certification track workshops over the past three years, including sessions on mentoring and other facilitation skills, as well as technical aspects and consulting practice sessions in a Náhuatl (Aztec) variety, a Mixtec language, and a different Zapotec lect.

Beth has an M.A. in Linguistics (1995) from the University of Texas at Austin, with a concentration in Anthropology. She also studied at the University of Texas at Arlington adjunct campus for two semesters in 1993 and 1994 - taking a Greek exegesis summer class there, the online survey course and a language documentation course at GIAL. She also studied about 25 undergraduate course hours of Greek at U.T.-Austin and took two intensive month-long courses in Hebrew offered by the Mexican Bible Society.

Beth has taught at the Diplomado (summer linguistics course) about 15 summers beginning in 1996 through 2018, at the University of Madero in Puebla, and the University of San Luis Potosí, and the Benemerito Universidad Autonomo de Puebla. 

News and Updates
 

Francophone Bible Translation Conference and Consultant Development Workshop
Drew Maust

Plans are underway this year to organize an in-person Francophone Bible Translation Conference on 10-13 August 2023, in Lomé, Togo. The conference will be preceded by a Francophone Consultant Development Workshop from 26 July to 09 August 2023. More information will be forthcoming.

• 10-13 August 2023 - Lomé, Togo Francophone Bible Translation Conference
• 26 July to 09 August 2023 - Lomé, Togo Francophone Consultant Development Workshop
• For questions email Drew

DIU Graduate Certificate in Translation Consulting
George Payton

Dallas International University (DIU) is now accepting applications for a new training program for translation consultants-in-training called the Graduate Certificate in Translation Consulting (GCTC). The program will be launched in June 2023. The deadline for applications is April 1, 2023.  The program is a cohort model where students move through the courses as a group. DIU will take in one cohort per year beginning in June, with a maximum of 10 students per cohort.

• For more information, email George Payton, the Program Coordinator.
• Click here to make an application through the normal admissions processes. Scroll down and choose the "graduate admissions" option on the page.

This distance education program is designed to equip students who have translation experience to acquire the necessary skills for translation consulting. It combines classroom learning with on-the-job practical training in the student’s workplace. Students will compile a portfolio of artifacts demonstrating evidence of skills mastery from each course in the program.

The GCTC consists of courses in general consulting skills and in translation specific technical skills. Some of the courses will be taught in 12-month terms to allow for integration into the student’s work responsibilities. Some courses will be taught in semester-length courses plus clinical hours after the semester ends. The courses are as follows:

Core Courses (required for all students)-- 12 semester hours 

• Translation Consulting Introduction 
• Cultural Competence and Interpersonal Communication 
• Training and Mentoring 
• Key Biblical Terms  

Students will choose either NT Greek or OT Hebrew track-- 12 semester hours 

• OT/NT Narrative Exegesis 
• OT/NT Non-narrative Exegesis 
• Practicum in Translation Consulting (taken concurrently with each exegesis course) 

DIU Hebrew Discourse Conference
18 October 2023

Dallas International University (DIU), SIL International, and Fontes Press are hosting a Macro Analysis of Hebrew Poetic and Prophetic Discourse on 18 October 2023.

• Click here to register.
• Click here to submit an abstract.

This one-day conference will feature a plenary speaker (Benjamin J. Noonan), roundtable discussion, and up to 20 selected papers. Authors of exceptional papers will be invited to contribute to an edited volume on the topic. A light breakfast and full lunch will be provided for in-person attendees. Virtual attendance via Zoom is an option for both presenters and attendees.

Description - Can Hebrew poetic and prophetic discourse be analyzed on the macro level? Most work on Hebrew discourse has focused on lower levels of the discourse, leaving room for more research on methods for analyzing entire Hebrew writings. But poetic and prophetic writings pose special challenges, such as their compositional histories and anthological nature. These factors make pragmatic analysis especially challenging, if it is even possible. Join us as we explore the problems and potential solutions to analyzing the macro-structure of Hebrew poetry and prophecy.

Online Psalms Course
Murray Salisbury

Murray Salisbury is offering an online course on Psalms called “Unfolding the Psalms" through Jerusalem Seminary. It will be presented in 11 sessions from 4 April 2023 until 27 June 2023 (except holidays) between 19:00 – 21:15 (Israel time) on Tuesdays. 

• Course price is $350. 
• Click here for further information. 
• Students are required to have proficiency in reading Biblical Hebrew and in understanding spoken and written English, as it will be taught in English. Those who are weak in poetic Hebrew can still participate, though they can expect to spend more than 1.5 hours to prepare each psalm.
• For further information email Murray Salisbury.
• Click here for Syllabus link.

Topics -

• BH poetry analysis - Ps 133
• Psalm genres - Ps 124
• Verbs in the Psalms 1 - Ps 67
• Situational context - Ps 34
• Poetic devices, structures - Ps 54
• Verbs in the Psalms 2 - Ps 3
• Difficult terms & idioms - Ps 110
• Textual issues - Ps 8
• Dealing with emotions - Ps 62

Call for Papers - Quality in Translation

The Pike Center for Integrative Scholarship and the Nida Institute, in collaboration with with SIL International Translation Services, United Bible Societies, Biblica, The Seed Company, and Dallas International University, have announced that they will host a Working Symposium on the theme of Quality in Translation: a multi-threaded fabric. It will be held as a hybrid event sometime in June 2023, according to the availability of authors.

This Call for Papers is a continuation of the Pike Center Symposium Series on Quality in Translation. The Exploratory Symposium, the first in the series (see The Call, and Brief Instructions, which has links to the event program, papers and videos), invited papers on a broad range of topics related to quality in translation. Now, for the second Working Symposium in the series, the theme is narrowed to the "multi-threaded fabric of quality in translation."

The Call for Papers states that the Symposium seeks a synthetic understanding of how the different threads of quality form a cohesive whole. The Working Symposium, then, invites papers that demonstrate how one of the threads is an integral part of quality, i.e., for example what the thread of “process” entails, and how this contributes to the overall fabric of quality.

The Symposium Series will culminate with a Public Symposium which will be embedded as a track within the BT Conference 2023. At the Public Symposium, the results of the Working Symposium will be shared as authors present a revised version of their work which has already undergone the rigors of scholarly peer review.

The deadline for submitting a proposal is March 3, 2023, with notification of acceptance by March 24. You can submit by emailing a DOCX, PDF, or the URL of a shared Google Doc to Steve Watters and Reinier de Blois. The submission should be an extended abstract of around 1,000 words (with no maximum limit). See the Call for Papers for a full description of the themes, the symposium format, and the submission process. Feel free to share The Call with any colleagues who may be interested.

CanIL Workshop in Discourse Analysis for Translation
Steve Nicolle
Steve Nicolle will lead a Workshop in Discourse Analysis for Translation at CanIL from 12 June to 11 August 2023. 
 

In some languages like Greek and Hebrew where the verb comes before the subject, storytellers begin nearly every sentence with a connector. In other languages where the verb follows the subject, storytellers begin very few sentences with a connector. So, when translating, if your source language differs in this way from your target language, you may need to check that connectors are used naturally, rather than following the source language too closely. For the same reason, you may also need to check for a natural use of pronouns, demonstratives, speech, exhortations, dependent clauses, and many other language forms and functions in your translation.
 

You can learn how to check for natural use of these and other language features in the 2023 Discourse Analysis at CanIL. The workshop is designed for experienced Bible translators, translation advisers and consultants, and linguistic fieldworkers. It covers both narrative and non-narrative discourse analysis, and you are welcome to come just for narrative (12 Jun – 14 Jul) or just for hortatory/expository (10 Jul – 11 Aug). However, you must apply by 31 March 2023! 

• Goals – Participants are equipped to describe the linguistic features of narrative, hortatory and expository texts in a language familiar to them, and to assist others in translating materials accurately, naturally and clearly. They analyze Scripture passages, address discourse-related issues relevant to translation, write-up their findings and potentially publish a paper.  
• Cost - $500 CAD for registration.
• Application deadline – 31 March 2023.
• Application – Detailed information and application forms are available on the CanIL Website.
• Further information – email Dr. Steve Nicolle.

Textual Criticism Workshop (Thailand EMDC)
Thomas Hemphill

Thomas Hemphill will be leading a pre-EMDC (10-13 May 2023) workshop on Textual Criticism. Click here for more information and scroll down to Track 15 "Textual Criticism Workshop".  

Course Description: When working on Bible translations, translators, translation/exegetical advisors and translation consultants often have to make textual critical decisions. However, many of them find making textual critical decisions difficult and scary, especially for the Old Testament. Unfortunately, many books and lectures on textual criticism are very technical and complicated. This workshop attempts to clearly explain both the theory and practice of textual criticism, with most of the time spent on learning how to use the textual apparatus and other tools to make good textual critical decisions. We will look at textual criticism of both testaments, however most of our time will be spent on Old Testament textual criticism as this is normally the one that translators find most difficult.

New JCBT Director Appointed
Bob Carter

The JCBT (Jerusalem Center for Bible Translators) Board approved Bob Carter as the new director effective April 2023. For nearly 30 years Bob has been involved with Israel, JCBT, and Hebrew training. He has had a life-time commitment to Bible translation, a passion for the Hebrew language, and  a love for the land - a love which developed during years of experiencing the land from when he was a student in Israel and through the study and translation of the Bible. Bob will continue serving as a Translation Consultant with Seed Company involved in translation checking and consultant training, serving half of every year with JCBT in Israel.

Bob has had many years of experience in consulting with translators of the Hebrew Bible. During these years, he and his wife Amy and their children have lived and worked in different locations of the world – including South Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific – and Bob has continued traveling to Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia to help in translation checking and training. Bob has also been teaching the practice of Bible translation, Biblical Hebrew, and Historical Geography of the Land due to his long years of study in Israel. With the expansion of Old Testament translation around the world, Bob and his colleagues developed a specialized program to train New Testament-experienced consultants in the knowledge of Hebrew and Historical Geography of the Land of the Bible. Since 2016, almost 70 consultants from Seed Company and other Bible Translation organizations have been involved in the NT2OT (New Testament to Old Testament) program, and most of these have come to Israel for NT2OT’s annual intensive Hebrew course in August in cooperation with JCBT. 

Registration Now Open
Bible Translation Conference 2023
Registration is now open for the 13-17 October 2023 Bible Translation Conference 2023 to be held in Dallas, Texas on the campus of Dallas International University. 

• Click here to register yourself for the 2023 Bible Translation Conference.
• The theme is "Quality in Translation."  
• You can Submit An Abstract here -  3 April 2023 is the deadline for abstract submission. 

Keynote Speakers:

• Andy Warren-Rothlin - Beekman Lecture
• Tshokolo Makutoane - Beekman Lecture 
• Edgar Ebojo - Nida Lecture
• Paul Kimbi - Lamin Sanneh Lecture 
• Angie Seow - Inspirational Address

Useful Links

• Bible Translation Consultant Competencies
• Bible Translation 2023 Conference - 13-17 October 2023
• Journal of Translation
• SIL Senior Translation Consultants
• Email the SIL International Translation Resources Office
• International Translation Services ILS Google page
• Join/visit the SIL Translation Resources Google Group
• Visit the public SIL.org/Translation site
• Find Translation Resources (both free download and for purchase) SIL.org/Resources/Publications 
• Bamboo Project website
• Mentoring Matters website - Mentor Training Courses
• Consultant Development and Management Team
• Progress.Bible Information
• Memoriam website

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
• Viji Mathew - Director, Global Consultant Pool 
• Brian Migliazza - ITS Operations and Project Management

Area Translation Coordinators

• Angie Foo - Asia
• Greg Carlson - Pacific
• Michael Jemphrey & Drew Maust - Francophone Africa
• Jonathan van den Broek - AngloLusophone Africa
• Thomas Hemphill & Katja Mueller - Eurasia
• Rick Floyd & Dwight Shaver - Americas 
• Yuki Yamada - Global Sign Languages Team (GSLT) 

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Copyright © 2023 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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