NOVEMBER 2023 Translation News

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Nov 2023 Translation News

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International Translation Services (ITS)

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.

November 2023 Translation at the speed of need? - Greg Dekker Nehemiah 8 and Bible translation practitioners - Drew Maust New Senior Translation Consultant - Mark Bean New Consultants Aqeel Munawar - Eurasia Bronwen Cleaver - Eurasia Nailya Philippova - Eurasia Rosy Dhanunjay - Asia Mathew Ebenezer - Asia Cahyadi Kwee - Asia News and Updates New International Translation Research and Practice Coordinator - Angeline Foo Translation Resources - Paul O'Rear Digital Training Library - Phil King New Book - The Gospels Through Old Testament Eyes: Exploring Extended Allusions - Nick Lunn Coming Events Francophone Grammar for Translation (1-28 May 2024) Cameroon EMDC (27-30 May 2024) Chiangmai, Thailand TCDW (10 Jun - 19 July 2024) Indonesian TCDW (LPKP) (24 Jun - 16 Aug 2024) Narrative Discourse Analysis for Translation Workshop (09-29 Oct 2024) Nairobi, Kenya Useful Links SIL Translation Services International Leadership Team Area Translation Coordinators

Translation at the speed of need?

• Greg Dekker - International Translation Services

Director Early on in our work with SIL, the leader of one of the local emerging churches in the community where we worked asked me to bring the Sunday morning message. He knew we'd only been living in the community a short time and quickly offered that I should feel free to use English!

For the months that we had struggled among this community to just live there - with 3 children under the age of 4, the daily challenges of learning language and culture, wrestling with political-ideological issues present in the region at the time that threatened our security as foreigners, not to mention the real spiritual opposition we encountered - I had resisted the many invitations I had received to “bring the message”, or even speak to a group of educators or government workers, or lead a prayer meeting or Bible study. I wanted to maintain the role of “learner” that I was assuming in the community at that time. I often felt like a 4-year old in terms of my ability to understand what was happening around me and in my use of the language! What does a 4-year old have to say on the topic of “loving God and loving others”? But on this occasion, I conceded. I decided that however feeble, simple, or immature my language ability, I had to start somewhere, and I felt a responsibility to humbly represent Jesus to this group of believers and seekers. And as a translator, I took seriously the responsibility to present God's Word in the language of those who would be attending the service, some of whom were our unsaved neighbors. So, I stepped into an uncertain week ahead. I chose my passage of Scripture and spent hours and hours that week, with my friend and neighbor - who had agreed some months before to help me learn the language translating the passage about which I was going to speak, and preparing my accompanying thoughts. It was a week filled with a mix of anxiety, prayerfulness, rehearsing words and meanings and expressions, and most of all, preparing the translation of the passages I was going to read and explain. I was reminded of this recently when someone asked the familiar question, “How soon does the [local] church want the Scriptures?” When we think about it and bring in our understanding of the time it takes to do quality translation, we might be tempted to optimistically answer, “Oh, in three to five years.” But the reality in many cases is, they want it this Sunday! I was just talking with someone who was explaining her role as a consultant and advisor on a difficult access project where a believing member of the community is doing the translation. She was telling me how she had hoped that she could provide some just-in-time translation and linguistic advice for the translator, but the translator had sped on to draft several books before she had spent any significant time with him. We increasingly wrestle with this polarity in Bible translation: quality - taking the needed time to work with the community to deliver the Word of God accurately - vs. speed respecting those who have a felt need for Scripture “this Sunday”! And this situation is made even more exigent with the rapid growth and maturity of the Church in the many places where we are engaged to assist in the translation process. There's an increasing hunger for the Word and a desire for access to it sooner than later. It's a polarity we must manage carefully with the local community. At times we will find ourselves trying to “catch up” to the needs of the community, applying needed checks later in the translation process, and at other times we will be able to work with the community to take the time needed earlier on to apply important quality assurance processes. I'm reminded of the simple lesson I learned early in my days as a translator to humbly honor the need and request of the community I was working among and to just do my best in assisting them in the provision of God's Word at the rate they are ready for it. It demanded things of me for which I was not prepared, and which I did not always accomplish very well. And there's a lot more to this story, like the incredible people that God provided who took up the task alongside. This is God's work, and we contribute to it alongside others, knowing He is in control of the final product.

Nehemiah 8 and Bible translation practitioners

• Drew Maust Drew Maust presented an interesting devotional at a recent meeting of the Area Translation Coordinators and the International Translation Services team on Nehemiah chapter 8 - The Joy of the Lord is Our Strength. He highlights a number of similarities of the "priest-scribeLevite" role with Bible translation practitioners today. Similarly we are a solution organization rather than just a service organization. With our range of expertise and experience we are uniquely positioned to see a bigger picture than most, even if "the bigger picture" eludes us. The people request that the Scriptures be read to them and this reading involves translation. The role of "priest-scribe-Levite" provides a historical analog for what we're doing as Bible translation practitioners. The public reading of the law had two seemingly opposite but complementary effects on the people – crying (Neh 8:9) and rejoicing (Neh 8:12) – once mediated by the “consultants” (i.e., the priest-scribe and Levites). These "consultants" were on hand to react to the people's discomfort by quieting them, helping them collect themselves, and then they put their pain into perspective. They were able to help the people move from crying to rejoicing through the ministry of “translation.” Likewise one of our roles today in this wild, wonderful world of Bible translation is to help teams see the bigger picture - telling a better story which connects people's pain and challenges to both God and one another. Bible translation practitioners out-narrate the people, telling a bigger and more compelling story than the people's current anguish. We don't minimize but put into perspective. Similarly, we bring context and the bigger picture to all sorts of Bible translation challenges. Bringing expertise, but also helping people let the Scriptures engage them through interpretation. We help people to read the Bible as our story; putting ourselves in it. Seeing the Bible as our narrative since we entrust ourselves to the same God. Several ways the role of "priest-scribe-Levite" may speak to the role of Bible translation practitioner: We can start by being humble about our own capabilities. We can recognize the untranslatability of Scripture, as this reminds us of our limits. You simply cannot capture everything. Translation loss is inevitable. We cannot always help teams decide how to translate. We can prioritize people - be preoccupied with the quality of life of translators and translating communities rather than strictly the quality of a text. We can have the joy of the Lord as our strength while enabling others to do so as well.

New Senior Translation Consultant

• Mark Bean (Americas) Congratulations to Mark Bean on his accreditation as a Senior Translation Consultant. 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. Mark (Senior Translation Consultant) has an MDiv in Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (1982) and has been working in the Americas since 1984.

New Translation Consultants Aqeel Munawar, Bronwen Cleaver, Nailya Philippova - Eurasia Rosy Dhanunjay, Mathew Ebenezer, Cahyadi Kwee - Asia

New Consultant

• Aqeel Munawar (Eurasia) Congratulations to Aqeel Munawar on completing all the requirements for certification as a Translation Consultant. Phil Pike, on behalf of the SIL Eurasia Consultant Technical Evaluation Committee (CTEC), announced that he has met the qualifications.

New Consultant

• Bronwen Cleaver (Eurasia) Congratulations to Bronwen Cleaver on completing all the requirements for certification as a Translation Consultant. Phil Pike, on behalf of the SIL Eurasia Consultant Technical Evaluation Committee (CTEC), announced that she has met the qualifications. Bronwen has an MA in law from Cambridge University. She then completed a BA in CrossCultural Mission and Theology at All Nations Christian College (UK), and an MA in Intercultural Communication with an emphasis on Translation at Johnson University (USA). She is now finishing a PhD in theology at The University of the Free State (South Africa). Phil Pike was her primary mentor and Brian Kelly was her orality mentor. A year ago she became the Director of IBT Russia. Bronwen serves as an exegete with the Altai Old Testament (South Siberia) community. She also has experience in OBT and OBS with many language groups in Southern Siberia (Tuvan, Khakas, Altai, Siberian Tatar, Shor and Chalkan). Her expertise is in Oral Bible Translation and they are currently finishing a five year project in Altai translating Ruth, Jonah, Genesis, Exodus, 30 Psalms and some Proverbs orally. She is now working towards becoming a Scripture Engagement Consultant.

New Consultant

• Nailya Philippova (Eurasia) Congratulations to Nailya Philippova on completing all the requirements for certification as a Translation Consultant. Phil Pike, on behalf of the SIL Eurasia Consultant Technical Evaluation Committee (CTEC), announced that she has met the qualifications.

New Consultant

• Rosy Dhanunjay (Asia) Congratulations to Rosy Dhanunjay (Wycliffe India) on completing all the requirements for certification as a Translation Consultant. Her supervising mentors were Sunil Mathew (Head of the Translation Department, Wycliffe India) and Maya Mathew. Rosy successfully completed the Asia TCDW in 2021. She has a Bachelor of Occupational therapy from Dr. M.G.R Medical University in Chennai and a Master of Occupational Therapy from Mumbai university. She joined Wycliffe India in 2008 and completed her linguistic training. From 2008 to 2014 she and her husband served in a pioneering Bible translation project located in a geographically challenging area. Since 2015 she has been assisting the language programs department in planning and mentoring Bible translation projects. She also has served as a teacher and trainer, equipping Bible translation teams. Rosy began her CiT training in 2019, actively involved in mentored checking a variety of language groups - Southern Dravidian, Central Dravidian, Indo Aryan, and Tibeto-Burman. In addition to her primary mentors, she has also been mentored by Balaji D, Selvi Michael, John Blakely, Daniel Selvaraj, George Edward, and Kermit Titrud. She has served as a teacher of the translation advisors course for the past three years.

New Consultant

• Mathew Ebenezer (Asia) Congratulations to Mathew Ebenezer (Wycliffe India) on completing all the requirements for certification as a Translation Consultant. His supervising mentor was Sunil Mathew (Head of the Translation Department, Wycliffe India). Mathew successfully completed the Asia TCDW in

2021. He has a Bachelor in Chemistry, a Bachelor of Divinity from Serampore University, and is currently pursuing the DMin (Bible Translation) from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Boston, MA, USA.

He joined Wycliffe India in 2008 and then completed his linguistic training. He served as a Translation Advisor/ Exegete with two translation teams in northeast India, and these New Testaments were completed and published in March 2021. He also served as a trainer for Oral Bible Storying with several languages across India. Currently he is the head of the Oral Bible Translation and Scripture Engagement in Wycliffe India. Mathew also worked on the revision of the Bible into his mother-tongue (Malayalam) translating several books of both the New Testament and the Old Testament. He has led many drafting workshops for various books of the New Testament and regularly teaches Translation Principles, Exegesis, and other courses in various workshops.

New Consultant

• Cahyadi Kwee (Asia) Congratulations to Cahyadi Kwee (Kartidaya) on completing all the requirements for certification as a Translation Consultant. His supervising mentor was Roger Hanna. In addition, he has also been mentored by Bob Busenitz and David Andersen. Cahyadi successfully completed the 2023 LPKP (Indonesian-language TCDW). He has a BA In Theology from South East Asia Bible Seminary (2007) and an MA in Biblical Exegesis (MABE) from Wheaton College (2018).

He joined Kartidaya (Indonesia) in 2009 and served with the Sikari people of Papua till 2020. During this time he also facilitated a OneStory project with the Fuao people in Papua. Since 2020 he has been a Translation CiT. Cahyadi has also served as an exegetical/translation advisor for the Papuan Malay Jesus Film (2014), and written translations with the Balangin people (2021–2022) and the Hakka people (2023).

News and Updates New International Translation Research and Practice Coordinator

• Angeline Foo As of November 1, International Translation Services (ITS) welcomes Angeline Foo as International Coordinator for Translation Research and Practice. Angie will be joining ITS in a somewhat customized role where her experience and skills as a translator, Senior Translation Consultant, researcher, writer, and trainer of translators can be applied to areas of Bible Translation research and best practice, among others. See the April 2023 ITS Newsletter for Angie's biographical summary. International Translation Services says farewell to Dr. Dick Kroneman who, as of Nov 1, has stepped down from his role with International Translation Services, but notably, will be continuing in a reduced role with SIL as Senior Translation Consultant and Senior Advisor for Translation Research. Dick has served as co-chair of the Bible Translation Conference Steering Committee for 10 years, and previous to his current role as International Coordinator for Translation Research and Practice, Dick served as International Translation Coordinator for SIL. Dick is a Senior Translation Consultant who, with his wife, Margreet, translated the Una Bible in Papua, Indonesia, which was dedicated in 2022. Dick has served as a trainer and teacher of Bible translation, a mentor to many, and an advisor to translators and translation consultants. Dick has also served as a leader and thought leader in the greater Bible translation community. He is known as someone who values unity, mutual understanding, and collaboration. He has been a stalwart advocate for the local church's role in Bible translation and for translation teams in many community projects. And, many of us know him as a friend and colleague. Thank you, Dick, for your service to Bible translation! Dick was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation at the Bible Translation Conference on 17 Oct 2023 which reads,

Certification of Appreciation SIL International, Dallas International University, The Nida Institute, your friends and colleagues in Bible Translation worldwide, award this certificate of appreciation to Dick Kroneman in recognition of 10 years of service on the Bible Translation Conference Steering Committee and extensive service and commitment to the work of Bible Translation research and practice. Presented on this day, Tuesday, 17 October 2023 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3

Translation Resources - Paul O'Rear SIL International Translation Services (ITS) has a rich and growing team of people dedicated to developing state of the art translation guidance resources – content that helps both translators and translation consultants do their work more effectively with a depth of research and tips for the entire translation process. Paul O'Rear is the International Coordinator for Translation Resources, overseeing a team of approximately 40 people in the SIL Translation Resources department working in nine projects and team.

Translator's Workplace (TW) – (Paul O'Rear & Nick Peterson) TW is our flagship electronic library built on Logos Bible software which enables us to take advantage of the latest technology while being able to deploy our translation resources around the world electronically. A close cousin of TW is Bureau du Traducteur (BdT) – effectively a French language-oriented set of content with similar aims. Translator's Notes / Bamboo (TN) – (Randy Groff & Brian Migliazza) TN is widely held to be the most consistently used and accessible set of resources for translation guidance. The TN series leverages the experience and expertise of seasoned translators and provides translation guidance for challenging translation issues. Bamboo is an initiative to develop TNs for the entire Old Testament in a more iterative manner and also more intentionally including the diverse global scholarship of translators from all over the world. Exegetical Summaries (ES) – (Jim Clarke) ES saves the translator and consultant that is frequently in a hurry from needing to reference many different commentaries in order to obtain the majority and minority positions on the exegetical concerns of any given passage. The ES series summarizes the views of the majority of current respected commentaries and presents them in a synthesized form. Discourse Resources – (Ervin Starwalt) Historically, this has principally been oriented around our Semantic and Structure Analyses (SSA) series, which help to identify the concerns of themes and cohesion that rise above the sentence and verse level. We are currently exploring a future that makes discourse-related guidance more easily accessible. Psalms Resources – (Meaghan Smith) Over the last several years it has become increasingly clear that the Psalms and other poetic literature have unique problems to solve and consider in the overall translation process. The Psalms Resources team collaborates with other agencies and efforts to facilitate the development of resources that uniquely address these challenges, and particularly from a translation desk point of view. Biblical Language Research – (Michael and Rachel Aubrey) Over the history of SIL's work in translation, much emphasis has been placed on the linguistic analysis of the receptor languages we work with. However, it has often been assumed that we fully understand the source languages, Koine Greek and Classical Hebrew. Over the last several decades, students preparing for the field ask the question: why aren't the Greek and Hebrew grammars we use anything like what we do for the receptor languages? Surely, there's a better way to describe Greek and Hebrew in ways that will be of more direct relevance when translating to a newly analyzed receptor language. There is actually very much to do in this area and that is what this team is focusing on. Common Text Project (CTP) – (Steve Daley) When you look at the Greek New Testament, there is a handy apparatus that tells you which manuscripts support a specific textual reading, and in the case of the UBS GNT, it will even provide a level of confidence in the reading. For the Hebrew Old Testament, there is currently no convenient apparatus to provide this information. For OT translators, they are frequently in a position of each translator “doing what is right in their own eyes” with respect to having to make textual decisions. The aim of this project is to provide a scholarly well researched set of recommendations for textual decisions across the Old Testament so that we have a well-established and common recommendation to make for the working translator. Key Terms of the Old Testament (KTOT) – (Peter Schmidt & Brian Migliazza) Key Biblical Terms in the New Testament by Katherine Barnwell, Paul Dancy, and Anthony Pope has had a long-valued history for translators of the New Testament. As we have made greater strides and investment in translation of the Old Testament in more recent years, it was clear that we had a need for a resource that would treat key terms in the OT. KTOT is an iterative project releasing several updates each year continuing to add new articles on specific Hebrew key terms. It is organized similarly to a dictionary or lexicon and currently is distributed in both Paratext and Translator's Workplace. Alpha with Angela (AwA) – (Angela Taylor) Alpha with Angela is a Koine Greek companion to the very successful Aleph with Beth developed by Andrew and Bethany Case. AwA provides an immersive approach to learning Koine Greek via YouTube video lessons in nice, bite-size chunks. The advantage of this series is that it is readily approachable by any translation worker and team around the globe as it has zero reliance on English or any other language. Angela is well on her way with ~25 lessons already available through her YouTube channel.

Digital Training Library

• Phil King - ITS Training and Development The Digital Training Library has started sending a quarterly newsletter with stories of impact and updates on what is available. Take a look at the latest version, October 2023 Digital Learning Library Quarterly News, and subscribe if you would like to keep updated.. There are a number of scholarships available for SIL teams who would like to participate in a DTL course, granted by Fuller in gratitude to SIL for providing the material for the Discourse certificate. Anyone interested should contact me.

New Book - The Gospels Through Old Testament Eyes: Exploring Extended Allusions

• Nick Lunn Congratulations to Nick Lunn on the publication of his new book - The Gospels Through Old Testament Eyes: Exploring Extended Allusions (InterVarsity Press, 2023). It can be purchased through InterVarsity and Amazon. He explores in depth how the four Gospels draw upon Old Testament texts and enhances your appreciation of the Gospels' presentation of Jesus's life and ministry.

Coming Events 2024 - 1-28 May. Francophone Grammar for Translation. Cameroon. Registration form. 2024 - 27-30 May. EMDC. Chiangmai, Thailand 2024 - 10 June - 19 July. TCDW (Translation Consultant Development Workshop). Hybrid. Application deadline is 31 December 2023. For information email Angeline Foo. Weeks 1-2: Classroom (10-21 June). Week 3: TC Note Practice online (24-28 June). Week 4: Travel to location and prep for checking: Arrive in location by Monday 01 July. Weeks 5-6: Supervised checks (08-19 July) 2024 - 24 June - 16 August. Indonesian TCDW (LPKP). For information email the Director. Weeks 1-2: Classroom. In-person, Tomohon, Sulawesi, Indonesia (24 June – 07 July). Week 3: TC Note Practice online (08-12 July). Weeks 4-5: Supervised checking. In-person, Tomohon, Sulawesi, Indonesia (05-16 August) 2024 - 09-29 October. Narrative Discourse Analysis for Translation Workshop. Nairobi, Kenya.

Useful Links Bible Translation Consultant Competencies Journal of Translation SIL Senior Translation Consultants Email the SIL International Translation 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 Angeline Foo - 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 Angeline Foo & Amber Jasa - Asia Greg Carlson - Pacific Drew Maust - Francophone Africa Jonathan van den Broek - Anglo_Lusophone Africa Thomas Hemphill & Katja Mueller - Eurasia Rick Floyd & Dwight Shaver - Americas Harry Harm - Global Sign Languages Team (GSLT)

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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