SIL Guidelines for Translation Projects (July 2026)

​from Angie Foo angeline_foo@sil.org - SIL Translation Research & Practice

After more than a year of collaborative work amongst the SIL Area translation coordinators, we are excited to release the SIL Translation Guidelines v1.0 for wider circulation!

The aim was to clarify some of the key aspects of how SIL approaches Bible translation, explain the rationale behind those approaches, and leave room for flexibility in your context.

We hope you’ll find them a useful resource as you develop and support translation work on the ground. There’s a lot to explore, with practical guidance and some fresh perspectives alongside tried-and-tested best practices.

Please take a look, use what is helpful, and let us know what you think — we’d love to hear how the Guidelines are serving you and welcome any suggestions for future improvement.