A Reflection on my time studying oral Bible translation
A Reflection on my time studying oral Bible translation
Heather Beal’s presentation on oral Bible translation in my Foundations of Translation course (September 22nd) provided a wonderful opportunity for reflection for me. Oral Bible translation occupies a large portion of my heart, mind, and time. I have been interested in oral Bible translation since I first joined Wycliffe in 2018. God grabbed my heart with the subject and I have never looked back since. I started crafting my own stories and leading my youth group in oral storying Sunday mornings. In the summer of 2020, I took oral Bible translation with Heather. That fall, I joined the Dallas-based oral Bible translation team. In the summer of 2021, I took an independent readings course with Heather. The findings of that course turned into a presentation with her at the Bible Translation conference later that year and a paper in the peer review process with our school’s journal, slotted to be published next year, Lord willing. Earlier this year, I went from being the associate chaplain at DIU to serving in the Oral Translation Services department in SIL. Oral translation is always on my mind.
Every time I read an article for this class, I ask myself: “How does this apply to oral Bible translation?” If I see a possible connection, I immediately record it in Obsidian, the note system I’ve been using. However, my interest in oral Bible translation has predominantly been on how it can happen most effectively rather than on when it can happen most effectively. I usually think about developing translation resources and methods, since I want to help people already doing oral Bible translation. I think far less about introducing oral Bible translation into new contexts. As a result, I especially appreciated three points in Heather’s list of situations in which oral Bible translations may be most effective.
Three reflection points
First, oral Bible translations (OBT for short) can be the inspiration for literacy programs in groups whose first book would be the Bible or Christian stories. This point stood out to me because I had not thought about oral Bible translations possibly engendering a desire to develop literacy skills. I had subconsciously assumed that most communities were exposed to some level of literacy and would want to grow in it for economic purposes. There are certainly still groups in the Pacific, as well as groups in Africa, that may not have, or want, any economic connection with literacy; however, after hearing Scripture, they may desire to be able to read it.
Second, OBT can be a solution for Bible translation needs when the challenges of a language’s phonological system mean that it would take far more time to produce a workable orthography than it would take for an oral Bible translation team to produce sections of Scripture. I know that phonologies can be incredibly complex, but I did not know that the language Heather worked in and even carefully analyzed still does not have a working orthography. An oral Bible translation may be the best way forward for that language. Likewise, difficulty making an orthography is one of the primary reasons cited for starting an oral Bible translation in the Himba people of South Africa (Floor 2021).
Third, OBT is an access strategy for groups that are ideologically resistant to literacy, such as the Himba. Just before class, I quickly searched for “oral Bible translation” through our school’s EBSCO access. One of the only articles to pop up was Oral-based Bible translation: A contextualised model for the nomadic Himba people of southern Africa. At the end of class, George mentioned that he had consultant-checked the translation for these people. The translators chose oral Bible translation because orality is so central for the Himba people that parents refuse to send their children to learn how to read or write out of fear of the morals their children may learn. This level of resistance to literacy and commitment to a traditional way of life surprised and impressed me. According to the article, though, oral Bible translation has seen some initial success among the people (Floor 2021, 5-6). May God turn the Himba into even more committed followers of Christ.
Oral Bible Translation and Missiological Strategies
Since compiling these initial scenarios in which oral Bible translation may be the most useful translation strategy, I have been inspired to keep my eyes open for other reasons. If any other reasons come to your mind let me know what they are!
Sources
Floor, Karen J. 2021. “Oral-Based Bible Translation: A Contextualised Model for the Nomadic Himba People of Southern Africa.” In Die Skriflig/In Luce Verbi 55 (3): 6.