🗣️💡Digest - Sudanese Arabic Oral Bible Translation Project Report
🗣️💡Digest - Sudanese Arabic Oral Bible Translation Project Report
This semester I have labored long to report accurately the context and progress of the Sudanese Arabic Oral Bible Translation. Please enjoy two excerpts from my paper:
Introduction
On the periphery of the lands mentioned in the Bible, Sudan has some of Christianity’s richest and saddest history. Within a generation of Christianity’s introduction in Sudan (i.e. ‘Nubia’ or ‘Cush’) in the 6th century, the temples were converted into churches and the burial customs changed to reflect Christian practices. The Nubian kingdom also served as one of the few bastions of Christianity near the Arab peninsula to survive the onslaught of Arab invasions that followed the death of Mohammed. Christians received protection from the south and Arabs told tales of the Sudanese’ might. Sudanese Christians between 1100-1500 CE also translated the Scriptures into local languages for lectionary readings.
Christianity, however, completely died out by the 1500s as Islam grew in power and influence. Since around that time, the country has not known a continuous, peaceful rule for more than 100 years. On average, a new government has gained control of various parts of Sudan every 40-50 years, a rate that has dramatically increased in the last 80 years. Sudan is internationally known for its violent government, the genocide in Darfur, and the harsh treatment of Christians. In the middle of these difficult circumstances, an Oral Bible Translation into Sudanese Arabic has progressed at an unbelievable speed and been received with surprising openness by the Sudanese Arab population.
The first three sections of this paper sketch a picture of life in Sudan as it pertains to the translation and acceptance of the Bible in colloquial Sudanese Arabic. Section 1 orients the reader to basic facts about Sudan and relevant history, Section 2 looks at the sociolinguistic status of Sudanese Arabic, and Section 3 outlines the need for a colloquial Sudanese Arabic Oral Bible Translation. The next three sections document the Sudanese Arabic Oral Bible Translation that the Sudanese church and Spoken Worldwide are conducting in partnership. Section 4 outlines the project’s inception and translation brief, Section 5 explores the project’s progress in translation and Scripture Engagement, and Section 6 concludes with an assessment of the project.
Scripture Engagement
The teams starting listening groups among Sudanese Arabs have experienced initial promising results. A Christian leader in one Sudanese community said that ninety out of one hundred people in his area would not accept a Bible. Of the ten who would accept a Bible, only one would open it. The Oral Bible Translation has had a completely different impact—he has yet to meet a person that wouldn’t listen to their oral Bible translation recordings (Spoken 2022, 5).
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Here's access to the entire paper. Feel free to download it as a .docx or .pdf!