HOW WE DID AN ORAL TRANSLATION OF NT

This is a brief sketch of how we did our oral translation of several books of the New Testament. We did some years ago during the cassette era when I was a resident missionary in SW Ethiopia.

To do this oral translation, two persons were involved. One was a non-literate, completely bilingual person who spoke the Amharic language almost as fluently as his own Shako language. The other, an Amhara speaking person read the text from the Amharic language Bible. Any conversation was in the Amharic language.

Such a completely bilingual person is essential to do an oral translation of the New Testament. In our case, this native speaking, bi-lingual person knew the Amharic language of the NT text well, but did not read it. The person reading the Amharic language Bible knew how to read it well but knew nothing of the informant’s language. While doing this oral translation, as each verse was read, any conversation that ensued was in the Amharic language before that verse was spoken into the mike by the informant and recorded in his own native tongue. Each verse or part of a verse was recorded with that routine.

Doing an oral translation, the bilingual person sits facing the reader, listens carefully, and asks whatever questions he may have. He nods when he’s ready to have his voice with his translation recorded. This simple method or procedure is used until an entire verse and then an entire chapter and finally an entire book has been translated and recorded.

In our situation, the person reading from the printed Bible had also been taught how to do audio recordings. So instead of a normal three person team, only two persons were needed. It went extremely well and efficiently because the bilingual person knew Amharic, the language of the text, nearly as well as his own native tongue. But, normally, three persons would be involved, one of whom would be doing the computer recording.

I am confident that such bilingual persons can be found among almost every people group. My own experience convinced me that such oral translations under conditions described are very doable, communicate accurately and effectively and greatly bless the people who are given early access to Scripture because of such an oral translation of a NT in their mother tongue.

The compelling reason to do such oral translations is that, alternatively, Christians without a Bible will be denied access to God’s translated Word in their own language for ten years or more. In this new audio-digital age this barrier to having early access to the translated Scriptures can readily be overcome by doing oral translations while waiting for traditional written translations to be undertaken and completed.

For more information read the appendix in Mark’s book which describes all of this in much greater detail. Or, to learn more, visit www.talkingbibles.org.

Because they need to hear,
Harvey Hoekstra – harvey@talkingbibles.org
www.talkingbibles.org

Goal: A TALKING BIBLE SUNDAY IN THOUSANDS OF ADDITIONAL CHURCHES IN 2012 AD.