• Bwisi translation team (Uganda)
  Translation provides the book for the readers.
• Literacy provides the readers for the book.

Effective Bible Translation involves a team of people; national and expatriate, short-term or those who can commit for longer. Translators can find themselves being challenged intellectually, physically, emotionally and spiritually as they seek to bring God's word to those who have never held or understood it. But the job is hugely fulfilling, and the rewards are out of this world!

Successful participation in a translation project requires:

• A good knowledge of the local language and culture.
• A commitment to identifying gifted mother tongue translators and training them to participate fully in the task.
• A thorough understanding of the Scriptures, so that the original message can be communicated clearly in the local language.
• Careful checking of the translation work to make sure it communicates accurately, clearly, and naturally.
• Time invested in helping members of the language community read and apply the translated Scriptures for themselves.
• Interaction with church leaders and government officials to encourage ongoing support for the project.

But How Do You Do That?

In some cases, expatriate translators must completely learn the language and culture by living among a particular people group and taking time to build relationships. Normally, however, our expatriate staff work as co-translators with Ugandan and Tanzanian speakers of the language, or serve as consultants to nationals who do the actual translation. Great care (and prayer) is given to find gifted mother-tongue speakers who can then be trained. The training of translators is a high priority, especially since it is mother-tongue speakers of a language that will be able to create a good translation. Training courses on translation principles are regularly organized to facilitate this need.

It's All About the Meaning

A translation is more than a translation of the words; it must communicate the meaning of a message and transfer it from one language to another. This is called 'meaning based translation'. Because we are dealing with the Bible, which is inspired and holy, fidelity to the original is crucial. And because we are dealing with human beings and we want them to understand the message, naturalness is also important.

All the translations that are done go through a process of verification by community revisers and are consultant checked by experienced translation consultants, so that quality and precision are maintained.

Tools for the Trade

Find out how Adapt It, the latest translation software is making new translations easier but just as accurate.