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God’s Word for the scattered communities
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| Susie Loki, a reviewer working on the translation of the New Testament into Natqgu, spoken on Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands. Photo: BSSP (SOL05DJ-1.JPG) |
SOLOMON ISLANDS — Translating the Scriptures into languages spoken in one of the poorest countries in the world will inevitably be a slow, arduous process. Translation projects in the 16 scattered communities that make up the Solomon Islands have to operate against the background of an economy which has been weakened so much that there is very little cash in circulation, while ongoing social and political tensions bring additional challenges. Nevertheless, the various translation teams are managing to continue their work, their morale boosted by the completion last year of projects including the Lungga and Varisi New Testaments (see World Report 388/20 and 392/21). And, with sufficient support, more projects, examples of which are given overleaf, are set to come to a successful conclusion over the next few years. With them comes the prospect of God’s Word being brought into the heart of suffering and divided communities in a language that local people can readily understand.
Solomons Pidgin
Spoken by around 350,000 people, or 85 per cent of the population,
Solomons Pidgin is one of the largest of the 69 languages used in the
Solomon Islands. However, it is not an official language and its speakers
have only had access to the New Testament since 1993. Until then, all
local churches used English Scriptures, but these were poorly understood
by ordinary people. Church attendance overall has been falling over
the last decade, but those churches that have switched to using the
Pidgin New Testament have grown dramatically. This is why it is seen
as so important to complete the translation of the Old Testament into
Pidgin, which began in 1995. This work is being undertaken by the Bible
Society in the South Pacific in collaboration with SIL and the Solomon
Islands Christian Association. All the text has been drafted and is
being checked, so the partners anticipate that the full Pidgin Bible
will be published in 2007. If funds become available, they hope it will
also be possible to translate and publish the Deuterocanon.
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Ben Mewz, reviewer and co-chair of the team translating the New Testament into Natqgu, spoken on Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands. Photo: BSSP (SOL05DJ-2.JPG) |
With Solomons Pidgin being widely understood even by people who do not use it as their everyday language, it is expected that the full Pidgin Bible, which will have a print run of between 5,000 and 10,000, will be used by churches in other language communities which do not yet have access to the Scriptures, in particular the Old Testament. It will also be used by individuals and in schools. It has the potential to play a key role in rebuilding a sense of nationhood at a time when traditional social and political structures are in danger of breaking down. It will also contribute to efforts to improve literacy among Pidgin speakers, especially children.
Cheke Holo
When the Cheke Holo New Testament was launched in 1994, 1,000 copies were sold on a single day and the entire print run was sold within weeks. This was a clear confirmation that speakers of this language, who number almost 10,000 and live in the east of Santa Isabel, are eager to receive God’s Word in their mother tongue. Even before the launch of the New Testament, the Bible Society, SIL and the Church of Melanesia had begun translating parts of the Old Testament too. Now several Portions, including the Books of Ruth, Genesis and Isaiah, have been completed. They are currently being printed in South Korea and it is hoped they can be despatched to Santa Isabel by the end of this year.
Natqgu
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| Frank Yrpusz, a member of the team translating the New Testament into Natqgu, spoken on Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands. Photo: BSSP (SOL05DJ-3.JPG) |
It is more than 25 years since work began on translating the New Testament into Natqgu, the language of around 4,000 people living on the island of Santa Cruz. Now, the text is almost complete. Typesetting is due to take place next year and it is hoped that the New Testament, along with Psalms and the Book of Ruth (and possibly also the Book of Genesis), will be launched in mid-2007. Even before its launch, though, the Natqgu New Testament is proving influential: in terms of social impact, this project has already led directly to a greater emphasis on vernacular literacy in some schools, while in terms of serving local Christians it has prompted a spin-off project in a related dialect. Looking ahead, the translation team is setting up an Old Testament project which is designed to be self-supporting and run by volunteers.
This report refers to projects SPA00577, SPA00360 and SPA00283. (WR 397/22 - 11.05) [3 photos]