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| Bible Comics set to attract interest in Africa
12 different languages Organised by UBS Translation Consultant Dr Joachim Somé, the four-day workshop in Lomé in November brought together writers representing 12 different languages to translate the text of the David Comics. This event also provided an opportunity to revise the French text of these Comics. And thanks to a grant from the Opportunity 21 program, a further workshop has taken place in Johannesburg and another will be held in Nairobi, allowing similar work to be undertaken for a further 20 or so languages in the region. The UBS Bible Comics series originates in Asia, where comics have long been popular. Over a period of 15 years, the series has grown to 14 volumes, with more planned if funds become available for the artwork. A Filipino artist, Juan Ingente, has produced the artwork for 13 of the Comics. His work has been highly praised by Nate Butler, head of the Christian Comic Artists Association, who carries copies of the UBS Comics with him on world tours. Re-create the story At the Lomé workshop, the writers were shown how, starting from the Bible text in their own language, they can use the French or English Comic as a guide to re-creating the story in their own language. Many of them typed in their texts on laptops from the Bible translation projects in their own languages. They were also able to use the services of Bible Society IT staff, who showed them how to print out templates using software developed by colleagues in Asia. With these templates, writers can see if their adaptation of the words fits the speech bubbles. Mini-Bible The Africa Area Task Force for Comics plans to work with national Bible Societies to produce at least 3,000 copies of the two David Comics in between 20 and 30 languages. As funds become available, attention will then turn to the three Comics on Jesus. The two David Comics and three Jesus Comics together will form a ‘mini-Bible’ introducing readers to the Old Testament through the characters of David and Isaiah and to the stories of Jesus. By printing the David Comics in a single batch, it is hoped to reduce the production costs to a level which makes them affordable to readers. In the longer term, it is planned to move on from the ‘core five’ Comics to those covering TOGO — “There is little purpose in translating God’s Word if nobody can read it.” As in many less developed countries, this is the philosophy which guides Bible translation work in Togo, where only 60 per cent of the adult population can read and write. For many years, the Bible Society of Togo has sought to ensure that translation projects go hand in hand with the literacy teaching required to ensure that Christian communities can fully benefit from having the Scriptures in their own language. These testimonies from three speakers of Bassar (Ntcham) reveal how learning to read and write can dramatically change an individual’s life, both in a practical way and in terms of their spiritual development. Waké Nikabou: I’m a Christian and I worship at an Assemblies of God church. I’m married with two children. I was never able to attend school, but in 1975 I was given the opportunity to attend a oneyear literacy course in my own language. It wasn’t easy at first and I wondered whether I would be able to see it through to the end. But I received a lot of support and I even went on to learn to read and write in French, too. My French isn’t perfect, but I’m proud of it. After I finished my training, I was asked to remain involved with the literacy work as a teacher of others. I worked really hard so that I wouldn’t let other people down. Now I’m very pleased to have been involved in something that has contributed to the development of our rural community. Before we had learnt to read and write, we would have to rely on the children to write Abraham, Peter, Moses 1 and 2, Paul, Joseph, Daniel, Elijah and Jeremiah. Reflecting together at the end of the workshop, the writers agreed that they would be returning home filled with enthusiasm and armed with the knowledge and resources they need to produce a Scripture product that, in a growing market for this format, will appeal to both young and old readers. Comics movement ‘takes shape’ Dr Koops adds: Shortly after the event in Lomé, a second Bible Comics
workshop was held, in Kempton Park, South Africa. It brought together
12 people from nine languages, including Portuguese. This is a particularly
important language, as it will serve as a model for all the other Lusophone
countries in Africa, to say nothing of adapting it for Brazil. A third
workshop will be held — in Nairobi, Kenya: we are very excited to see
the Bible Comics movement in Africa taking shape! Contents |
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