It’s sweet to the ears! September 13, 2013 – Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea – Mary Pearson with Tim Scott
Deep in the night, far from electric lights, coffee tables and comfortable couches, a group of villagers gather to hear the latest translated words. How do they do it? They light the kerosene lamp, pull up a tin drum and gather around for an evening session of village checking. After many weeks translating initial drafts of books of the New Testament, and then checking for its resemblance to the original Scriptures, these Lote (LO-tay)* translators are ready for the third step of translation: checking the passages with people in nearby villages to see if the Scriptures are understood and sound like natural Lote. They should sound “sweet to the ears” to be easily understood while remaining true to the original meaning – it’s called “village checking.” Lote men and women listen to Scripture portions read aloud. They offer constructive criticism to ensure clarity and accuracy. They wrestle with the words to find just the right expression to convey the message using the richness of their language. Here are the local leaders and ordinary village folks interacting with God’s word in their own language for the first time—ever! Their reactions are sometimes humorous and sometimes profound. They say things like: “This doesn’t sound like God’s Word because it seems that John sounds truly angry. Is it okay to read this in church?” (True emotions came across in vernacular that weren’t captured in the trade language.) And then there was a special night after two day’s journey to a village deep in the mountains. A few on bikes, but mostly on foot, people gathered to hear God’s Word in their own language for the first time. An elderly man called the children of the village over and said, Aina kinkino ngana mur! Aiat! Alongo! “Children come! Listen to this! These words are in your language! Before we only had God’s talk in someone else’s words. Now God speaks our language!” *The Lote language group is located in East New Britain Province. For more information on this release, contact, The PNG Experience, PO BOX 413, EHP 444, Papua New Guinea Phone: 011 + 675 + 537-4431 or Email:
ThePNGexperience@gmail.com or follow the daily blog at www.thepngexperience.wordpress.com. Pictures do not always depict actual event, activities or people. “Yumi Stori” is the PNG “Tok Pisin” term for “Let’s talk” or “Let’s have a conversation”