READING, England, January 23, 2007 — The number of languages into which at least one complete book of the Bible has been translated reached 2,426 at the end of 2006, according to the United Bible Societies’ (UBS) 2006 Scripture Language Report. The report records each Scripture translation carried out by UBS or another translation agency which is received at the library of either the American Bible Society (ABS) or the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS).
By the time UBS celebrated the bicentenary of the Bible Society movement in 2004, 95 per cent of the world’s population theoretically had access to Scripture in a language they could understand, although not necessarily their first language. But just because the remaining task concerns only five per cent of the world’s population (the 300 million people who speak ‘minority’ languages), it doesn’t mean that UBS or its partners are reducing their translation efforts. Completed translations in twenty three new languages and dialects were registered in 2006 alone, while over a 10-year period the number has risen by some 260. In human terms, this represents many thousands of individuals who now have direct access to at least part of God’s Word in their own language.
PHOTO: Bible Society in Congo
Eager purchasers of the Munukutuba (Kituba) New Testament in Brazzaville in March 2006. This translation was a joint project of the Bible Society in Congo and SIL.
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Along with three new Bibles, the 2006 Scripture Language Report lists 31 new New Testaments, of which five are the first recorded Scripture publications in those languages. Additional Portions were registered for 34 languages which do not yet have either an Old or New Testament and for 21 languages which have the New Testament but not the Old. In 26 other languages in which translation and publication had already taken place, new or revised versions of Portions, Testaments or Bibles are now available.
The approximately 300,000 speakers of Chisena in southern Malawi celebrated the launch of the New Testament in their language in 2000. Six years later, the full Chisena Bible finally became available. Long before it was launched, translator Paul Muotcha knew that it would be warmly received.
“They are going to receive it, as we say, ‘with both hands’,” he predicted.
Other groups whose new full Bible is recorded in the 2006 Scripture Language Report are Taiwan’s Taroko-speaking community and the 410,000 speakers of Náhuatl: Huasteca, Eastern in Mexico.
Among the new New Testaments which arrived at the ABS or BFBS library in 2006 were no fewer than six from Papua New Guinea. Many people walked for up to 35 miles (56 kms) to attend the launch of one of these translations, the New Testament in Kobon, spoken by around 10,000 people (a relatively large language group within this island nation of more than 800 languages). As well as helping Kobon speakers to understand God’s Word clearly, this publication will also benefit speakers of related languages such as Minimimb.
Another first-time New Testament marks a significant milestone for Church life among the approximately one million speakers of Munukutuba in Congo (Republic). They account for around 60 per cent of the population, but until last year could only read the Bible in either French or Kikongo. A clear challenge was issued to them at the launch by Larry Robbins, Director of SIL-Congo, with which the Bible Society in Congo was in partnership for the 20-year project.
“God speaks Munukutuba. Are we going to listen to him?” he asked.
Several years often elapse between the publication of an item of Scripture and its appearance in the Scripture Language Report. Around 47 per cent of the items listed in the 2006 Scripture Language Report were actually published in that year, while 42 per cent were published in 2005. The extreme isolation of some language groups can sometimes lead to even longer delays: a few of the items recorded in 2006 were published as long ago as the 1990s.
While the annual Scripture Language Report records significant achievements in terms of Scriptures that have reached language groups in many different countries and environments, UBS and its partners continue to look ahead. In its bicentenary year mission statement in 2004, UBS declared:
“Translation remains at the heart of our task. Faithful translation of the original text, meeting the highest standards of accuracy and professional integrity, in words that speak to the hearts and minds of readers, is a major pillar of our UBS mission.”
It is currently involved in more than 500 translation projects worldwide and spends some US $11m a year on translation.
“The end of a productive year for Bible translation in the UBS offers the opportunity to reflect on the status of the mission — what has been accomplished, how that mission has changed, and what remains to be done,” says Dr Philip Towner, Director of Translation Services. “The same UBS declaration which confirmed the central place of Bible translation within our mission also gave rise to our current Translation Strategy and Priorities initiative, designed to give shape and guidance for the translation mission in the next 10-15 years. With this research in hand, we now have a clearer understanding of the needs for Scripture and Scripture products of national Bible Societies and churches around the world, and we are fully committed to the task of meeting these needs.”
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