TORONTO, Canada - February 6, 2004 — A new, recently published Plautdietsch Bible is being received with grateful enthusiasm by Mennonite Low German speakers around the world.
The translation, publication and distribution of De Bibel, was a joint effort by several different agencies including The Canadian Bible Society, the United Bible Societies, Wycliffe Bible Translators Canada, and Kindred Productions, Winnipeg.
The Canadian Bible Society provided translation and computer support throughout the project, as well as typesetting and publishing services to bring the Bible to press.
Plautdietsch spoken by an estimated 400,000 people around the globe
Hart Wiens, the Canadian Bible Society’s Director of Scripture Translation, and Marilyn Hudson of Kindred Productions participated in the launch of the Plautdietsch Bible
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Plautdietsch or Low German, is an old, essentially oral language from a linguistic lineage that gave rise to both High German and English. Spoken by an estimated 400,000 people around the world; in Canada, Plautdietsch is the first language of approximately 80,000 people who live primarily within Mennonite communities in Southern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. Another 20,000 Canadians speak Low German as their second language.
Most Mennonites have historically used standard, (or High) German as the language for formal or written communication, and in their schools. Martin Luther printed the first Bible in High German in the 1500's. But while Plautdietsch speakers may have been able to read the Bible in High German, many struggled to understand its meaning.
The promotion of Plautdietsch as a literary language received a boost in the late 70's, when two Low German dictionaries were published. Then in 1982, a group of Low German scholars and writers met in Winnipeg with linguists from the Summer Institute of Linguistics and Wycliffe Bible Translators, and Dr. Harold Fehderau, the former Director of Scripture Translation for the Canadian Bible Society, to devise a standardized spelling system for the New Testament which was being prepared for publication.
Work on De Bibel begins
Recognizing the need for a complete Bible in Low German, a group called "Friends of Plautdietsch" began work on De Bibel in 1998. Building on the 1987 Plautdietsch New Testament translated by radio preacher J.J. Neufeld, translators from Mexico, Paraguay and Canada established the goal of creating an easy to read and understand text in the form of Plautdietsch used by most people who still speak the language today.
The project took five years to complete.
On November 22, 2003, more than 100 Mennonite Low German speakers gathered at a special ceremony in Winkler, Manitoba to mark the launch of De Bibel. In a special Plautdietsch meditation, Rev. Abe Wiebe acknowledged the importance of all people being able to read the Bible in their own language.
Citing John 5:39, he said, "it's important that people can search the Scriptures for themselves."
The Canadian Bible Society's Director of Scripture Translations, Hart Wiens, together with Marilyn Hudson, Manager of Mennonite publishing house, Kindred Productions, delivered a dedicatory prayer in Plautdietsch and English.
'Praise the Lord! De Bibel has gotten a good start'
Copies of the initial 5,000 print run began to sell immediately, and Bibles have been delivered to Mexico, Germany and Paraguay.
Peter Wiens, a Plautdietsch-speaking immigrant from Russia to Germany, and editor of the quarterly, Plautdietsch Frind, recently wrote to the Canadian Bible Society to express his gratitude for De Bibel. "[The translators] have presented a translation that will be used and appreciated by the Plautdietsch people world wide for many generations," Wiens wrote.
"I am very thankful for all the efforts ... put into this successful project," he added.
Victor Janzen, another recent immigrant from Russia to Germany, also praised the effort. "November 17 (the publication date of De Bibel) could be considered a kind of 'Independence Day' for Mennonites around the world," he said, "The Bible is in our language! The entire Bible! We are no longer dependent on the German translation! Halleluia!"
One of the project translators, Dr. Hans Epp, distributed the new Bibles in Rio Verde, an old colony Mennonite community in Eastern Paraguay.
Dr. Epp reported, that the books were selling swiftly, and wherever he sat down and started to read De Bibel with the locals, the Low German speaking people would exclaim at how easy it was to read.
"Praise the Lord!" Epp concluded. "De Bibel has gotten a good start in Rio."
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