26-year project concludes with launch of Gullah translation by United Bible Societies staff
Photo: ABS/David Singer
Vernetta Canteen reads from the newly published Gullah New Testament, with SIL linguistics consultant, David Frank (holding the microphone), and Emory Campbell, an original member of the translation team and executive director emeritus of the Penn Center (standing in the background).
ST. HELENA ISLAND, South Carolina, U.S.A., November 29, 2005 — The American Bible Society (ABS) is celebrating the conclusion of a 26-year project to translate the New Testament into the Creole language Gullah.
De Nyew Testament was launched on November 12 at the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, during the "Heritage Days" festival, which celebrates Gullah culture. It was a fitting setting, as it is hoped that the translation will help keep Gullah heritage living and active for future generations.
John 1:1 from De Nyew Testament:
Fo God mek de wol, de Wod been dey. De Wod been dey wid God, and de Wod been God.
Vernetta Canteen, a member of the translation team, says she is "excited to actually feel it and touch it." She believes that De Nyew Testament validates the culture and heritage of the Gullah people. "That's the first time I heard God talk the way I talk." Gullah, also known as Sea Island Creole, is spoken by around 115,000 people along the coastlines of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. A further 10,000 Gullah speakers have migrated to New York City. The language was created by slaves and is a blend of English and various indigenous West African languages.
Ardell Greene, another long-time member of the translation team, calls the Gullah New Testament "a treasure" and emphasises that "this Bible will be read in churches and our youngsters will be encouraged by it to keep the Gullah tradition alive. The Word of God speaks to your heart and, as a Gullah speaker, God speaks to me in Gullah."
The project began more than a quarter of a century ago under the auspices of two Wycliffe Bible Translators consultants. Luke's Gospel was published by the American Bible Society in 1994. The team of Gullah speakers then worked their way through the New Testament to express the message of the Bible in easily understandable ways to those for whom Gullah is their heart language. This was a joint effort of the American Bible Society, the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), Wycliffe, the United Bible Societies and the Penn Center.
Dr Robert Hodgson, Dean of the Nida Institute for Biblical Scholarship at the American Bible Society, says everyone can take pride in the translation because of its historical and cultural significance: "The Gullah New Testament raises the Gullah language and culture to a new level by enshrining the Scriptures in a creole language once denigrated as a second class version of English.
"African American churches around the country will celebrate this new translation for its lively tone and musical rhythms, reminiscent of today's hip-hop vernacular, but also for its recovery of an almost forgotten chapter in the history of African Americans."
In the 19th century, the Sea Islands were the receiving ports of call for slave ships from West Africa. During the American Civil War, St Helena Island and its Penn School, in particular, provided the first sanctuary for emancipated slaves, offering free education and unrestricted access to the Bible and to religious expression. The Penn Center provided a home-from-home for leaders of the Civil Rights movement, including Dr Martin Luther King, Jr., who drafted his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on its campus.
After 26 years, the dream of hearing God speak through His Word in the Gullah language has become a reality.
