Postscript

Is it possible to sing in Mono? It is if that is the name of your mother tongue!

A year ago when I visited the Mono language community in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), I was reminded afresh of the excitement people have when they use their own language.

This video shows the pastor of the church we visited singing a song in the Mono language.  I think people in this church usually sing in Lingala (a regional trade language) or French (an official language of the DRC). You can hear a murmur in the background  - people were talking about this – their pastor was singing in Mono!

Diane Lovell is a Bible translation consultant-in-training working with The Seed Company, a Wycliffe Global Alliance partner organization.  She serves southern Africa, and she has been balancing her work with her role as a new mother.  Take a look at this video to learn a little more about her.

This is our first completed piece after our Wycliffe News Network meetings in South Africa in December. Great job Rodney and Elyse!

About a month ago a San community in Botswana celebrated the completion of a translation of the New Testament into their language called Naro.  You’ve probably heard of the San, but maybe not by that name.  The San people (also known as bushmen) were made famous by the movie, The Gods’ Must be Crazy.

This is the first time ever that a San language has had a translation of the New Testament.

It is estimated that more than five other San languages in southern Africa will also need their own translation of the scriptures because they do not have enough fluency in another language that currently has a scripture translation.

I sent a photographer, Zeke du Plessis, to photograph the celebration.  Take a look at more of Zeke’s photos here.

One touching moment he captured was when a colleague, Durk Meijer, showed an older San man how to use a device with an audio version of the Naro New Testament on it.

You can see him here carefully listening to the content.

What a great smile he had after listening to just a little bit of God’s Word in his language!

A video about the translation is available in Dutch.  If you’re interested in seeing it, go here.

Dr. Andy Alo, a graduate and lecturer at Africa International University (AIU)* speaks five languages. However, it is his mother tongue, Lugbarati, that holds a valuable place in his heart.

From generation to generation
Andy was raised in the village of Abedju, which grasps the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Uganda and holds them together at DRC’s northeast corner. Andy’s grandfather, one of the first Lugbara believers in DRC, became part of the Lugbarati translation team, which finished the Bible translation in 1966.

Andy’s father became an active proponent for Bible translation in the region as well. And, as the third generation in his family to follow Jesus, Andy also experienced the difference the translation had on his family and how it helped the church in the Lugbara community.

“This was the evidence for me, that once we had the Bible [in our first language], people started to move forward in their spiritual lives without the church being weakened by anything,” said Andy.

Getting involved in Bible translation
Andy pursued a degree in education with a major in teaching languages in Bunia, a city in northeastern DRC. While studying there, he met a young woman, Yvette, in the church choir, who would eventually become his wife.

Soon after finishing at university, he began teaching French with the conviction that education was the best way to help people to live more meaningful lives.  However, a friend studying at AIU in Nairobi, Kenya, told Andy about the Master’s degree program in Bible translation at the university.

“Then, I realized that the Word of God was the true light people needed for an everlasting joy and life,” said Andy who decided to enroll in the program at AIU.

After graduation, he and Yvette returned to Congo where Andy worked as a translation advisor on Congolese Bible translation and language projects. He also taught an introductory course in translation principles to other translators and linguists at a local teacher training college.

“Being an African gave me the ability to explain things from the inside,” he said. “Because I speak [those languages], as well as share the worldviews, I was able to help translators solve some of the challenges they face.”

Multiplication
After five years, they felt motivated to do something more:  multiply themselves. They returned once again to Nairobi and AIU.  This time Andy did doctoral level studies in translation and research. In a few short years, Andy was encouraged to join the teaching staff in AIU’s Translation Department. He is now one of several lecturers in the department.

One of the courses Andy teaches is program planning—a course designed to help students understand how to plan a Bible translation and language development program.

In one of his recent classes, his students engaged in a discussion regarding the methodology of entering a new people group who did not yet have the Scripture in their mother tongue.

Many people in Africa speak at least three languages. Those who attend school learn a national language like French or English, in addition to the trade language of their region and their mother tongue. However, Andy and his students all agreed that when the Bible is only offered in a national or trade language, it is deficient.

“Many people may be multilingual,” Andy said, “but their level of knowledge in those languages is not as deep as the knowledge they have in their mother tongue. The Word of God is more successfully communicated when it’s done in the native language.”

Through teaching, Andy is multiplying his knowledge and experience by helping people to have a meaningful part in Bible translation projects. His knowledge of language and personal experience with Bible translation make him an excellent fit for his role at AIU and an important part of Bible translation.

“It is one thing to lament over the spiritual and socio-cultural misery of the marginalized ethnic groups who do not have the privilege of reading the Word of God,” said Andy.  ”It is another thing to get involved, one way or another, in taking the Word to them. I have chosen the second option because I know that reading the Word and living by it will make a difference in their lives.”

* AIU was formerly known as Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST)

Photos by Taylor Martyn

Read a longer version of this story 

Content and photographs for this article were provided by staff from African Inland Mission’s On Field Media team (AIM-OFM). See more of their stories on www.aimstories.com.

This story was written for the Wycliffe News Network.

When I was in DRC in March, the church service we went to in the village of Bili included a a time for people to share some of the what has been happening in the Mono Bible translation project.

Four people read portions from the gospel of Mark (translated into Mono).  Most of them had learned to read in the Mono literacy classes being held in the community.

The coordinator of the literacy classes took the opportunity to encourage more people to attend the literacy classes that they were hosting.

Literacy classes are an important part of every translation program.  Most Bible translation programs that involve staff associated with Wycliffe are in small languages that have not previously been written down.  So as the Bible is being translated, the language is often also being written down for the first time.

While for the most part these communities may have a few people who have learned to read the national language, most will have never learned to read in any language. Literacy courses not only ensure that there will be people able to read the Bible and other materials translated into their language, but mother tongue literacy can also be a bridge to learning to read in the trade or national language of a country.

Learn more about literacy.