SIL International

I had a pleasant visit recently with my uncle and aunt. They work with SIL International (originally "Summer Institute of Linguistics"). They live most of the time in Mexico with a people known as the Me'tpha (pronounced metpa). And their task, since they were a young couple until today, in their '60's, has been to translate the Bible into the local language. Now, I've heard about this, of course, but getting it from them first hand is really amazing. You don't really think about it until someone spells it out for you. What goes into this process?

The first step, of course, is to learn the language. So you go to where they speak it and you immerse yourself in their lives. Aunt Esther was a nurse, so they did that first by going there to provide medical care for a backward people with no such care available. Having learned the language, the next step is to write and read the language. In this case, no one could write and read the language because there was no written form. So this step requires 1) a clear understanding of the nuances of the language and 2) the ability to create an alphabet that fits the nuances. Me'tpha, for instance, is a tonal language. That means that it has a whole set of distinct sounds that the standard alphabet cannot accomodate. So they have to create new letters that stand for those sounds. Of course, you have to minimize that so that others might be able to follow somewhat, so it's a daunting task in itself. And, of course, in this day of computers, which could really ease this job, creating a new set of letters is a whole special job on its own.

Having established a written form of the language, your next task is to teach the people that written form. In other words, having learned the language yourself from scratch and then teaching yourself to write it, your next job is to teach others who have never read or written their language to do just that. Now, keep in mind that there is not, at this point, any books available with which to teach them to read. So, while the governments are happy to have you teach their people to read and write, you're going to have to create the books for them to read. What do to, what to do? Hey, I know! Let's translate the Bible into their language and then you can teach them to read it! So, under the politically acceptable phrase, "literature of high moral content", they start the long process of translation. Translating from English to Me'tpha is not the right approach. No. They have to translate from the original languages (Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic) to give them the most accurate Bible they can. So, one book at a time, step by step, they begin translating the New Testament.

Now, their fundamental purpose, of course, is to share the Gospel ... to make disciples. So, throughout the process thus far they have been sharing the Gospel, training converts, and building a church in this people group. As they do the translation work, then, they are teaching the church to read and sharing Scripture with them. This gives them the Word (of paramount importance), but also involves them in the translation. However, this translation process itself is tedious. It's not straightforward. First, you translate, say, John 1. Then you give it to someone who can read the language and communicate with you in another language -- say, Spanish. So you have them read the passage in your Me'tpha translation and then write down what they understood it to mean in Spanish. Then you give the Spanish version to someone else who reads Spanish and have them compare it with the Spanish translation of John 1. If it's a match, you have a good translation. On to John 2.

Uncle Mark and Aunt Esther have been at this for nearly 40 years. They've translated much of the New Testament. Their goal, before they retire ("retire" means "too old to do it anymore") is to finish the New Testament, Genesis, and some of the Psalms. As they've progressed, they've found new challenges. They set out, for instance, to translate the Bible into the language of the particular region. As it turned out, there are seven dialects in that region, and attempting to merge them is insulting to the rest. So they've had to work on more translations. One of the biggest challenges is to work themselves out of a job. To accomplish this, they need to 1) bring locals to Christ, 2) bring those believers to a level of maturity that enables them to minister, and 3) involve them in the work to the point that they can continue all facets on their own. They've had to learn a variety of languages, including Spanish, Me'tpha, some Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew. They've recruited help that has also learned Spanish, English, Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew. They've trained pastors, taught people to read and write, and taught those who help with the work to not only use computers, but to use the specially modified computers with the new set of letters. They've involved non-Christians in the work by getting them to read the Me'tpha translations and translate them into Spanish. (If you want to be most accurate, you want someone who is completely unfamiliar with the text to read the translation and then translate it because they won't be influenced by what they think it's supposed to say.) And, along the way, they've raised a family of kids who, with the exception of one, are all in the mission field themselves. (That exception teaches at Biola University.)

Well, it's truly a daunting task, bringing the Scripture to a language that never had it. SIL is so adept at this task that Microsoft has gone to them to get their letter sets to add to their fonts. And day by day God is adding to their numbers in Mexico. They've been through cultural and political revolutions. They've been chased out and invited back. Most impressive to me is their positive perspective. "We know Who is in charge," they said, "so there's nothing to really worry about, is there?" I found their story fascinating. I was encouraged by their attitudes, their progress, and their love for the Lord and their neighbors in Mexico. I have new things to pray for now.