'So much translation getting done'
Translation is a deliberate, painstaking process, missionary Terry Reed explains.
“We are so grateful for the progress God is allowing us to make, and we are excited to see so much translation getting done.”
Terry says he and his co-worker, Santos, are close to finishing 1 Corinthians in Guarijio, while his co-worker, Vicente, finishes work on chapter 8 of the Gospel of Matthew.
“With Mark, Acts and Romans already done, we are praising the Lord for so much progress.”
Terry explains that translation work is complex. He must sit down with Vicente periodically to make certain he is following good procedure. This will ensure producing a translation that reflects natural Guarijio speech.
Terry wants to be careful to avoid producing a translation that is “too wooden.” This would happen if, rather than following a natural-sounding Guarijio language pattern, it follows instead Spanish speech patterns. Terry hopes to carefully help Vicente, who is fluent in both Spanish and Guarijio, avoid pitfalls that are common for mother-tongue-translators.
The Guarijio language makes the task more complicated.
Terry says that the language “has parts of speech that seem to float back and forth, because it was never before a written language.”
For example, he explains, “at times these appear as suffixes and other times they operate more like words.”
Additionally, Terry says that he and Vicente need to nail down disputed spellings for some words and settle some principles for apostrophes.
“We are so grateful for the progress God is allowing us to make, and we are excited to see so much translation getting done.”
Terry adds that translation work is a good experience for both his co-workers and himself.
As he explains and teaches them more about Guarijio grammar and punctuation, Terry learns, too. And he observes an irony in this careful work.
“It seems kind of strange that you often need an outsider to point out the intricacies of your own native tongue.”
Overall, Terry is encouraged. By God’s grace, the Guarijio translation work has gone well.
“It certainly appears that we are on track to have a lot of material ready for the translation consultants in March,” he says. “It is exciting to see so much progress.”