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What if you were the one?

John of Japan

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Just finished an hour with a young translator who is doing his internship with our professor of linguistics and me. He is going to be translating the OT into a middle-eastern language. (Someone else did the NT.) One country where it is spoken is radical Islam, so I'm not revealing the language (which is actually spoken in several countries). This is all very exciting to us here, of course. He's doing an awesome job.

He has done parts of the NT for various classes. He hasn't started the OT yet, but is working on his personal grammar of the language. This is a very important step for a translator. For someone translating into Rohingya this would be a very important step. It's not like you can buy or even order a Rohingya grammar at the local bookstore. It doesn't exist in book form!

You would also want to produce your own dictionaries, Rohingya does have dictionaries, at least. But you would want a dictionary that included the original and what you would normally translate it into in the target language. If you have a good enough memory for words, this would be in your head. But working through Revelation recently, one of our Japanese proofreaders pointed out to me that for οἰνος, Uncle Miya and I had chosen a different target word than what was in the rest of the NT. So we had to rethink that. The brain is aging, folks.
 
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RighteousnessTemperance&

Well-Known Member
…But working through Revelation recently, one of our Japanese proofreaders pointed out to me that for οἰνος, Uncle Miya and I had chosen a different target word than what was in the rest of the NT. So we had to rethink that. The brain is aging, folks.
Re that particular word, how quaint that you would attribute the memory lapse to aging rather than too much saki. :Wink
 

John of Japan

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Things to consider about a possible Rohingya linguist for such a project;

1. Believing translators are necessary, though non-believers can be a help. Having a native speaker catch the burden and lead the work is ideal. A missionary linguist can also lead the work if necessary. What is most important is who God gives the burden for leadership to.

2. An unbelieving translator will either get saved or quit after awhile.

3. The linguist need not have formal training, but does need to be gifted by God.
 
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