Lausanne World Pulse – Themed Articles – Advancing Scripture Translation by Empowering Nationals

By Véroni Krüger
September 2009

Early Bible translation was done by nationals translating the Bible into their own language. It is also a fact that Bible translation done under the auspices of Bible societies has by and large typically been done by nationals.1

Some organizations who focused more on expatriate translators nevertheless made ample use of nationals (also called “mother tongue translators”). They were sometimes referred to as “helpers” or “informants” (or lately as “assistant translators”), when in fact they generally were the actual translators. The term “language consultant” is more acceptable when it refers to someone who provides data on a language. Applied to someone who does the actual work of translation simply because that person is a mother tongue translator, it is a misnomer.

S

tressing the advantages of empowering nationals to do the work of Bible translation does not imply that expatriate involvement is not valuable

and could be discontinued.

Expatriate translation developed as a result of the missionary intention, which by itself is praiseworthy and was part of God’s plan. However, since the early second half of the twentieth century, there has been an observable change in the focus of who does what.

Nationals Translating the Bible for Their Own People
The year 1970 has come to be regarded as the start of the era of non-missionary translation. That was the time when articles about the training of nationals started to appear.2 This seemed to be in accordance with a global shift in missions in general. The following press release issued after the Global Consultation on World Evangelization in 1995 (GCOWE ’95) illustrates this shift very well:

The Global Consultation on World Evangelization marks a radical shift from the days of American/European-only missions. According to Luis Bush of Argentina, International Director of the AD2000 & Beyond Movement, which organized GCOWE ’95, the consultation became “a rite of passage.” Not only were two-thirds of the participants from Africa, Latin America, and Asia, but the majority of the consultation’s funding came from those nations as well. Western missionaries took notes as African, Asian, and Latin American leaders presented their successful methodology. They had become full partners in the task.

There are numerous advantages to having nationals translate the Bible for their own people. Among these:

  1. Nationals are culturally conditioned and sensitive in reaching their own people for Jesus Christ.
  2. Nationals don’t need to spend years of study learning a foreign language in order to communicate effectively.
  3. Nationals, being born and raised in the countries in which they will minister, are physically and psychologically adjusted to both climate and culture.
  4. Nationals have rights and privileges that might not be extended to a foreigner.
  5. Nationals are organizationally simple and able to live, minister, and function on a far more basic level than that of their foreign counterparts. Most have never known the luxury of cars, offices, telephones, computers, or video equipment. For many nationals, a bicycle is a great luxury!
  6. Nationals do not need to go on furlough every few years.
  7. Nationals are economically conditioned to live on $30 to $50USD a month in many parts of the world. By contrast, the average cost for sending and sustaining a foreign missionary family of four is $35,000-$50,000USD a year.3

Also, translations made by nationals are more likely to be free of “translationese,” and are much more readily accepted by the speakers of that language. This is due to the fact that a national speaks his or her own language better than anyone else can ever learn to speak it.