Could you be a Bible translation worker?

The task of translation is as old as human civilization. Ever since human beings began to communicate in diverse languages and symbols, it became necessary that meaning was conveyed via channels of translation or interpretation. This was the story of the translation of the Hebrew ancient Scriptures into the prevalent Greek of the second and third centuries BCE, known as the Septuagint. Since then, Bible translation has evolved throughout Christian history.

In the ancient Jewish context, only highly-trained reverent scribes were given the responsibility of translating and recopying texts. Jerome, who is acknowledged as the translator of the Latin Vulgate, was a highly-trained scholar in the biblical languages. Later in the 19th century Gold Coast (Ghana), J. Zimmermann and J. Christaller, along with well-trained local translators such as Jakob Nikoi and Thomas Kwatei were instrumental in the making of the Ga and Akuapem-Twi Scriptures. These persons were learned in Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic.

Today, different translation agencies have varied qualifications when recruiting a translation team. For example, the translation team for the Bible Society of Ghana (BSG), which is a member of the United Bible Societies (UBS), is made up of translators, committee of reviewers, Computer-Assisted Publishing Officer (CAPO), and the translation consultant.

Qualities of Bible translators

The work of a translator involves but is not limited to the drafting of text from the source languages (Hebrew and Greek) guided by a UBS approved model text. Translators work in teams and so after drafting, they must review the text as a team and do same with the community of reviewers. Based on these, key qualifications of a Bible translator include:

• Education: Translation work covers three basic fields: linguistics, theology and anthropology. A translator is required to have the minimum qualification of a first degree in any of them from a reputable institution. In contemporary times, translation work involves the use of technology such as a laptop, the appropriate software to host translation projects (e.g. Paratext), among others. A translator must therefore have some basic IT skills.
• Profession: Translators are often recruited from professions such as teaching, and church workers such as pastors, ministers, elders, or professions that involve working among the community concerned. Any of these backgrounds is relevant to the work of a Bible translator.
• Human relations: Translators need to relate and collaborate with members of the community to discover appropriate language terms for translating key biblical concepts. They also work in teams; therefore, translators need cordial human relation skills, good negotiation skills and tolerance. Each member’s views and comments ought to be respected to arrive at a consensus.
• Spirituality or church standing: The Bible translator represents the beliefs of the Christian community and should therefore have a good Christian witness. The church community must also recognize the translator as one of them. This is more crucial in sign language translation where the output is in video format. The sign language translator must be someone the Deaf community endorses.

Conclusion

Bible translation is a meticulous, artistic and spiritual work; therefore, translators need prayer support and encouragement. It is an important work for missions and definitely needs the financial support of the Church, so that God’s Word will be translated into the thousands of dialects in the world, causing the gospel to reach billions of people in our generation.