Vision and Ministry

Our vision is to see people using a deeper, conscious understanding of their own language to translate well and naturally, ultimately so that others in their community can be impacted by God's word in a language that speaks to them. This his how my work - "linguistics" - is one part of supporting Wycliffe's mission - "Bible  translation" - which is one part of God's mission of drawing people to Himself. Even with our transition to the US, this vision of supporting Bible translation through linguistics has not changed.  But some of the details of my job and how this is done have.

While in Cameroon, I supported this vision directly through working with translators to help them understand how their language works or training Africans to work with others in this way.  I will continue this more direct involvement for 25% of my time even from the US. Part of this is working long-distance with Jeanine, a linguistic intern in Mali.  I also have taken and will continue to take trips back to Cameroon to help with training, primarily with i-DELTA, a 3 year training program for Africans in fields related to Bible translation: translation, literacy, linguistics, media, and Scripture engagement.

My new assignment in linguistic computing will fill the remaining 75% of my work time. I will be supporting language workers as they use a computer tool (FLEx) to gain linguistic insights and thus further Bible translation. .FLEx helps people gain the needed knowledge of their language in two major ways – through dictionary making and text analysis. It is also a blessing to the larger secular linguistic community, and thus a Christian witness.

FLEx is a great tool for dictionary building, allowing multiple people to contribute to a database that can be published both in print and online. A dictionary in a language can help a translation project in various ways. First, it facilitates consistent spelling. Second, it allows the translators to look up words, either using the national language or by categories of meaning (for example, items related to trees), to remind them of options that might not quickly come to mind. Finally, a published dictionary lends prestige to a language, which can help in the promotion of the language and of the translated Scriptures. I personally had a lot of experience using FLEx for dictionary creation in Suo. 

FLEx can be used to analyze texts. It can help note the meaning of various parts of words by suggesting analyses for words already seen or items set-up in the dictionary. Various tools, including lists of locations where both words and constructions are found, can help users discover grammatical meaning. The insights gained provide translators with the knowledge needed for accurate, natural translation. I personally used FLEx in this way to prepare for my work with the Bana, leading to a local, simple grammar for the translators and the community. 

FLEx is also a witness. Many Wycliffe members, including me, work overseas with SIL, a faith-based linguistic organization. FLEx is one of SIL’s major contributions to the broader linguistic community and is recognized as such. I heard several secular linguists expressing thanks to SIL for FLEx in their presentations at a conference I attended several years ago.

Currently, the rest of our work time is focused on expanding our prayer and financial partnership team so that I can carry out this new assignment. This is also ministry, as it involves sharing the vision for Bible translation, explaining my role (past, present and future) in this ministry, and inviting others to participate with us in it. Once we've reached our target budget, I'll be released to start my new job.