A TIme to Reflect

Abstract:

Since the inception of Oral Bible Translation strategies, there has been a need for independent authentication of the results of these projects by recognized translation consultants. This paper is based on a series of recorded interviews with consultants with first-hand experience in these projects, and highlights different impressions they have of their experiences in these projects.

The following are examples of comments made by consultants, given here as an introduction. The paper will expand on these and other responses:

Consultant A: “I’ve found myself being pushed to be more accepting of far more dynamic translation choices than I may have in the past. The implied information that could be placed in footnotes or that does not seem so important in written translations where something can be reread, suddenly becomes vital when it is going to provide important connections and more processing time for a listener.”

Consultant B: “Consistency checks, particularly of key terms, seems to require a written transcription of OBT products”

Consultant C: “Our experience is challenging our assumptions about OBT. For example, we tended to assume oral-preference people have these amazing memories, and they therefore can do translate almost verbatim … but experience shows that this is not necessarily the case… Sometimes it’s the more educated people in the community that can capture all the detail of a chunk of Scripture.”