Translation checking (by Jennings)

Gospel of Luke in a local language

Last week, I had a rare opportunity to sit with our senior translation consultant as she worked with one of the translation teams based here in Bunia. They were doing a final check of I Corinthians. It is an incredibly hard book to translate (though not as hard, I'm told, as Romans or Hebrews). They had done an admirable job, especially considering that they didn't have access to any of the normal helps for translators - commentaries, manuals, translation guides. There is a huge amount available in English, but the French versions are coming out at a slow pace. So they had worked from the available Bible versions they have - several French versions, a Congolese Swahili version, and - most importantly - a French/Greek interlinear.

This particular team - much like the team I work with normally in Goma - are displaced from their home area because of ongoing militia activity ("activity" being a woefully mild euphemism.) They live in a part of town called the "cité", in a neighborhood comprised largely of people from their same ethnic group, many of whom have also fled to Bunia for safety. (The population of the city grew 10-fold with the 1998-2003 war.)

Once we started, the consultant was able to find electronic copies of translation guides in French - still rough drafts, but better than nothing - written by a consultant in Cameroon. These were a great help. We worked hard for a week and got through the first four chapters.

I learned a lot about working through hard material with a team. I took pages of notes about how they got to the meaning of hard verses and thought through the best way to make it understandable to their audience. Most important, I think, was the way the consultant interacted with the team. She used every opportunity to train them in how to find the answer for themselves rather than handing it to them. She scolded them when they had let something slip that they really should have caught themselves. She worked hard, and kept a positive and encouraging attitude. I think they will go on from here better equipped and, hopefully, encouraged.

As usual, some of the most memorable moments came during break times, especially mid-morning tea. I asked them how things were in their hometown. They said people had gotten so used to gunfire that they hardly flinched when they heard it. In fact, they laugh at people who are startled by it. But, they do always check to see what it's about. If, for example, it's because some guy wanted someone to give him a kilo of meat and he was refused and got mad and shot his gun, then no worries. But if it's something that might actually be a threat to them, they grab their suitcases and run.

Last year, for a colleague's birthday, I baked a chocolate cake and took pieces around for all the translators. These guys were very impressed and said it was the kind of thing they would only eat at a wedding. (Baked goods are rare here - few people have ovens, and flour and sugar are expensive.) So on Tuesday I made muffins for them. They were very pleased, so I made some on Friday as well. They asked, is there banana inside? yes. One of them recalled that the cake I brought last year was sort of... brown...? Ah yes, I said. That was chocolate. Ah, yes, chocolate!

The last morning, around 9:00, one of the translators got a phone call from the chief of the cité, saying that he had to meet him at the round-about at the entrance to town at 10:00. Sharp. Like the other translators, he is a pastor. They are often called upon to help in political matters, to mediate disputes, etc. He had to rush home to get his good suit so he could be at the appointed spot in time. We were reminded that, even though these men are full-time translators, they have pastoral responsibilities that go way beyond what we realize.

It is humbling to work with them, and it encourages me to want to be the best consultant I can.