THE EMERGENT LATIN AMERICAN BIBLE TRANSLATION FORCE

Washington and Mayi Flores are among 50 Spanish speaking Latin Americans partnering with Wycliffe Bible Translators in the Bible translation movement. They are members of an Ecuadorean mission called Fundación Misionera Global—FUMIG (Global Missionary Foundation), and plan to develop a literacy program for the Xochapa Mixteco in Mexico.

COMIBAM (Cooperación Misionera Ibero American), a network of mission minded organizations with the stated mission of helping “the Ibero-American church to become a missionary community, able to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations,” reports that by 2006, Ibero America had sent more than 10,000 missionaries from about 400 sending organizations. (“Ibero American” refers to the Spanish and Portuguese speaking people from Portugal, Spain and the Americas).

Jose de Dios, the director of the Wycliffe Bible Translators International for the Americas, says “Given the explosion of mission interest in Latin America, Wycliffe needs to partner with existing and emerging mission organizations.”

A key to speeding up the involvement of Latin Americans in Bible translation is to make the necessary training for Bible translators more accessible. Another essential aspect is speeding up the application process.

In past years it was difficult for Spanish-speaking people to become a member of Wycliffe Bible Translators to serve directly in Bible translation if their English was not strong enough to attend an SIL course taught in English. But now, Spanish-speaking Latin Americans who desire to serve in language development in partnership with Wycliffe and SIL International can take their first step toward involvement in language development work, as the Flores did, by enrolling in a Curso Fundamental (Basic Course). The course is offered in several locations throughout the Americas as a prerequisite to more advanced courses. It is designed to provide basic skills for cross-cultural missions.

The traditional method for Wycliffe in other contexts had been to set up Wycliffe organizations and require Wycliffe membership for engagement in Bible translation worldwide.

In South and Central America, Spanish speaking churches and mission mobilization organizations may sponsor translation personnel directly. These sponsoring organizations are responsible for legal and pastoral care in their home countries, while field work in language communities is coordinated by SIL or other organizations focused on language work. De Dios says that Wycliffe International’s role is to assist its partners and SIL in this process.

The Wycliffe organization “Associação Lingüística Evangélica Missionária” (ALEM), had already been established 25 years ago to mobilize Brazilians in the Bible translation movement.

Wycliffe Bible Translators, since its incorporation in 1942, has relied on its partner, SIL International, to provide training in language analysis and linguistic applications for language workers. Wycliffe’s Vision 2025 is “that by the year 2025 a Bible translation project will be in progress for every people group that needs it.” A critical part of this is SIL’s goal of passing on its academic knowledge and professional skills to all who can use them.

This focus on building capacity has required new courses to be conceived and implemented for training the emergent mission force throughout the Americas. In addition to those involved in the Bible translation movement, these courses are staffed by and train members from several mission organizations.

The Basic Course provides training in language learning skills, cultural empathy, anthropology, phonetics and introduction to linguistics. In addition to Argentina where the Flores studied, this course is currently offered in Bolivia, Colombia, Cost Rica, Paraguay, Peru, El Salvador and Mexico.

The second step for Spanish-speaking Latin Americans to prepare for field language work is Curso Internacional de Lingüística, Traducción y Alfabetización (The International Course for Linguistics, Translation and Literacy, CILTA), located at the Universidad Ricardo Palma in Lima, Peru.

CILTA prepares students for linguistic investigation in minority or lesser known languages, and to contribute to the development of those languages through literacy and translation programs.

Peruvian student Jasmín Jauler says, “Taking this course has helped me to figure out things that I hadn’t understood very well, while opening my eyes to worlds I didn’t even know existed. The fact that we have professors that are academically sound and who also have decades of practical field experience gives students a wide panorama of different perspectives.”

COMIBAM is a major partner with Wycliffe in recruiting students for the Basic Course and CILTA. They also provide oversight to for the Basic Course and help train the staff that teaches the course.

Fifteen Spanish speaking Latin Americans who have been sent by Latin American mobilization organizations partner with SIL in language programs in Mexico, Peru, Papua New Guinea, Asia and other areas.

Washington and Mayi Flores are now applying what they learned at the Basic Course (CCMT) in Argentina in 2002 and CILTA in 2003 as they study Xochapa Mixteco. Washington says, “CCMT and CILTA taught us the methods to learn the language, but also our teachers shared about their field experiences. In addition, we had the opportunity to travel to a community to see the work done there. All these experiences gave us a clear vision of the work among minority people and God used them to confirm our call to work with minority people.”

ALEM, founded 25 years ago and headquartered in Brasília, was organized principally to carry on training for language work begun by SIL Brazil, initiating the Portuguese-language training course called Curso de Lingüística e Missiologia (CLM).

An early CLM student was a seminary graduate named Norval da Silva who took the course in 1989. He later received a Master of Arts degree in Biblical Exegesis and Linguistics from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1991, a degree that is offered jointly with the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics, an SIL partner.

Da Silva says, “From very early in my life I had a feeling for languages. But it was only when I took the CLM course that I had a good grasp of what linguistics is all about. It came as a confirmation that the Lord really wanted to use us in cross-cultural work, especially Bible Translation.”

A former ALEM director, Da Silva worked on the adaptation of the Tembé New Testament from Guajajara and also helped with the completion of the whole Bible in Guajajara. The DaSilvas are currently assigned to their third language group. DaSilva’s wife Lau has been involved in literacy efforts in the two languages the DaSilvas have been assigned to, and is currently completing a degree in Linguistics.

Norval da Silva also trains others, both at the CLM course and in Guinea Bissau, West Africa along with ALEM co-workers Isaac and Shirley Souza, also trained initially at the CLM. Shirley Souza and Da Silva assist translators translating Scripture in their own mother tongues, using Portuguese and Portuguese Creole as a medium. Training remains central to ALEM’s ethos, although it also has 19 language projects in Brazil and three in Africa and Asia.

Helpful links:

ALEM: http://www.missaoalem.org.br/

A Toda Lengua, links to Latin American mission mobilization organizations: http://www.atodalengua.org/

CILTA: http://www.sil.org/training/show_program_page.asp?by=134

CLM: http://www.missaoalem.org.br/clm/

COMIBAM: http://www.comibam.org

SIL academic courses worldwide:
http://www.sil.org/training/show_programs.asp?by=all

Wycliffe International — Americas Area: http://americas.wycliffe.net/

—Arthur Lightbody
March 2008