Gullah Spokesperson Presents Gullah New Testament to U.S. Congresswoman Sue Myrick
For more information, contact:
Arthur Lightbody
JAARS Media Relations Officer
1-704-843-6048
arthur_lightbody@sil.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WAXHAW, N.C. — July 4, 2008 — Mary Ravenell, from Orangeburg, S.C. rode on the JAARS float in Waxhaw’s July 4th parade today and read portions of the Gullah New Testament to parade watchers. She drove all the way from Miami, Fla. yesterday to participate. The JAARS float highlighted the New Testament translations for the Gullah speakers of the Atlantic coast and the Hawaii Pidgin-speakers of the Pacific islands, following the parade’s “From Sea to Shining Sea” theme.
Mary Ravenell, a middle school teacher and youth minister in Orangeburg, S.C. is the spokesperson for the Gullah New Testament. Upon reading preliminary translated portions of the New Testament in Gullah for the first time in July of 2005, she said, “My heart just swelled within me when I read it. This is the way I had interpreted it to the older people who can’t read or write. It was like I had come home to the Word of God, because it was the way my grandmother read it to me!”
Ravenell was warmly received by U.S. Congresswoman Sue Myrick and Waxhaw Mayor Daune Gardner in a V.I.P. meeting before the parade and presented each of them a copy of the Gullah New Testament.
Following the parade Ravenell said, “My passion for the promotion of the Gullah Bible was enhanced by my participation in the Waxhaw parade.” She added her appreciation for the Waxhaw parade’s unity theme of “From Sea to Shining Sea,” represented by the “JAARS float’s fusion of the Gullah music on one end of the float with the Hawaiin music on the other end and the mix of children and older people of experience.”
Gullah, or Sea Island Creole, is a creole language spoken by the descendants of West African slaves brought to America from the late 1600s through the 1700s to work on rice plantations along the sea coast in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and northern Florida. The Gullah language therefore is derived from an older form of English and West African language forms.
Sometimes referred to as Sea Islanders, or “Geechees,” an estimated 250,000 Gullah people live in the U.S southern coastal region. Wycliffe Bible Translators’ involvement began in 1979.
Ravenell says, “The Gullah Bible has brought authenticity to a language that was labeled for so long as ‘broken’ English, something to be embarrassed about. It has certainly increased self-confidence and pride in a culture that was almost forgotten.”
Upon Wycliffe translator Pat Sharpe’s death in 2002, David and Lynn Frank joined the translation team, having previously helped translate the New Testament into St. Lucian Creole. Dr. David Frank, a creole languages expert, guided the translation team through to the final editing of the entire New Testament.
Several Gullah speakers served on the Sea Island Translation Team, with Ardell Greene and Vernetta Canteen from the Beaufort, S.C. area working hard the last few years of the project with Dr. Frank to complete the translation.
Dr. Frank says, “The translation will stand up to the scrutiny of scholars, but the church is the target audience for this new translation. Preachers will not have to make up translations into Gullah on the spot, and the translations will not be different each time.”
He adds, “The Gullah New Testament’s third edition is now being distributed. Without Mary Ravenell’s efforts, the distribution of these scriptures across the Lowcountry would not be so effective.”
JAARS had a significant helping role in the translation of the New Testament into Gullah. Elmer and Ruth Ash, Wycliffe members assigned at JAARS, provided practical help to the project, and JAARS provided monetary help as well as office space for the translation efforts.
The Gullah New Testament, which was published by the American Bible Society, is available for sale at the Townsend Gift Shop on the JAARS center (1-704-843-6104) or can be purchased on-line at www.bibles.com.
For More on the Gullah and Mary Ravenell:
Mary Ravenell, “The Post and Courier” Charleston, S.C.
Quotes and testimonials related to the Gullah New Testament
News release on the Nov. 5, 2005 event with more background information
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