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This course/module has been a bit different than normal. The seven language groups finished translating the book of Mark in the February module and took copies back to their villages for checking between modules. They returned in June with a list of corrections that needed to be made to create a nearly final copy that will be checked by a trained consultant hopefully in the next few months.

Our fearless leader

So this module has been spent making those final corrections, double checking spelling and key terms and finishing up a “back translation” (translation done from the language into English by someone that didn’t work on the original translation—this is a tool used by the consultants to make sure that meaning is being correctly conveyed).

The Taupota language team working with their mentor on corrections

In addition to the above work, this module has also been a time for the participants to learn/polish typing skills. We have a number of small AlphaSmart Neos. They are small word processor-type computers that have a full keyboard and a small screen, about 4 lines long, and they run off 3 AA batteries. These allow the participants to do their own typing of stories and songs on their own time to increase the volume of language resources. These can then be used for storybooks in schools, songs for church songbooks, and more information about the language--which is helpful for analysis of the language, an important step in a good translation.

Members from the Maiadom and Kakabai language teams doing typing practice

We have also taken some time to work on expanding dictionaries. We have acquired two really nice posters on the flora and fauna of PNG. It is so helpful to a match PNG language name to its English name using the pictures on these posters! I have spent some time working with the Kakabai (Kah-kuh-bye) language team on the dictionary work and realize that it is a bit of a handicap for me to not be familiar with the plants animals in this area of the world! I just haven’t seen enough Cassowaries to know what to properly call, in English, the name of the pokey things that they have that are not called “feathers”—pictures and descriptive books really are an asset (by the way…we decided on quill/spine)!

Members and mentor from the Ghayavi language team looking at posters for words to add to their dictionary