A girl at the Nazareta pre- and primary school of the FJKM Church. Photo: UBS/Haldor Noss (MAD01C10_14.JPG)

A girl at the Nazareta pre- and primary school of the FJKM Church Photo: UBS/Haldor Noss (MAD01C10_1.JPG)

A boy with a New Reader Portion at the Nazareta pre- and primary school of the FJKM Church. Photo: UBS/Haldor Noss (MAD01C8_21.JPG)

Bible in modern Malagasy
set to reach young people

MADAGASCAR — How much does a language change from one generation to the next? In the case of Malagasy, a great deal. This is why the Malagasy Bible Society has embarked on a major project which will bring God’s Word up to date for the country’s five million Protestants.

The Malagasy Bible was published as long ago as 1835, at a time when the country’s Christians were suffering great persecution. It was revised in 1887, but since then has remained unchanged.

Evolved

With Malagasy having evolved significantly over the decades, as languages naturally do, many of today’s Christians no longer understand the old Bible. This is why the Bible Society has linked with partners including the Reformed Church, the Anglican Church and the Lutheran Church to launch a revision project.

The first step towards producing a revised Protestant Bible was taken in October, when the Bible Society and its partners met with United Bible Societies translation staff Dr Aloo Mojola, Dr Daud Soesilo and Dr Krijn van der Jagt to discuss guidelines for the work ahead. In total, 15 guidelines covering issues such as the handling of proper names were agreed.

Special service

This meeting was followed by a special service at Ambatovinaky Lutheran Church in Antananarivo in April at which those appointed to lead the revision project – Pastor Rabarijaona Brigitte of the Reformed Church, Pastor Stephenson Rakotoarivony of the Lutheran Church and the Rev Lovaniaina Randrianavolana of the Anglican Church – were officially presented to the Christian community. An address was given by former Bible Society Board Chair Archbishop Joseph Rabenirina, who emphasised the importance of this project in overcoming the problem of many people using the Bible “without knowing the main message treasured in it”.

Valuable tool

Inevitably, some people who have been using the existing Protestant Bible for many years do not feel comfortable with the idea of it being revised. However, the Bible Society believes that a revised Bible will be a valuable tool for reaching young people who are not familiar with the language of the old one.

Half understand

“How would they perceive a Bible which is addressing them in a language they only half understand?” asks General Secretary Marc Rakoto. The Interconfessional Common Language Malagasy Bible was launched in June 2003: see Latest News #253.

This report refers to project 81104. (WR 402/7 - 06.06) [4 photos]