Bright future for Kikamba translation project

KENYA — Earlier this year, Peter Meadows, Director of Giving and Communications at the British and Foreign Bible Society (BFBS), travelled to Kenya to visit a team of translators who are working on a Common Language Bible in Kikamba. Here he explains that, despite facing significant challenges, the translators are determined to ensure that Kikamba speakers, who number more than two million, have access to the Scriptures in clear, modern language.

The Rev Jonathan Kilonzo, a member of the Common Language Kikamba Old Testament translation team. Photo: BFBS/Brian Dacre (KEN06DJ-147.JPG)

I find the translators in a cramped, book-lined room at a compound in Machakos, a significant town 40 miles (64 kms) south-east of Nairobi. They give me a somewhat shy welcome, and I get the impression that they are more comfortable with books and study than with conversation. Gradually, though, they begin to explain why this new Bible translation is so desperately needed.

Serious problems

The existing edition, published in 1956, has serious errors. The team’s newest member, the Rev Charles Kimwele, explains.

“For example, the word used for ‘tax collector’ actually means ‘someone who gives money away’.”

His colleague the Rev Jonathan Kilonzo adds, “And ‘green pastures’ – at the heart of Psalm 23 – is the Kikamba word used for ‘belly of a ship’.”

The present translation, they tell me, is the result of an almost word-for-word rendition of the King James version. There are other problems, too.

“The mindset of Africans can mislead them,” says the third member of the team, Father Francis Maundu. “For example, where the Bible speaks of Christ dying for ‘the sins of the world’, this comes over as it being the world that has sinned, not man. So it seems like it’s nothing to do with them. We have to make it clear that Christ died for the sins of the people of the world.

“Our job is to make sure the translation is natural – in that it sounds right; accurate – it is what the original writer intended to get across; and clear – so there is no doubt at all about what it means.”

Not without pain

Guided by these principles, the translation team has already completed the Common Language Kikamba New Testament, which was launched in 2003. It is due to complete the translation of the Old Testament in 2007. The achievements so far have not been without pain. Even finding translators has been a challenge, as the team must be skilled and also representative of the main denominations.

Another challenge has been the lack of computers. Until recently, all the translators’ work had to be handwritten. Sheets of manuscript were then sent to the Bible Society of Kenya to be typed by somebody who did not speak the language. This meant that the text had to be drafted and redrafted many times.

Things are looking brighter now, however. The introduction of computers is speeding up the process, but the budget has only stretched to two. This means that Mr Kimwele, the last person to join the team, has to work flexibly, coming to the office early or staying late.

Things are set to improve further. The Kikamba team, one of seven translation teams working in Kenya, is now using specialist software developed by BFBS’s Machine Assisted Translation unit. This package can almost halve the time required, particularly by automatically checking for consistency between the use of words.

There is no doubt about the importance of this new translation. “We must have this new edition for the youth,” stresses the Rev Julius Mutuota, Chairman of the Kikamba translation committee. “They can’t understand the old Kikamba translation, even though it’s in their first language. Sixty per cent of the population are youth, and we must reach them. Please pray for us.”

This report refers to project 79906. An earlier report about the Kikamba translation project can be found in World Report 347/1. Based on an article in Word in Action, Winter 2006. (WR 407/19 - 12.07) [3 photos]