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In addition to the fun challenge of deciphering odd-sounding English phrases as he checks translated Scriptures for clarity, accuracy, and naturalness, Bob also has to remember what name he goes by with each language group. Yes, that\u2019s right, he gets called many different names \u2013 depending on the cultural perspective of the language group. For example, in the area of the Moi people, whose translation he was checking in early July, there is a unique tradition regarding people\u2019s names. Many of the boys are named after trees, while girls are given the names of flowers. For that reason, several years ago on one of Bob\u2019s first trips into that area, he was given the name \u201cManggapiya\u201d or \u201cMango Tree,\u201d and he is still known by that name among the two people groups there. On the other end of the country, several people groups change a person\u2019s name when they have their first child and again when they have their first grandchild. So, according to their system, Bob\u2019s name changed to \u201cPa\u2019 Stefen\u201d (Father of Stephen) in 1987, then in 2007 he became \u201cKe\u2019 Megi\u201d (Grandfather of Maggie)!<\/p>\n
So, on this trip Manggapiya checked over 1100 verses (Luke + Galatians 1-3) for the Moi speakers in one location and then traveled to a different province where Ke\u2019 Megi checked about the same amount for the speakers of the Hobongan language (1&2 Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, Revelation, & ~500 OT verses)!<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0By the Numbers<\/h3>\n
It may not surprise us too much that vocabulary, idiomatic phrases, and names would be different in foreign languages. But at least when we get to numbers, we should be able to expect to find a refuge of constancy and immutability, right? Wrong! Among the people in the eastern end of the Asia-Pacific region, in order to say the number 20 they would say, \u201cone man,\u201d and so the number 100 would be \u201cfive men.\u201d Therefore, the centurion in the Gospels was a man who commanded \u201cfive men of soldiers.\u201d Why? Well, (as is obvious to the native speakers) the natural way to count is to recognize that one man has a total of 20 fingers and toes!<\/p>\n
Applying that simple logic, Bob was able to check 55 men of verses for each of the Moi and Hobongan language groups during this trip. In between those two checks, another consultant checked 37 men of verses for the Tugutil New Testament project. That brings the percentage of the NT completed to four men and one finger for the Tugutil, five men for the Moi, and nearly three men for the Hobongan!<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Hobongan<\/em> speakers and their translator<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n As promised, here are the interpretations of the idiomatic language mentioned in the first section above, plus a few bonus phrases:<\/p>\n \u201cLet your blood be hard!<\/em>\u201d = \u201cBe brave\/courageous!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe face of the day is to the right when going upriver<\/em>.\u201d = \u201cThere are thunderclouds to the east.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe cut the talk with people who were watching big over the people of Jesus\u2019 group<\/em>.\u201d = \u201cWe had a meeting\/discussion with the leaders of Jesus\u2019 followers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTighten your throats<\/em>.\u201d = \u201cBe determined \/ steadfast.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou are just saying it to me with your lips<\/em>.\u201d = \u201cYou are not speaking truthfully (from the heart \u2013 i.e., you are being deceitful\/hypocritical).\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe work of his mind has an eye<\/em>.\u201d = \u201cHe is very sharp \/ always able to grasp things easily.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe adults save food for ourselves, yet our children are just folded\/bent over (with hunger)<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 This wording was used as an illustration of studying God\u2019s Word for ourselves but not teaching our children.<\/p>\n We are praising the Lord that our son Steve returned home safely in late July from his second deployment. He is now renovating part of his house, including the basement which unfortunately flooded while he was overseas. Also, his three girls all had birthdays, so now Maggie is 11 years old, and the twins Katie and Jade are 9!<\/p>\n Michelle and her husband John have had a busy summer and are doing well in their respective jobs. We look forward to a short family vacation with them and Steve and his girls next month.<\/p>\n Debbie continues to enjoy her job working in the Physical Therapy department at a local hospital. She also plays a major role in helping take care of Bob\u2019s parents when we go up to Michigan two weekends per month.<\/p>\n On that note, we would appreciate your prayers for Bob\u2019s parents who are in their late 80\u2019s and are facing several health issues. We are very glad that we now live close enough that we can drive up to make frequent visits and be a help to them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We hope that you have enjoyed the Summer of 2018 which is quickly drawing to a close. Even after living in the tropics for so many years, we really look forward to the cooler temperatures that come with Fall in the Midwest!<\/p>\n Thanks for reading our update. We appreciate your interest and involvement in our ministry!<\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The Problem with Languages Have you ever heard anyone say, \u201cThe only problem with foreign languages is that they have a different word for everything!\u201d? Although that is generally true, there is another fundamental issue which makes it very challenging to learn another language. The fact is, the worldview of the native speakers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[448],"class_list":["post-274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-family","category-ministry","tag-ethnos360","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/bob-clark\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/bob-clark\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/bob-clark\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/bob-clark\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/bob-clark\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/bob-clark\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/bob-clark\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/bob-clark\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/bob-clark\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Idiomatic language deciphered<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0On the Home Front<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Because of Calvary,<\/em><\/h3>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Bob & Debbie Clark<\/em><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"