One Step at a Time

We’ve begun translating! It seems like it has taken a long time to get to that point, but here we are starting on a new journey of many steps. We’re still trying to figure out who gets which job, but we both (Rick and Anji) will be working on the translation. Our first attempt is the story of Joseph, found in Genesis 37, 39-47.

Right now I am working on doing the exegetical draft which means figuring out all the pieces of meaning in the source language and the relationships between those pieces of meaning and transferring that into Lusi. I am fortunate in that there are so many helps in English as I don’t know Hebrew.

First I read though the whole chapter in Genesis that I am looking at, then I read at least one good commentary. Then I break it into chunks, paragraph size. Then working a paragraph at a time, I read Translator’s notes (which has information on things like idioms and how other people have translated various phrases), at least 4 different English versions of the Bible, and one in Melanesian Pidgin, the trade language here. I have also gone to Strong’s Concordance and a Hebrew/English Interlinear version of the Bible among other things.

Then I think about how would the Lusi convey that same information with the same purpose and style as the original and write down my thoughts in Lusi, noting areas which I may need to dig deeper, or try for a more specific word, or for a more natural way to say a particular idea/phrase, or a better connector. It is a job of a 1000 decisions. Thankfully this is not the final product. It will be honed and tested along the way.

Sometimes I get stuck. Sometimes I bounce things off of Rick for a second opinion. So then I start again, back to the larger picture then down into juggling the details, trying not to drop any balls.

This is the exegetical draft, a very rough draft, the first of over 10 steps to reach the final product—hopefully scripture that will speak life to the Lusi. Today I worked my way through three paragraphs or 13 verses. This is not going to be a quick job or journey, but hopefully it will go faster as we get better at it!

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