Step 1 - DRAFTING: The Jita translators adapted the book from Swahili to Jita.
Step 2 - TRANSLATION ADVISOR CHECKING: I studied the text to make sure the meaning of the original was communicated accurately.
Step 3 - COMMUNITY TESTING: We invited Jita speakers to listen to the text and help us make improvements.
Step 4 - CONSULTANT CHECKING: We worked with a veteran Bible translator to make improvements.
Step 5 - SPELL CHECKING: We carefully checked the text for spelling, punctuation, grammar and any other errors.
Now it's time for...
Step 6 - READ ALOUD CHECK
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| Neema, Ben and Magoma reading the book of Jonah in Jita |
This is a fun step because we move away from our desks and computers and go outside into the fresh air. We read the whole book as a narrative, as a story, and listen to how it sounds.
As we read, we listen for natural pauses in the story and make sure that our punctuation is helpful to the reader. We also make sure that the story flows easily and that each paragraph is connected to the next. We even discovered a few phrases that were not clear so we made some minor adjustments.
This particular day was exciting because as we were reading out loud, two of the office workers, also Jita speakers, stopped their work because they were entranced by the sound of God's Word in their own language. Again, I find myself thanking God for the privilege of serving with this team.
