Translating orally the message
First truths–God made all things
Genesis 1:1-2:4a
Proposed by Willis Ott, Oral Translation Consultant, Storying and Orality, SIL
(The author carries the full responsibility for the views expressed.)
The helps concerning this passage are offered as an option to translation teams for communicating the basic concepts of the Christian worldview in regard to the creation of human beings and this earth in which we live.
A team might communicate this passage as a story, if the listeners are accustomed to learning cultural values in story form. If the listeners are accustomed to learning cultural values in a song, an oral translation team should communicate this in a natural song. If the listeners are accustomed to learning cultural values in a chant, the team should communicate this in a natural chant form. For teams who choose a song or chant style, we suggest these steps:
- They should first make a tentative speaking translation. (We recommend that they develop the introduction and closure after they have made each Scripture unit. It is important that the listeners of the final product recognize that the speaker who introduces and closes believes the teaching in the Scripture.)
- They should find someone who has skill in making songs. They should sit down with that person and explain carefully the ideas they want to communicate in the song.
- They should play the speaking recording for the person, all the way through as many times that person desires to hear it.
- That person will likely soon think of a way to sing the first story part. Or he or she might develop the teaching first. He or she might use repetition wherever it is natural.
- When the team has developed a song that they like, they should sing it out to other people.
- When others learn to sing the song, it is likely that they will change some of the phrases. Some of their changes will be useful to the team. If someone begins to sing a mistaken meaning, the team might gently suggest the true meaning to him or her.
- When the team is satisfied with the song—that it is pleasant, that it is clear and that it is accurate, then they should make a recording that they can duplicate and distribute. (The speaker should be a older man.)
- Next, the team should develop the speeches that introduce and close the translation. These sentences might follow our guide or the team can choose however they wish to communicate. (The person speaks those sentences might be a younger person than the person who speaks the Scripture translation, since he is representing the Christian community.)
We recommend strongly that a storyteller or an oral translation team does not communicate any section headings, chapter or verse numbers. Such references are not relevant to oral communication. They are useful and needful in the printed media.
We offer the following helps for understanding the passages. We focus on the components to which the team should give attention.
The team might think of each unit as if it was a kind of basket woven with strong reeds. The introductions, the oralized Scripture portions and the closures together carry God’s message as if it was a kind of basket woven with strong reeds. We will call the baskets “Communication units” with “Sub-units” within them.
