FYI. This concerns one of what I presume to be many ongoing Bible translation efforts in Africa. I pass it on as I found it in a search for something else and it concerns a variety of Fula that I have studied (though under entirely separate circumstances). It is also of interest in that I met Scott Crickmore in Niamey in 2000, when he and his wife Mary were there for a meeting on Fulfulde - it turns out that I knew her many years before (70-71!) when my family briefly lived next door to hers in a town called Wheaton, Illinois. What were the odds that two high-school kids from the same neighborhood in the US would later specialize in different ways in the same African language?
Don Osborn November 24, 2006 Malian Translation of New Testament Completed http://www.crwrc.org/?action=d7_article_viewer_view_article&Join_ID=132812 Kristen DeRoo VanderBerg After more than 15 years of work by many translators and collaborators, missionaries in Mali are excited to announce that the New Testament is now available in the Maasina Fulfulde language. This will make the gospel story accessible for the first time to more than 1 million Fulfulde speakers in Mali who have never seen the Bible in their mother tongue. "It is a thrilling time for us," said CRWRC staff member, Scott Crickmore, one of the people who worked on the project, "a time for rejoicing." Fulfulde is a language spoken in 17 African countries in some form. Numerous dialects, however, make exact communication in Fulfulde difficult from country to country. Some experts estimate that at least 7 different Bible translations would be needed to make it comprehensible to all Fulfulde speakers. The edition being introduced this week is based on the dialect spoken by the Fulbe people in Mali. Scott and Mary Crickmore produced the first draft by a computer program that adapted the New Testament from the Fulfulde dialect spoken in Senegal. Translators from Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Norwegian Mission Society then revised texts one verse and chapter at a time. Christian Reformed Church missionaries, including Scott and Mary Crickmore and Larry Vanderaa from Christian Reformed World Missions, checked these verses for comprehension by bringing them to villages and asking local people to tell them which parts did not sound correct. "When we came across a very difficult verse, we wrote alternatives to express the Greek original on a small blackboard and kept editing until it sounded right," Mary Crickmore explained, "Then I would type their comments up on the computer and send it all by satellite modem to the translators." Now that this team effort is complete, many who worked on it are reuniting for a dedication service this weekend. "It is almost like a family reunion as many friends who have walked this road with us are coming home to participate," Scott reflected. The dedication service will take place in Mopti, Mali on November 26. "We are expecting around 400 people, including government officials, the head of the Protestant Church in Mali, and many of the small group of Fulbe believers," said Scott. "Please pray that the dedication ceremony would go well. That Jesus would be glorified and that Satan would be hindered," Scott continued. "Our hope is that as government officials are seen accepting these Fulfulde New Testaments, many would be encouraged to explore this new book for themselves." Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
