Africa

Words paint wonderful pictures, making Africa’s languages rich with intriguing proverbs. For example:

“He who earns his living in the sun eats in the shade.”
“I pointed out to you the stars and all you saw was the tip of my finger.” 
“He who does not ask questions has nothing to learn.”

Translation Today

Africa is home to thousands of distinct languages and cultures. Africans often take a primary role in many translation projects, either leading or participating in a translation project in their own language or another language. Nigeria alone is sending as many as five missionaries to other fields of service for every missionary who now enters their country. Several African countries also have their own Bible translation organizations.

The Bantu Initiative

Many of the approximately 500 Bantu languages in central and southern Africa still do not have a complete Bible translation. Yet God’s Word is becoming accessible to millions of speakers of Bantu languages through the Bantu Initiative. This initiative is addressing Bantu translation needs on a macro level. New computer programs analyze Bantu languages helping translation teams begin simultaneous translations across many of them.

Literacy, a Strategy for Success

Literacy plays a key role in the success of language projects. In Africa, literacy programs often combine with learning practical skills such as how to make paper, soap or other items that could be sold for profit. In addition to basic reading primers, literacy materials often include translated texts on AIDS prevention, farming techniques and even a country’s constitution and laws.  

Some History

One of the earliest known forms of writing—hieroglyphics—has its origins in Africa. This pictogram-like writing system stayed in use for about 4,000 years! It is possible that Moses learned to write in hieroglyphics during his time in Pharaoh’s family. Hieroglyphics is thought only to be predated by the cuneiform writing system.

Bible translation had an early beginning in Africa. Between the third and first centuries B.C. the Old Testament was translated from Hebrew to Greek in the city of Alexandria, Egypt. Known as the Septuagint, it was still in wide use during the time of Jesus’ ministry and is even quoted by several writers of the New Testament. In the third and fourth centuries A.D. translations of the whole Bible were completed in Coptic (a language of Egypt) and Ethiopic (a language of Ethiopia).