Vernacular Media

People dancing together No culture is purely literate. That is, no culture relies entirely on words in print to pass on information. Other media are used to not only convey information, but also to share values, express emotions, proclaim opinions and discuss ideas.

Music, storytelling, poetry, chants, drama and dance.

Film, photo, podcasts, digital recordings and the internet.

Vernacular media specialists help Wycliffe and national translators identify and use media tools that are culturally appropriate for each language group. Video, audio, radio, filmstrips, drama, puppets and flipcharts are just some of the tools used to communicate God’s life-changing message.

These media tools are not meant to replace printed Scripture in minority language communities where Wycliffe serves any more than a portable media player filled with Scripture-inspired music should replace your copy of the Word. But they do enhance Scripture reading and help encourage literacy development and use of the translated Scriptures.

Interested in working in vernacular media?

Search our Service Opportunities for a sampling of open positions around the world.
Learn about the training we offer for vernacular media.

VMS (Vernacular Media Services, a division of JAARS) exists to enhance and encourage access to Scripture and related materials through usable media that are appropriate for the situation, with a special focus on media that meet the needs of oral communicators. On the JAARS website, you can explore more deeply the world of vernacular media.

Other Wycliffe ministry partner organizations specialize in developing and producing vernacular media. These include Campus Crusade's The JESUS Film Project and Hosanna Ministries' Faith Comes By Hearing.

SCRIPTURE USE CAMSA:

The Luke Video in Colombia

The Lord supplies the voice talent; the recording team witnesses His provision, and are glad. The Luke video is a four-hour version divided into 15 episodes to facilitate Bible study.

It is not a 'lip-sync' but rather a 'sync-sync' production in which the vernacular Scripture is recorded in the spaces between music and other sound effects but no attempt is made to synchronize the lips in the video to the recorded text. The Luke video is based on the New Media Bible video production of the book of Luke.

A Beginning Disappointment

For quite some time, Bob Van Zyl (the translator for the Camsá New Testament) had been anticipating seeing Marcial, one of his best friends among the Camsá. A group of Camsas were planning to travel to Bogotá to record the script for the Luke video in September 2002. Bob had not been able to visit the Camsá language community since 1994 because of the security situation in the Camsá area. Therefore, he was looking forward to seeing the members of the Camsá recording team and especially Marcial, who was miraculously delivered from the power of alcoholism and was one of the first Camsas to show an interest in the Camsá translation.

Just a few days before the Camsá recording team was going to arrive in Bogotá to do the recording with AGA (the Colombian technical team) the coordinator for the Camsá team called to say that Marcial could not find anyone to take care of his cattle and therefore was not coming. Camilo was coming in his place to do the voice for Jesus. Bob was very disappointed and although Camilo was also a good friend, Bob was not convinced that Camilo could do as good a job as Marcial at speaking the part of Jesus for the video. Bob had also anticipated some very special times of spiritual nourishment and sharing with his friend Marcial, and now this was not going to happen.

Bob committed the situation to the Lord, trusting that God had His reasons for sending Camilo instead of Marcial. As the time approached for the Camsá team to arrive, Bob remembered the time of the final checking of the Camsá New Testament twelve years ago. He recalled many devotional times during the two-year checking process in which Camilo shared wonderful teachings from the passages they were checking, and he created beautiful cultural illustrations of these principles. Bob also remembered Camilo's testimony regarding the unity he and the others felt in working on the checking committee.

Unity for the Video

The Camsá society has been plagued for centuries by feuding among extended families. When members of different extended families tried to work together in the same group or organization, one family ended up dominating the group and the other families left. After several weeks of working together in the checking committee, which was composed of various extended families among the Camsá, Camilo remarked, "There is a unity in this group like I have never experienced in all of my times of working with various families involved in the same organization. The Holy Spirit has enabled us to forget our feuds and learn to be like Christ's body." As Bob pondered these very pleasant memories of Camilo, God used these thoughts to give Bob reassurance about the choosing of the recording team members and reassurance that the entire Luke video process was in God's hands.

Bob was surprised at Camilo's enthusiasm for playing the role of Jesus for the video. Camilo viewed this responsibility as specifically given to him by God and therefore he felt a tremendous responsibility to honor the Lord.

Just the Right Jesus

During the first episodes of the Luke video, where Jesus was portrayed as a baby or a boy, Camilo practiced every moment he could, anticipating that soon he would be presenting the voice of Jesus for the recording. He seemed nervous and at times doubtful that he could adequately portray the role of Jesus. However, Camilo appeared as a man on a wondrous mission. Finally, he began his part in the scene of the baptism by John the Baptist. As Camilo read, Bob, the Camsá team and the AGA technical team knew immediately that God had chosen the right man for the part of Jesus.

Enduring the days of recording that followed, Camilo fought through the long stretches of teachings and parables that he had to record. He was very demanding of himself regarding his performance and he repeated the passages until he was satisfied that they communicated clearly. As Bob and the technical team watched Camilo, they recognized that God had given him a very special gift that none of them had seen in other experiences of video recording. He had the unusual ability to read the script as if he were speaking it. As a result, the role of Jesus, as recorded in Camsá, possesses a beautiful naturalness that can rarely be achieved by just reading a script.

Throughout the recording process, God was speaking to Camilo and reminding him of how precious His Word was in his mother tongue. Camilo had forgotten how wonderful it was to hear God's message in his own language. Now, through this recording process, he felt great joy and blessing to be able to hear and see the story of God's tremendous love for him, his people and all peoples in the Camsá Luke video.