Checking the Translation of Numbers, Nigeria (August-ongoing)

 

The Tsikimba-Auna Bible translation team and I are meeting via Skype to continue our verse-by-verse accuracy check of the book of Numbers. 

Here's our workflow:

• Weeks in advance to our Skype meetings: 
• I study the book of Numbers and check their translation of it (RE: questions of clarity, accuracy, naturalness, and acceptability), inserting consultant flags in Paratext, the translation software program we all use (notice the red and yellow flags in the bottom left portion of the screenshot above).
• The team responds to my notes, and I look at their changes, if any, and further respond with more questions or else close the note if dealt with satisfactorily.
• During our Skype meetings, the Auna translators are all gathered together in the office in the village in Nigeria, and I am in my home office in the USA:
• We do a video "hi" for the first few minutes, then I "go dark" (meaning, just audio) in order to save on bandwidth. Even still, the network in the village routinely drops several times during the checking session. It's also the tail end of rainy season, which interrupted a couple of our meetings so far! 
• An Auna translator reads the translation in Auna to the team, another translator gives me an oral Back Translation (BT) in English. Unlike the Auna translators, I am not a native speaker of the language, so I leverage all four ways I have to access their translation: 
1. the Auna translation itself, in Paratext (I can read-understand a good deal of it, since I've been with this team for 6 years now), 
2. their written BT (in Paratext), 
3. an interlinear text made by Paratext, 
4. and the oral BT (during our live checking).
• I ask questions of the translation: most  were already flagged in the text and remain unresolved for one reason or another, but others I discover as we go through the verse live. 
• The team does a screen-share of their translation as we discuss the translation issues, and they make any changes. 
• Occasionally, I've successfully shared my screen to show an image or diagram that helps in translating some term, etc., but usually, I'm just connected via audio.
• The team (me too!) is super motivated to publish the entire Pentateuch + Joshua!

Numbers 14:18 in Tsikimba (with wooden English BT):

<<Mpa Magono ma Zuba ma̱ri n maloko ma uyan upan wa, ma̱ ta̱ ushaɗangi n uciga u ɗa bawu wa savaɗa, n tsu cimbusuka̱ ta̱ aza a unyushi u cingi n aza a uya̱nga̱sa̱ u atakasuvu. Gba̱ n nala, uza ɗa baci dem u nusai n tsu yan yi ta̱ mavura, n tsu yan ta̱ mmuku mavura adama a unyushi u cingi u isheku i le uyan u tatsu u ubana nishi.>>

I King of Heaven (Yahweh) am not quick to do anger, I am full with love that is without change, and I forgive people of sin and people of rebellion of heart. All with that, anybody that offends (is guilty) I do him punishment, and I do punishment children for the sin(s) of their ancestors, generation from the third to the fourth.

 Amen, the Lord is indeed full of "love that is without change" (loyal love)!