Drafting

On January 25 this year, we started drafting the Kope New Testament. It was a quiet yet momentous occasion. Since then we have got into more of a rhythm of how we draft, which I will try to lay out for you here.

Reading and reflecting (H.Schulz)

Firstly though, is the admission that my Kope language skills are not good enough to do drafting and that calling myself a ‘translator’ is somewhat misleading. At the same time, the Kope people are experts in their language and are good at drafting. My role is to train, support, equip, resource, mentor, check and advise. They are the translators; I am the advisor and supporter.

In my advisor role, I start the drafting process the night before any drafting happens. I sit and read through the original Greek text, relying on all the helpful resources on my computer to understand it clearly. I then turn to other resources including commentaries and notes from other translators, to help me think through the meaning of the text and what some of our translation challenges may be. In, under, with and through all this I am praying.

The next day the translation team gathers on my veranda to work. Once at least three of the team are there, we are ready to start, but in the meantime we chat about life. With the team assembled we pray for our work, open our Bibles and get started.

Writing and discussing (H.Schulz)

First we read through the portion of text we’ll be working on as a whole, to get the big picture. We read it in several different English translations, usually something easier to read like the Good News, something more literal like the New Jerusalem (my favourite) and something more middle of the road such at the NIV. We also read the Hiri Motu (trade language used in our area) and where possible watch the appropriate portion of the Jesus Film in Kope. After this we talk about what is happening in the text. Who are the main characters? What are the main events? What is the main point? Having this discussion helps to move us from a word by word translation that is stiff and loses meaning, to a translation that flows and captures the meaning of the text.

With the big picture in mind, we then start on verse by verse translation. Initially I encouraged the team to tell the story and then write it down, drawing on their skills as a primarily oral/aural culture, but the team has not taken to that method. Instead, they prefer to each write their version of the verse on individual pieces of paper. Once a few people have come up with an option, these are read out, discussed and the best way of saying something is agreed upon. This is then written on the blackboard for further discussion and refining. During this time of drafting I am often asked questions about the text and the meaning, drawing on my reading the previous night, and researching further as needed. Sometimes a verse takes ten minutes, sometimes more than an hour.

Putting our draft on the blackboard so that
everyone can see and contribute. (H.Schulz)

Verse by verse we chip away until the whole section is on the blackboard. We then read that as a whole and start another edit to make sure that the whole flows as well as each verse. This edit can easily take another hour. Sometimes I find myself frustrated by the time things take, and need to remind myself that I have the privilege of sitting with community and church leaders, discussing God’s word for hours on end.

With the edit done, it is time to write the good copy into the notebook. One of the team members will do the official copy, but often everyone else is writing their own copy as well. Once the good copy is written, it is proof read by another team member before being given to me to type into the computer. I hope to teach some members of the translation team computer skills in the coming months, but so far that has been one of my responsibilities.

This first step of drafting is slow and challenging, but it is exciting to see Luke’s gospel slowly unfolding before us.