Deaf Bible Society partners with local Deaf churches and organizations and equips them to create their own sign language Bible translation. Pictured here is part of the translation team for the Ugandan Sign Language Bible. (Photo: Deaf Bible Society)
Deaf Bible Society, a non-profit organization that supports Bible translation work in deaf communities around the globe, has announced its intention to send a Ugandan Bible translation team to Israel for training.
According to Mission Network News, Deaf Bible Society is starting a training school in Israel called the Josiah School of Translation (JST) .
“Plans are currently underway to send translation teams from Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda to JST. Each team will include a project manager, two translators, and a video editor,” Mission Network News reported August 21, 2019.
The sign languages used among African Deaf vary between countries and regions.
Through this training program, Bible translators will develop practical skills to support their translation work including principles for interpreting the Bible, administrative skills, translation principles, the linguistic structure of their sign languages, and advanced video production skills.
Each of these areas will equip translation teams to produce Bible translations that fully communicate the richness of God’s Word in ways that are most meaningful to Deaf communities. Over the course of three years, teams will receive six months of training, positioning them to thrive in the long term.
Uganda Christian News learnt that before any video of a translated Bible portion can be published, it will have to go through a quality checking process guided by a translation consultant.
Mission Network News reported that currently, one of the biggest roadblocks to sign language Bible translation work is the shortage of consultants who are proficient in at least one of the world’s sign languages.
According to Deaf Bible Society, 44 African sign languages still don’t have any access to Scripture. Those that do only have portions of the Bible translated in their heart sign language.
