The book of the prophet Jonah: the first-ever book of the Bible in Siberian Tatar
February 26, 2020
Книга Ионы на сибирскотатарском языке
Книга Ионы на сибирскотатарском языке
Книга Ионы на сибирскотатарском языке

The Institute for Bible Translation has translated and published the first book of the Bible ever produced in the Siberian Tatar language, the book of Jonah from the Old Testament. According to the Ethnologue, Siberian Tatar is an endangered language, spoken by approximately 100,000 people. It is widespread in the central Siberian regions of Omsk, Tyumen, Novosibirsk, Kemerovo, Kurgan and Sverdlovsk.

The translation was produced by Dr. Gulsifa Bakiyeva. The Siberian Tatar text is accompanied by a parallel text in Russian and by colour illustrations.  The book became available to its first readers at the end of last year, when it was delivered to local libraries and centers of culture. On February 25, 2020, it was presented at the Center for Siberian Tatar Culture as a gift in conjunction with International Mother-Tongue Day.

IBT's Siberian Tatar project continues to develop. In 2020 IBT is planning to prepare  the books of Ruth, Esther,  and a compilation of Gospel Parables for publication. The book of Jonah is available for download from the IBT website.