Agul
According to the latest census in 2002, 28,000 people speak Agul in Russia. The homeland of the Aguls is the high mountainous areas of Southern Dagestan. Their main occupation is agriculture. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union the Aguls had to indicate in their passports that they were of Lezgi nationality. The Agul written language was developed only in the early 1990s. So the Gospel of Luke is the first Bible text in Agul, and at the same time one of the very first books in the Agul language. Since not many Aguls are good at reading their own language, an audio recording of the Gospel text is being prepared, which we hope will be useful. Next IBT Russia is planning to publish parables from the Gospel of Luke in Agul with illustrations.

Ingush
The Ingush people count about 415,000, according to the 2002 Census. The Ingush language is related to Chechen. Both languages belong the Nakh group of the Caucasian language family. The Ingush alphabet was created at the beginning of the 20th century, first on the basis of Arabic script, then in Latin script and finally transferred to Cyrillic script in 1938. The Republic of Ingushetia was formed only in 1992 and this gave a powerful stimulus for the development of its national science and culture.

The IBT co-workers and the members of the Chechen, Agul and Ingush translation teams hope that the new books will be a great blessing to these peoples. May the Bible message help to overcome fear and distrust, and may the texts lead to mutual understanding and mutual enrichment of nations and cultures.

The first Annual Gathering under IBT’s new structure took place on 11 November 2005 at IBT’s office in Moscow. Present were friends of IBT Russia from England, USA and the Netherlands, as well as the whole staff of IBT Moscow and representatives from the Russian Board. 

An interesting program had been prepared by Translation Consultant Andrei Desnitsky. Several co-workers spoke about their special areas – various translation projects, publishing, bookkeeping, information, distribution and computer maintenance.

On the following day, 12 November, the International Advisory Board (IAB) had a very productive first meeting, where, among other things, the following subjects were discussed: adapting to IBT’s new structure; plans for 2006 and the future of IAB; fundraising goals for 2006; and further project development. Dr Richard Williams of IBT UK was elected the IAB Chairman for one year.

How does a Christian checker work with a Muslim translator? What is it like to be part of a Christian minority among a Muslim majority? How do we use Muslim religious terminology? What are the Muslim elements in the traditional cultures of peoples who live on the borders of the Muslim world but mainly profess the Christian faith? These were just some of the subjects discussed at a colloquium organized by IBT at St. Andrew’s monastery in Moscow 19-20 September 2005. More than 20 translators and checkers participated – from Chuvashia, Tatarstan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the Czech Republic, USA and Great Britain – representing IBT, SIL and CARS.

Sharing experiences and exchanging views proved to be very productive and interesting for all the participants. A pleasant and useful surprise for them was the book of parallel passages from the Bible and the Koran, published by IBT especially for this event. 

A new book called “Prophets” was recently published by IBT (in cooperation with Pioneer Bible Translators) in the Crimean Tatar language. It is the first book ever with Old Testament portions in Crimean Tatar. “Prophets” contains the Old Testament stories of people that are known both in Islam and in Christianity. It includes selections from Genesis, Exodus, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 Chronicles, Daniel, Jonah and also some small portions from the New Testament.

Crimean Tatars reading this book will find the stories of the creation of the world; of Adam, the first human being; how Noah built the ark; of God’s friend, Abraham (whom Muslims call “Ibrahim”); of Joseph, who became the second most important person in Egypt; of Moses, who brought the Israelites out of slavery; of David’s victory over Goliath; of Solomon, who built the first temple; of Daniel in the lion’s den, and of Jonah being swallowed by the big fish.

The stories of each of these “prophets” (as righteous people in the Bible are called in Islam) are accompanied by excerpts from the New Testament, which help us to look afresh at the lives of these people and make connections with our own life.

We hope that this small book will interest the Crimean Tatar readers in the Holy Scriptures and prepare them for the full Bible, which is now being translated.

The plan to translate the Bible for the Baluchis living in Turkmenistan was formulated by IBT as early as 1990. However, the first works of translation were completed only seven years later. To date the four Gospels, Acts and Revelation have been translated into Baluchi, although only Luke’s Gospel has been published. The remaining books still have to be checked and require further work. Unfortunately the difficult political situation in Turkmenistan has hindered progress on the project. 

The dialect of the Baluchis of Turkmenistan is called Rakhshanish, which is spoken by about 50,000 people. It differs greatly from the other Baluchi dialects of Pakistan, and of Iran and Afghanistan. The latter are written in Arabic script. At the beginning of the 1930’s a script based on the Latin script was developed for the Baluchi spoken in Turkmenistan. However, this lasted only until 1938. During this time some school books and political information material were published in Baluchi. In 1938 the Latin alphabet was replaced by Cyrillic, but in the period of 1938-89 no books or papers were printed in Baluchi. The language enjoyed no official status and survived only as a spoken language. Nevertheless, the Baluchis did not forget their native tongue because it was the only language that they used in everyday life. 

At the end of the nineteenth century translation of the Bible began into two widespread dialects in Pakistan. One of the two was the so-called coastal dialect, spoken mainly in Karachi. However, these dialects are incomprehensible to the Baluchis of Turkmenistan, so that a translation into their own dialect was necessary. 

All the participants in the Baluchi translation project have a philological education and work as school teachers of Baluchi. One of them was the first Baluchi teacher to teach the mother tongue as a separate subject. He is the author of two textbooks for teaching Baluchi to primary schoolchildren. 

One of the necessary steps in the translation process - comprehension testing - was carried out in unusual circumstances. The Baluchis lay reclining as they drank tea and listened enthralled as their guest read to them. During the process the testees made remarks, but the conclusion regarding the comprehensibility of the text was not a matter of individual taste. The final decision on the quality of the translation was taken by a majority vote! 

The Baluchis of Turkmenistan are Sunni Muslims. Many of them are devout followers of their faith. In such a situation it is important that the biblical texts are also accepted by the Muslim readership. It was therefore decided that the first biblical text in Baluchi should be published not only in Cyrillic but also in Arabic script. 

We hope that the first edition of the translation of Luke’s Gospel will bring joy to the Baluchis, and that they will seek in it not only stories about the life and work of the prophets, which they already know from the Koran, but that they will discover a whole new world. 

“It is important that one of the first books in our language is a Bible portion. I have been especially interested in working on the translation because I know that it will be used by future generations,” said Svetlana Zhovnitskaya. She has translated excerpts from Luke’s Gospel into her native language, Nganasan. The book arrived from the printing house in June 2005.

All the reference works published up to 1994 stated that the Nganasan people did not have a written language. But since then the situation has changed – and it was Svetlana who was the author of the first alphabet book in Nganasan.

Translating Luke’s Gospel into Nganasan was not easy. Since there was simply no other literature in the language, new expressions had to be coined for biblical words such as “the kingdom of God”, “temple”, “servant”, etc – there were no such words in Nganasan. Sometimes things had to be paraphrased. “Despite all the difficulties the translation has been creative and fascinating work,” Svetlana said. Now she is looking forward to using the new book of excerpts from Luke’s Gospel in school, and there are even plans to broadcast the text on local radio.

The Nganasan people live in the very north of the Russian Federation – on the Taymyr Peninsula in the north Arctic Ocean in north-west Siberia. They are the original inhabitants of the Taymyr. Their language belongs to the Samoyedic group. In earlier times the Nganasans lived as nomads in the Siberian tundra. Not until the early 17^th century did they come into contact with the Russians, through whom they gained access to weapons and alcohol. The Russians also brought diseases to which the nomadic people had not previously been exposed. These factors caused a rapid decline in the Nganasan population. At the end of the 17^th century Russian Orthodox missionaries reached the Nganasan territory. Many were converted, but the results were superficial – shamanism remained strong even among the converts.

Because the Nganasans lived so remotely they escaped much of the devastation which other Siberian peoples had to suffer, and their traditional nomadic life continued even after the October Revolution. But when political “missionary work” developed, the Nganasan children were eventually forced to go to boarding schools to learn Russian – and forget their mother tongue. From the 1970’s the Nganasans could no longer avoid the changes which Soviet industrialisation brought. The entire economy of the Taymyr region was dominated by the massive installations built at Norilsk. The factories were damaging the environment and causing severe health problems and great infant mortality.

Today there are barely 1,000 Nganasans. Village life is tough, many are unemployed, alcoholism is widespread, and there is a great sense of futility. “But in the midst of all this there is still hope,” said Lena Shatilova, project coordinator for the Nganasan translation. “In one of these villages fifteen Nganasans have recently come to faith. The neighbours are wondering what’s happened when they see their changed lives – they’re no longer drinking, their families are healthy, and they’re taking good care of their children! Everyone I spoke to was thrilled to get a book of the Bible in Nganasan!”

15.06.2005 | Book of Proverbs published in Avar and Bezhta

Within the framework of translating the Old Testament into the non-Slavic languages of the Russian Federation the Institute for Bible Translation has published the Book of Proverbs in the Dagestani languages of Avar (more than 750,000 speakers) and Bezhta (more than 8,000 speakers). The Institute has cooperated on both translations with the Dagestani Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Churches, libraries, academic bodies and cultural institutions of the Republic of Dagestan have been supplied with the two publications.

The Avars and Bezhtas belong to the West Caucasian language family. The Avars are the most numerous of the Dagestani peoples and have a rich literary tradition that is several centuries old. However, in Bezhta the first printed materials have only just appeared. The Avars and Bezhtas are Muslims like the other ethnic groups of Dagestan.

The Book of Proverbs is one of the so-called Wisdom books of the Old Testament and is a collection of wise expressions. In Old Testament times these were highly prized, something which even today is close to the cultural tradition of the Caucasian peoples among whom the wisdom of previous generations is treasured. The Hebrew word, mashal, with the meaning of “saying, proverb, words of wisdom, expression, or riddle” has via its Arabic equivalent, misal, or masal, even entered the North Caucasian languages and is still used today with a similar meaning.

The sayings from Proverbs are based on everyday experience and are enhanced by the teaching about divine Wisdom and one’s attitude towards the Creator (“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” 1:7). Many of the proverbs have become familiar sayings in various languages. In English, for example: “a soft answer turns away wrath” (15:1); and “pride goes before a fall” (16:18). It is hoped that this book will not only serve to disseminate biblical wisdom but also contribute to the development of the language and culture of the Avars and Bezhtas.

Yakov Tesmelets
exegetical checker
of the Avar and Bezhta project

Other Old Testament books recently published by IBT are: Genesis in Adygei (approximately 130,000 speakers) and a collection of Ruth, Esther and Jonah in Nogai (approximately 90,000 speakers).

On 11-12 May celebrations of the dedication of the New Testament in the Yakut language were organized at the highest government level in the Republic of Yakutia. The presentation was held in the Yakut capital, Yakutsk, and not only were many bishops and priests there, but even the president of Yakutia attended. It is the first ever complete New Testament for almost half a million people. The Yakuts live in an area as large as that of  India. Yakutia is part of Siberia, and one of its villages is the coldest inhabited place in the world.

The translation team and Marianne Beerle-Moor, director of the work in Russia and the CIS, represented IBT.  Unfortunately the team’s philological checker was unable to attend – he will be 100 next year and felt too weak after a period in hospital. Nevertheless, since this man is well-known and loved throughout Yakutia, just the fact that he took part in the translation work means that everyone will want to read the Yakut New Testament. The occasion received extensive media coverage in Yakutia – a lot of TV interviews, newspaper articles.

The next day passages from the Yakut New Testament were read at the liturgy service in the main cathedral and several times at concerts. Following one such concert, Valentina Romanova wrote in the “Yakutia” newspaper:
“I heard the text of the Gospel in Yakut at a concert to mark the day of Saints Cyril and Methodius (translators of the Bible into Slavonic).The Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount were read in modern Yakut language. The Word of God  in my native tongue made a great impression on me. It entered deep into my soul, and my heart responded with joy and love.“Sometimes when you read literature in our native Yakut language, it’s difficult to understand. So when I got the Yakut New Testament I wondered whether the Word of God would be comprehensible and conceivable in Yakut. I believed that it would be, and it really was! That was the day when I received this precious book as a gift from the Lord. It was such a joy! It seemed as if the book glowed with divine ardour. It was obvious that God’s blessing was upon it. As I began to read I kept thinking: ‘Lord, You’re talking to me!’ It was easy for the Word of God to enter my heart bringing light, and with tears of deep emotion my soul welcomed God. The words were not only understandable, it seemed as if the Lord and his apostles had originally spoken Yakut. As if the Gospel had always sounded like that – so clear and natural. As if there had been no separation of time, space and language. Our translators have succeeded in overcoming many difficulties. Now reading the Gospel is as natural as breathing for me.”

IBT has issued the 32nd translation of the book of Bible stories so popular among Russian readers. The Children’s Bible was published originally in Russian and subsequently in many of the non-Slavic languages of Russia and the CIS. For many people it would be the first step towards becoming acquainted with the Bible. 

There are 445,000 Buryats, 86.5 percent of whom speak Buryat as their mother tongue. So the edition of 7,600 copies is relatively small. The books should arrive in Buryatia and the neighbouring regions by the end of May. They will be supplied to schools, libraries and churches so that as many readers as possible will get to know this new, beautifully illustrated publication. 

Work began on the translation in 1999, with  poet D. Raisanova, Ph.D, as translator; Professor S. Budayev, Ph.D, as philological checker; and S.A. Sychev as exegetical checker. V. Raisonova conducted the comprehension testing. 

Testing the comprehensibility of the translation was an important stage of the work. It was carried out both in the Buryat capital, Ulan-Ude, and in remote villages and settlements of the region. There are four regional groups of Buryat dialects. Speakers of different dialects took part in the testing. Although the Khorin standard dialect formed the basis of the translation, all the participants could understand the text. It is, however, important that this book is acceptable not only to Christians but also to the Buddhist majority. 

Even before its appearance the Buryat Children’s Bible has provoked great interest. It will undoubtedly take its place in children’s literature and also be of use as teaching material in schools. So both children and their parents will become familiar with the biblical text. Thus it will lay the foundation for the acceptance of the Buryat New Testament, the publication of which is planned for 2006.

06.04.2005 | The Rutul people have their first bible portion – Luke’s Gospel

The Rutul people are one of the original peoples of Dagestan. Today they number approximately 28,000. The Rutuls have a rich history. The word “Rutul” can be found on monuments from the 15th century. As early as the 13th century they are mentioned in Arab writings.

In 1991 the Dagestan authorities decided that there should be a better knowledge of local languages. Since then schooling has begun in Rutul. A spelling book and school text books with the new Rutul script have been published.

At about the same time as the new Rutul script was introduced, IBT began to translate Luke’s Gospel into Rutul. The first translator was a lecturer at the University of Dagestan, but he used a different dialect from that on which the written language is based. So we were obliged to find another translator, also a university lecturer, but one who has the right dialect as mother tongue.

The Rutul people were Christian until the 8th century, but Arab traders introduced Islam, and with the Ottoman conquest in the 16th century Islam became the predominant religion in Dagestan. The Rutuls’ faith is expressed mainly through clinging to their traditions. “Some Rutuls go to different churches in Mahachkala – some from curiosity, and others out of real interest. In these difficult times the Rutuls need not just material wellbeing – they need the word of the Bible in their language,” says the text checker of the Rutul translation.

05.02.2005 | Presentation of Luke’s Gospel in Chukchi in Anadyr 

The presentation of the first edition of the full text of Luke’s Gospel in Chukchi took place on 5 February in Anadyr on the intiative of the Chukhotka Heritage Museum Centre. Two thousand copies with accompanying audicassettes were delivered to Chukhotka in July 2004. They are being distributed free of charge in the churches. In addition, all the libraries of Chukhotka’s Cultural Administration have copies. 

At the presentation Diomid, Bishop of Anaydyr and Chukhotka, described the publication of Luke’s Gospel in Chukchi as an historic event. Translation checker Alla Kerginto spoke about the work of translator Ideya Kulikova, checkers YergeniyaTyneru, Antonina Kymytval and herself. Academics, poets and leaders of social and church organisations were among the speakers. Specialists in the Chukchi language stressed both the good literary quality of the translation and its comprehensibility for a wide readership. It was also pointed out that the audiocassettes would help those Chukchis who were no longer proficient in their native language to learn it. Alla Kerginto, who was also involved in the recording, has also read several excepts from the Gospel on local radio. In Chukhotka the radio plays an important role: it is often the only source of information in the remote settlements and camping grounds of the nomads. The Institute for Bible Translation hopes that this practice of reading the Gospel on radio will be continued and further developed, and that the Bible in the native language will reach new readers and listeners.

18.01.2005 |  Presentation of John’s Gospel, the Letters of John, and Revelation in Khakas in Abakan 

In the autumn of 2004 the Institute for Bible Translation published a new volume containing John’s Gospel, the Letters of John and Revelation in Khakas. 

The presentation took place in the regional museum of Abakan on 18 January 2005. Members of the Khakas team, translator I. Topoyev and checkers S. Sychev, T. Borgayakova and G. Litvinenko, spoke about IBT, the principles of Bible translation, the difficulty and diverse nature of this work, the strict criteria that IBT applies in order to produce a translation of good quality. Those present, including representatives of social organisations, the Ministry of Education, cultural figures, teachers and museum staff expressed great interest in the work of the translation team and the resulting IBT publication. “This is an important contribution to the development of the language. It shows that the Khakas language is able to convey difficult theological concepts and to express all the richness and depth of the Johannine books of the New Testament.” This book gives its readers hope and pride in their language.

14.01.2005 |  Presentation of the Ossetic New Testament in Vladikavkaz 

The presentation of the New Testament in Ossetic took place on 14 January in Vladikavkaz at the National Library of the Republic of  North Ossetia. The event was organised by the Institute for Bible Translation and North Ossetia’s Ministry of Culture and was attended by more than 100 guests, including L. Dzugayev, the minister of culture; L. Khassiyev, director of the House of Culture; L. Tarayeva, chief of the Ministry of Nationalities department responsible for religious affairs; as well as by representatives of church, academic and cultural organisations. It began with Ossetic spiritual songs sung by the male voice choir of the state Philharmonia led by Olga Dzhanayeva.

Archpriest Vladimir Samoylenko, IBT Director Dr Marianne Beerle-Moor, exegetical checker Dmitriy Asratyan, coordinator Ketevan Gadilia, Prof. Tamerlan Guriyev and others greeted those present. The speakers stressed the importance of the event - a significant landmark for the Ossetic people and a vital contribution to the country’s spiritual and moral development. It was noted that the publication of the New Testament, although very important, was not the final stage of the work on translating the Bible into Ossetic. The Institute is currently working on the translation of Psalms, while the books of Genesis and Exodus are being prepared for printing and will be published next year.