Written Bible Translation Process
The translation of the Bible is vital work that is helping to make God's word available to people all over the world. Wycliffe Bible Translators Philippines is committed to continuing this important work until everyone in the country has access to the Bible in their own language.
PREPARATION
In this starting phase, as the community is engaged, it takes initiative to participate in Bible translation. A Translation Team is formed by empowering local individuals/representatives to become Mother Tongue Translators (MTTs) through various language and Bible translation trainings and workshops.
TRANSLATION
Exegesis and careful study of the text is done by MTTs to identify challenges and difficulties that needs to be addressed in the process. The goal is to produce the first draft which integrates Beauty, Accuracy, Naturalness, Clarity and Acceptability.
INTERNAL CHECK
Upon review of the first draft, the Translation Team will run comparison checks and note down the necessary revisions, make decisions on issues and make suggestions for correction to produce a second draft. After which, it will be checked with the language community by the translation team and then make necessary revisions based on the community check that will result in the third draft.
DOCUMENTATION
A back-translation is produced, updating key biblical terms and the translation team does a technical check (i.e. punctuations, spelling, coding, etc.) of the draft translation work.
EXTERNAL CHECK
The latest draft completed will be checked by a Translation Consultant after which the Translation Team will implement further necessary revisions. Once the improvements are done, the Translation Consultant approves the translation to produce a final draft and will undergo Pre-Publication.
PRE-PUBLICATION
The Translation Team conducts a final read-through, makes conclusive linguistic decisions, carries out typesetting and manuscript proofreading. There is also the possibility of recording the final draft in audio format, which can further ensure the manuscript's overall quality.
PUBLICATION AND DEDICATION
Upon completion and finalization of a written Bible Translation, there will be a process of publication, either in print and/or in digital form. A dedication gathering is held in the language community together with local churches, stakeholders, and involved organizations to officially formalize the public use of the translated Bible.
DISTRIBUTION
The written translated bible will be made available for distribution in various forms and means in order to reach and be used by the immediate language community and speakers of the language even in other places.
