OBT allows God’s Word to overcome language and learning barriers so the focus is entirely on God’s message rather than the medium through which it comes.
Oral Bible Translation (OBT) represents a groundbreaking advancement in missions, merging innovative Orality methodology with traditional Bible Translation principles. OBT aims to convey the information in every Scripture passage effectively to oral learning communities, utilizing the expression they understand best. At Spoken, our OBT team collaborates closely with local community partners and indigenous leaders to ensure both accuracy and effectiveness. Each Oral Bible Translation project is unique, but our approach consistently emphasizes the following four principles:
Each OBT project involves a wide segment of the community in the development of the translation. The first draft is produced by a translation team of mother-tongue speakers who carefully work through an internalization process – allowing them to retell the passage to one another as if it was delivered by God for the first time in their own language. Then, these drafts move through a series of community review cycles designed to allow the existing Christian community (and non-Christian community members) to provide input and correction.
In the drafting process, translators focus on what the Biblical passage is saying (more than how it is said), allowing for an oral process of communication to make natural connections between thoughts and ideas. This inherent naturalness of construction allows people to easily remember a passage and interact with the concepts of Scripture with minimum interference that can arise from unnatural information presentation.
Reported by Durk, Spoken OBT Consultant
Botswana
Nelson
North Africa
Najlaa
