The Lote (pronounced LO-tay) New Testament will soon be available for the first time in the mother tongue of the 6,000 Lote speakers who live in scattered, remote villages on the south coast of East New Britain, Papua New Guinea.
For the past 23 years, Greg & Mary Pearson, members of Wycliffe Bible Translators USA, and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), have worked with the Lote people to translate the entire New Testament into this minority language.
In an e-mail to ANS from the Pearsons, the veteran missionaries say the draft was sent to Korea for printing into bibles and should be available to the Lote people by the end of 2009.
"This is the first time the New Testament will be available in their mother tongue so that they can grasp the deeper meaning of the Holy Book," said Mary Pearson.
"The Lote people survive by subsistence farming and still live mostly without electricity," she said.
Pearson added: "Before we began the language program in 1986, there was no written form of Lote. We learned to speak the language by living among the Lote people."
Part of the Pearson's job was to analyze the language phonology and grammar, start literacy production, and train nationals to read and write their own language.
Earlier this year, a Lote grammar analysis was published and is available online at www.sil.org/pacific/png/abstract.asp?id=50351.
At the same time the Pearsons were accomplishing language learning and analysis, they started translating the New Testament into Lote.
Mary said the book of Mark was published in 1993, and an abridgement of Genesis in 1997.
She added: "The entire New Testament was completed in November, 2008 and will be printed in Korea. Plans to celebrate and launch the Lote New Testament are in progress for Jan 9-10, 2010. The celebration will take place in Meletong Village, East New Britain Province."
When asked what impact the New Testament is expected to have amongst the Lote people, Greg Pearson answered with a quote from one of the local people, "When we read in the trade language it's like the words bounce off our skin, but when we hear it in our own language, it cuts straight into our hearts and gets into our blood."
On the Web: Wycliffe Bible Translators at www.Wycliffe.com
Source: Assist News
World
New Testament now Complete in Lote
Lote, a Minority Language of Papua New Guinea
Posted: Friday, 21 November 2008, 0:35 (EST)
Top Stories
World Headline
