A decade-long Scripture translation project has culminated in the publication of the New Testament in the Tanzanian language of Nyakyusa, Wycliffe Bible Translators reported in July.
The launch event happened in Kyela Town, Mbeya Region, Tanzania. Despite steady rains and localised flooding, people came from throughout the Mbeya Region and abroad for a day of celebration.
The impact of having the Scriptures in the language that speaks to you best cannot be underestimated. Andrew Mwamatandala, Senior Translator on the Nyakyusa translation team, commented: ‘I saw pastors speaking Nyakyusa at this event. When they hear a preacher use our language, they get very happy. They long for Nyakyusa to be used again in their church services.’
Other comments on the day included: ‘Even our children can understand this Scripture’; ‘Now we will be able to know God better’; and ‘Your New Testament has come at the right time.’
After the launch event many Nyakyusa language resources were available for purchase, including teaching materials, story booklets, and the printed New Testament. The first items to sell out were flash drives and memory cards containing not only the New Testament in text and audio recordings, but also the JESUS film in Nyakyusa.
More than 1million
The Nyakyusa translation team is part of the Mbeya Cluster Project, a project of Wycliffe’s partner organisation SIL. The project works with over a dozen language communities in the area. Estimated at nearly 1million strong, the Nyakyusa language community spreads across western Tanzania and northern Malawi.
While ten years to translate a New Testament may seem a long time, in fact it has been relatively quick. ‘The Nyakyusa translation was the last team to begin in the Mbeya Cluster Project,’ said Pastor Edwin Kanyiki, one of the two Nyakyusa translators. ‘But we worked hard and long, sometimes even at night. Now we are the first team in Mbeya to finish the New Testament!’
Kanyiki recalls: ‘It was even a big challenge for me just to learn to use the computer and other tools, because I did not get that in school. But since then, my translation work has helped me more and more, to preach and teach in my church.’
