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Pacific Islands University to host Bible Translation Day
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Posted on Feb 05 2014
GUAM—Pacific Islands University welcomes everyone to Bible Translation Day on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, at their campus on Kinney’s Road in Pagat, Mangilao from 9am to 5pm. The event is co-sponsored by Isles of the Sea, a group that promotes and supports Bible translation projects in the languages of Micronesia, Polynesia, and New Caledonia.
Isles of the Sea has planned the event to overview the state of Bible translation globally and in Micronesia. The Bible has been translated into more languages than any other book, yet there are “only” 513 languages that have all of the Bible translated, as opposed to 1,900-plus languages that do not even a have a small portion of the Bible!
The event will consider questions such as: Why does Bible translation take so long? Is it worth the effort to translate the Bible into a language spoken only by a few thousand speakers? Why is Bible translation important for the church? How can this daunting task be accomplished?
Presentations, videos, and activities will be hosted by members of Isles of the Sea, who are currently working on various translations projects in Micronesia. Speakers include Betty Amon, who is guiding a translation team in her native language, Nukuoro of Pohnpei; Cameron Fruit, who is advising five different Carolinian languages (Saipan Carolinian, Woleai and Satawal on Yap, and Sonsorol and Tobi on Palau), Ken Dixon, adviser of the Pingelap translation team on Pohnpei; and Peter Knapp, advisor of the Mwoakilloa translation team.
Both Dixon and Knapp also work as instructors at Pacific Islands University. At the university, they teach courses related to the minor in Bible translation. This minor consists of six undergraduate courses and is intended to enable students to work on Bible translation projects in their own language.
Lunch and snacks are provided. Donations to help cover expenses are welcome. For more information or to register, call the PIU front office at: 734-1812.[I] (PIU)[/I]
