Praying For Scripture Translation In Sign Languages

Albert Bickford Is Going To Guatemala

There are over 100 known sign languages and recent surveys indicate that there are many more, often one or more distinct signed languages in each country. Signed languages are not in any way copies of spoken languages; they have their own grammar and vocabulary which is different from any other language.

Although the vast majority of deaf people have normal intelligence and can see, many struggle to read the spoken language around them. Reading (for most spoken languages) is a process of connecting written symbols to meaning, based on the sounds of the language that any speaker is thoroughly familiar with. Most deaf people do not have memories of having heard the words to help them, so reading is a process something like memorizing a phone number for every word.

How to record and distribute a translation is still very unsettled. Video and DVD seem obvious, but many people in less-developed countries do not have access to video technology. The tapes are expensive and bulky, and it is almost impossible to have a Bible study with the Scripture on video. Specialized writing systems for sign languages have been developed recently, but they are not widely-accepted, and in some places even actively opposed by Deaf people. Drawings of hands and faces can be used and are already commonly found in sign language dictionaries, but that approach limits those who can write to trained artists or to those who have access to specialized computer software.

Deaf people don’t all live together in one town or village; they are often scattered throughout large cities or other wide areas. Signed languages often have many closely-related dialects, whose interrelationships are extremely complex. Some Deaf grow up in Deaf families and learn to sign from a very early age. These Deaf usually form the core of the Deaf community in a country, but only about 10% of Deaf people have Deaf parents. Others grow up in hearing families and don’t learn any language until they attend residential or day school for the Deaf. Others may go to oral Deaf schools (in which signing is discouraged or forbidden) or even to public schools. These people may not learn to sign until they reach their teens and start having more contact with other Deaf who know the local signed language. Their signing is often influenced by their experiences in learning the national language. Since they are usually taught in school that their sign language is not really a language, they may develop a sort of mixed language that borrows some grammar and vocabulary from the national language. Deaf persons, even in the same community, often develop a complex range of styles and abilities that makes the choice of an appropriate standard language for use in translation a real challenge.      

Your prayers for wisdom in addressing these complex issues is truly needed.

Check out the information about Mexican Sign Language that is available on the SIL-Mexico website

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