In our July newsletter, In Every Language was proud to feature client Samaritan’s Purse. Please find the case study republished below:
Samaritan’s Purse is a Boone, North Carolina based non-denominational organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, it has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease and famine. The organization’s Operation Christmas Child program distributes shoeboxes filled with simple gifts of wants and needs such as toys, school supplies and hygiene items to children ages 2-14. Clients are in over 130 countries globally and many are developing economies or recovering from disaster.
Problem:
The project was highly complex on both a cultural and linguistic level. The client required a translated student handbook and teacher’s guide in numerous languages. Texts quote scripture and demand a nuanced translation that conveys the appropriate tone for children. In some countries, previous scripture translations were outdated or nonexistent. To add an additional layer of complexity, the threat of potential religious persecution in some countries required the translation agency to ensure the safety of the translators working on the project.
Solution:
In Every Language partnered with the client to clearly understand expectations and needs at the start of the project. Translation team members were carefully identified to ensure quality and experience working with religious scripture. Team members used a technique called back translation—where they retranslated each other’s translations back into English word-for-word in order to compare it to the original source text.
Client Perspective:
“It is crucial to our translation process to have a partner that understands the importance of our project to us. The goal of our work is to share the love of Christ in a tangible way with as many children as possible, worldwide. Those of us that are involved in this work take it very seriously, and it is important to have a language translation partner that understands that. We need the best possible translation in order to communicate the Gospel with children. We need linguists that have a thorough understanding of the target culture as well as the target language. I feel that we have found that with In Every Language.”
“It has been such a pleasure working with the In Every Language team. Their thoroughness and attention to detail is remarkable. On more than one occasion I have heard that they are digging through multiple Bible versions and exhausting all of their personal connections in order to determine the appropriate Bible version for our translations. This is the type of dedication we need from our translation team, our enthusiasm for our work needs to be mirrored by their enthusiasm for the translations. The translation that is provided is the vehicle to providing a child with the Gospel, in their language.” – Maegan Carroll, Samaritan’s Purse
How can we help you?
In Every Language offers professional localization and translation solutions to meet your business challenges and help you grow your business. Start a relationship with us here.
I’ve gone back and forth through Bibles, using mlsoty the ESV and NIV in the past. I gave up using ESV because it was so choppy to read through, even though it was good for study. Readability and accuracy are both important to me. I still use the NIV a lot (a NIV/ Message parallel for reading), but it’s too familiar to me. I tend to gloss over verses a lot on accident, and the translation can be kind of generic sometimes.I’ve landed on the HCSB. They’ve marketed this Bible mlsoty as specialty Bibles (the soldier’s Bible etc.) but it’s an amazing version. It uses an “optimal equivalence” approach which uses both thought-for-thought and word-for-word depending on which they felt best portrayed the text. It uses words like “Messiah” instead of “Christ” and it just makes so much sense reading it. It is rich in language and very understandable.Here at SIBI, I’ve heard teachers say, “the real word should be ___ and I just wish a translation said it.” A lot of times the HCSB does! But they always forget the version lol. Anyway, I just bought a bigger version of it and plan on using it as my main version now.