{"id":14653,"date":"2019-07-12T11:38:08","date_gmt":"2019-07-11T23:38:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblesociety.org.nz\/?p=14653"},"modified":"2019-07-12T11:38:08","modified_gmt":"2019-07-11T23:38:08","slug":"major-milestone-achieved-in-first-ever-tokelau-bible-translation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newzealandmarketing.co.nz\/wordpress\/major-milestone-achieved-in-first-ever-tokelau-bible-translation\/","title":{"rendered":"Major milestone achieved in first ever Tokelau Bible translation"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday, after 23 years and one month of work, head translator Ioane Teao and Bible Society Translations Director Dr Stephen Pattemore performed the final check of the final verse of the brand-new Tokelau Bible translation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very pleased we\u2019ve come to this part of the project! Yes, we had some fun – we celebrated with some sandwiches, a date scone and some bananas and oranges,\u201d Ioane said.<\/p>\n

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Ioane Teao<\/span> (left) and Dr Stephen Pattemore checking the Tokelau translation using the Paratext Bible translation software tool.<\/p><\/div>\n

The project, which has been a joint effort of all Tokelau churches and community groups, had its genesis nearly 30 years ago. Ioane and others consulted with the wider Tokelauan community for six years before the project could officially start. Ioane was the secretary of the team trying to get the project off the ground and support whoever would do the job. To Ioane\u2019s surprise, it was he who would be asked to spend more than 23 years of his life working on the translation.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the interesting things is that the Tokelau language never used to be a written language,\u201d Stephen says. \u201cIoane\u2019s generation were never taught at school how to write the language. They were taught English grammar, but not Tokelauan grammar.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ioane recalls having to learn how to write down the oral language before the translation work could begin. \u201cI remember struggling to put a paragraph together in Tokelauan. In English, I had no problem, but it was a struggle to write in Tokelauan.\u201d\u00a0 Ioane spent hours writing short columns in Tokelauan for a local Porirua newspaper to practice.<\/p>\n

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Podcast: Interview with Ioane Teao and Dr Stephen Pattemore
\nRun time: 22:09<\/h3>\n