1. 

The Translation Ministry 

1.1. 

Purpose of Translation 

The ultimate purpose of a language program’s processes and production of a mother-tongue translation is to facilitate the growth of God’s kingdom in the target community. That growth may be seen in areas of an individuals knowledge and trust in God and the cultivation of a Christian lifestyle. It may be seen in the growth of congregations as bodies of believers in the quality of corporate life, the emergence of effective leadership and in the increase of the number of active believers. It may also be seen in the multiplication of congregations as a part of a process of evangelization of their own people group and the cooperation of Christian bodies together to achieve this goal. Finally, growth may be seen in the development of cross-cultural missionaries to reach other ethnic groups. 

In working in a sectarianly divided church community, growth can be seen in individuals and in the church community by a shifting of focus to the Lordship of Christ, the repudiation of false gods and anti-Christian practices, a growing commitment to the authority of the Bible, and a growing desire to simply practice non-sectarian Christianity. 

It is our goal that Gospel be communicated and the church planted within each and every language-group throughout the world in forms that are not perceived as alien to the culture as a whole nor as a threat to the culture, but rather, while demanding a transformation of cultural elements alien to the Gospel and the Christian life, the Gospel must be presented as bringing with it a sense of fulfilling what is lacking or incompletely realized in cultural heritage and in the personal needs of the individual. 

1.2. 

Some Premises of Translation in a Church-Growth Context 

Translation in a church-growth context entails at least the following propositions: 

1. The target language community must come to have a real sense of “ownership” of the language program. It must be active in responsibly participating in that program to the extent its resources of people, skill and subsistence may allow at each level and stage of the program. Ideally an entire language group should be involved in inviting an expatriate team to work among them; no less than the consensus of a single village can be accepted as an invitation. The host community must be in agreement to allow the expatriate team to operate as a Christian within that community in pursuing the ultimate purpose of the language program. The host community must agree to work with the expatriate team in adopting goals and strategies essential for the completion of the program. These strategies will include the selection of leadership, support of the program, training of personnel, production of literature, and education in literacy. The strategies must also include programs which encourage the use of Scriptures. 

2. Before publication a translation must have a level of quality adequate: 

a. to ensure exegetical accuracy with respect to the semantics of the source text surface and deep structure and at the same time to ensure a clarity of understanding and naturalness in the forms of the target language. The goal involves maintaining a balance between representing the message of Scripture with integrity in its historical, cultural context by form and content resources of the target language. 

b. to ensure it will have credibility due to its equal or greater clarity, naturalness and accuracy with respect to the Melanesian Pidgin Bible or the English Bible, which in increasing degrees will become available to the more educated in the target language communities as time goes by. 

c. to ensure it will be accessible and desirable to read by the incipient and growing literate within the community so as to encourage the use of the Scripture by the believing community, and will be respected as a culturally valid representation of the language by the whole community. 

2. 

Guidelines and Goals for Translation Teams 

The purpose of the following guidelines is to aid each team in planning their overall program; to set forth PBT’s expectation of what should be included in a program in order to do it right, i.e. PBT’s minimum requirements; and to provide criteria by which the team’s progress can be evaluated. By reading these guidelines the translator can know what the branch administration expects of him and set his goals accordingly. The Director and the Assistant Director of Language Affairs will assist each team in planning and approving each team’s program plan and goals, and will be responsible for periodic evaluation of each team’s progress. 

Each team located in a village is required to fill out a monthly report form at the beginning of each month and send it to the ADLA by the next available means, until released from this requirement by the ADLA. This report form will include monthly goals that will show a team’s progress towards completing the requirements in this section. 

2.1. 

Language Learning Requirements 

The first priority of each PBT team shall be the learning of the vernacular language. This is to take precedence over every other goal for the first two years after the team is allocated. Teams should be fluent in common vocabulary and common conversational topics by the end of the first year, then expand to fluency in as many cultural domains as possible. In order to ensure that language learning is given high priority, the following recommendations have been set. 

1. Before allocating, meet with the ADLA to talk about what language learning requirements there will be for your project. The results of this meeting will be documented and signed by the translation team and the ADLA, with copies kept in the ADLA files. 

2. Listen to Brewster’s LEARN tapes and examine accompanying material. 

3. Skim LLFG, LAMP and “Learning Another Language Through Actions” before allocating. 

4. Decide on a general approach to language learning and set tentative goals for the first two months (i.e. LLFG units per week, drills per week, trips to bush per week, hours of listening per day). Under ideal conditions you can probably expect to complete 1-2 units of LLFG per week, about 3-5 drills per week, 1-2 trips to the bush per week, and 2-3 hours of listening/talking per day. 

5. Discuss your language learning plan with the ADLA before going to the village. 

6. During the first year of language learning send in 2-4 written examples of drills that you have worked on with each monthly report form (NOTE: Drills only have to be included during the months that you are in the village). The ADLA or someone appointed by the ADLA will examine these drills and give suggestions for improvements if needed. 

7. After 2-4 months village time or after completing LLFG unit 11 or attaining level 1+ in LAMP, you should arrange for a visit from the ADLA. For this visit, pick out any difficulties that you have been having with phonetics, grammar, etc. in language learning. This visit will mainly be to observe the progress that you have made in language learning and get assistance if you are running into difficulties. 

8. After 10-12 months village time or after completing LLFG or after reaching level 2+ in LAMP, begin seriously collecting and transcribing texts. These texts will give you further vocabulary to learn, new grammatical structures to drill and will help you prepare for grammatical analysis in the future. 

9. If/when you run out of ideas for drills or ideas for improving language learning, look for new ideas in the following resources and ask for help from the ADLA. 

Larson, Donald N. and William A. Smalley, 1972. Becoming bilingual: A guide to language learning. South Paseda, Calif.: William Carey Library. 

Nida, Eugene A., 1950. Learning a foreign language: A handbook for missionaries. New York: Committee on Missionary personnel of the Foreign Missions Conference of North America. 

Samarin, William J., 1967. Field linguistics: A guide to linguistic field work. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 

Thomas, D., 1975. Notes and queries on language analysis. Language Data, Asian-Pacific Series, No. 10. 

Also see language learning materials included in the Lingua Links Library. 

2.2. 

Linguistic Analysis 

A certain amount of phonological and grammatical analysis must and should be done during the language learning period. The formal write-up of these analyses is not a high priority during the first year and should not be attempted before a team has made satisfactory progress in their language learning. After becoming fluent in the language, each team in a traditional type program is expected to fulfill the following requirements. Teams in non-traditional programs should consult with the ADLA concerning the requirements they are expected to fulfill. 

2.2.1. 

Phonological/Grammatical Requirements 

1. Read the list of “Universals in Papuan languages.” (For Austronesian languages see the ADLA.) This list will give you some features of Papuan languages to look for as you are learning the language of the place where you are working. 

2. Set up a schedule for reading articles/books on Grammar related topics. Submit your reading schedule to the ADLA. You are expected to be reading regularly from these articles or other resources that you have found on linguistics. The ADLA may require that specific articles/books be added to your list according to your specific language analysis needs. 

3. Submit to the ADLA, at minimum, an Organized Phonological Data paper. 

4. Each team is expected to keep an up-to-date dictionary on computer using the Multi-Dictionary Formatter standards. This dictionary will greatly assist you in your phonemic analysis and in later semantic studies. For more information on keeping a lexicon, refer to “Lexicons” in the Lingua Links Library. 

5. We encourage teams to make use of grammar workshops. Each team should enter all texts of good quality onto the computer using the Shoebox standards. If a team wishes to attend a grammar workshop, they should have 50-100 pages of texts (not translated material) entered into the computer.  The ADLA or his appointee should examine your materials and analysis before giving final permission for attending the grammar workshop. 

6. Before attending a grammar workshop a team should complete charts on the clause, phrase, and word levels. These should be checked by the ADLA or his appointee before permission is granted to attend a grammar workshop. 

7. Each team is expected to produce a clearly written basic description of the grammar of the language being worked in. This description should include all constructions from word through sentence level and briefer notes on the means of connecting sentences. Clarity is to be preferred to a highly theoretical paper. The main purpose of the analysis is to ensure a thorough understanding of the grammar and thus provide a sound basis for the translation. With permission from the ADLA, a team could opt to complete the SIL Grammar Notebook instead of writing a grammar paper. The grammar Notebook could also be used as a method of organizing data for a grammar paper. 

8. It is often helpful to chart texts for discourse purposes. On the basis of these charts, one or more papers may need to be written on interesting topics that will affect translation. These papers should probably be written after 2-3 years of translation work so that you have time to identify the discourse problems that are causing the most difficulties in translation. 

NOTE: Most discourse topics affect translation, but since you can only write on a limited number of topics you will want to choose topics that are highly relevant to translation. 

2.2.2. 

Technical Papers 

As a Christian organization, we shall endeavor to maintain high academic standards for all phases of our work to the glory of God. Each PBT team shall be required to write papers that clearly describe the phonology and grammatical structures, as has been specified in the 1.2.1. External publication of linguistic papers is not a stated goal of PBT/PNG, but translators are encouraged to pursue external publication of well-written papers. Since we are involved in linguistic research, we have a responsibility to make our data available to others. To ensure the availability of data, each team is required to turn in three copies of each paper that is completed. One copy will be sent to PBT/USA, one will be placed in the ADLA permanent file and one will become a library file copy. 

2.3. 

Anthropology Requirements 

Understanding the culture/customs of the people you live among is necessary for enjoying life in the village and for knowing how to effectively minister to the needs of the people. In order to encourage translators to strive for a deeper understanding of the people, the following requirements have been set. 

1. Each translator should regularly record cultural observations for at least the first two years of village time. 

2. Read regularly from the list of books in the Anthropology Bibliography or other appropriate material. 

3. Complete the “Background Study” or other papers assigned by the ADLA. 

2.4. 

Program Planning Requirements 

Program planning is foundational to a successful program. To help the translator plan his program the following requirements have been set. 

During the first two years of village time: 

1. Read “Why Plan Your Language Program?” 

2. Read “Program Planning for Pioneer Bible Translators in Papua New Guinea.” 

3. Read “Planning Field Projects.” 

4. Complete the anthropology requirements. 

5. Write your program plan in consultation with the ADLA after completing the above requirements. (Attending the SIL Program Planning Workshop at Ukarumpa is an option for all teams in completing this step.) 

After the first two years of village time: 

6. Evaluate and revise your program plan annually (usually in December of each year — i.e. before the branch meeting). Set your monthly goals in light of your yearly and overall goals. 

2.5. 

Literacy 

Our translations are worthless unless the people can read and understand them. People will not learn to read if there is only one book to read, nor can beginning readers readily read and understand the New Testament Scriptures. Some authorities say that a new literate needs to read 800 pages after having learned to read in order to stay literate. To aid the translator, the following requirements have been set for a literacy program. Section 2.5.1 lists the prerequisites for a literacy program and section 2.5.2 lists the requirements for one type of literacy program. 

Note: See the document “PBT Literacy Guidelines” for expansions on these steps and further ideas. 

2.5.1. 

Prerequisites for a Literacy Program 

l. Engage in literacy motivation activities from beginning of program. 

2. Set up reading schedule from Literacy Bibliography with ADLA. 

3. Encourage pre-reading/pre-writing skills informally. 

4. Collect texts; file pictures. 

5. Begin producing (silk-screening) cultural reading materials using local authors. Encourage people to handle and/or read these. 

6. Complete these requirements before proceeding further with your program: 

a. Reach LAMP level 2+ or 3 or LLFG level 5 fluency in the language. 

b. Basic phonological contrasts and orthography decisions made and checked by the ADLA or his appointee. 

c. Demonstrate understanding of the basic grammatical structure of language in discussions with ADLA or his appointee. 

d. Psycholinguistic testing of orthography. 

e. Dialect survey. 

f. Background study completed. 

g. Program planning completed and approved by ADLA. 

2.5.2. 

Literacy Program for Semi-literate Situation 

These requirements are for semi-literate situations, as most PBT teams are in semi-literate situations. See the document “PBT Literacy Guidelines” for ideas for other types of programs. 

1. Form NFE (non-formal education) committee. Work with them on all stages of program. 

2. Prepare and silk-screen (or computer print-out) at least 100 pages of non-Scriptural reading material, 60% native authored. One page equals one half foolscap page, double spaced. 

3. Prepare necessary transfer materials. Check them with ADLA or his appointee. 

4. Test all materials in at least 2 small groups; evaluate orthography and materials; make revisions. 

(At this stage some programs may need to include a Basic Literacy thrust for older non-literates, or a program for teaching school-aged children. See “PBT Literacy Guidelines” for Basic Literacy program steps.) 

5. Prepare 300 or more pages of non-Scriptural reading materials, 60% native authored. Writers workshops are an effective way to do this. 

6. Initiate teacher training, further classes, further reading activities, according to your program plan. (This will vary greatly from program to program.) 

7. Evaluate materials, personnel, reading levels, and orthography. Discuss with NFE committee. Discuss with ADLA. 

8. Continue to train writers to train other writers so that the program will be on-going; continue with reading activities. 

9. Phase out ex-pat involvement. 

2.6. 

Translation 

Translation is the most time consuming and difficult task that each translation team will be involved in. While translation is one of our major goals, it is not to become a substitute for encouraging church growth and discipling others. 

In setting forth structures for quality management of the translation the following two propositions define the parameters in which standards and procedures for translation-for-church growth may operate: 

1. The production of an adequate level of quality for publication of mother-tongue-translations can only be achieved by the cooperation of the expatriate linguists and national co-workers of the target language working as a team. This team’s ability to produce an adequate level for publication is dependent on their level of skill, commitment, energy, training, shared vision, and utilization of the means for ensuring quality made available to them by the PBT team and by informal networking with other groups, e.g. UBS and SIL. Only this team can ultimately produce the needed quality. 

2. The larger PBT team is committed to enabling the expatriate-national language programs to achieve an adequate level of quality by providing quality management resources and procedures, including approval at various stages of translation with recommendations for further study in areas of weakness and/or specific areas for revision before final approval for publication is given. 

PBT is committed to providing for the enablement of the expat-national translation team by: 

a. Maintaining membership training standards for the role of translator and literacy worker 

b. Encouraging continuing education in areas of need—Biblical studies, linguistics, cultural anthropology, and missiology 

c. Providing exegetical and translation materials, workshops and consultant help in each of these areas 

d. Providing standards for the VE back translation 

e. Setting up peer self-help and self-checking clusters of teams working on the same materials, especially for preparing to gain approval for the early attempt stage of a book or portion as described in j. below 

f. Encouraging consultant training of individuals with the interest, aptitude and training/experience 

g. Providing opportunities for training of national co-workers for various roles in translation, literacy, production and mobilization of the infra-structure in the language community for utilization and support of the translation-literacy program 

h. Providing guidelines for the involvement of the national community in checking the early translation attempts to gain approval for completion of a book or portions and also in checking the whole portion, book or NT for approval for publication 

i. Providing a system of appeal for the expat-national translation team regarding any recommendation of projects or revisions required before approval at the peer-checking stage or the external check and publication stage. This system of appeal will involve a submission of a written response to the evaluations with substantiating evidence for the counter-proposal that will in turn be considered by a panel of peers chosen by the ADLA and the expatriate translator. This panel of peers and the Director will meet with the expat-national team, review the evidence and write their own recommendations. 

The translation process involves two basic phases. In the first phase the prerequisites for translation are completed and enough translation (up to 15%) is completed to establish a good translation procedure. The second phase is when the translator moves into full production and is able to steadily produce a translation of the remainder of the NT. 

In order to help ensure that a good quality translation is being done, the following translation requirements have been set. 

2.6.1. 

Prerequisites for Translating up to 15% of NT: 

1. Orthography is in the process of being tested; i.e., beginning literature is being produced and tested. 

2. Basic description of the grammar of the language has been written up and submitted to ADLA. 

3. An understanding of the culture has been demonstrated by completing the anthropology requirements. 

4. Sample translations have been completed in these various discourse types: 

a, Hortative 

b. Narrative 

c. Letters 

d. Other discourse types 

5. Translations of some Bible stories (such as Good News Readers, Joseph narrative, Flood narrative, etc.) have been completed and checked by a translation consultant. 

6. Tentative decisions have been made, written up and submitted to the ADLA about the following topics. NOTE: These decisions should be made in conjunction with the church, translation committee and/or village leaders. 

a. Spelling of names 

b. Titles of books 

c. Key terms 

d. Weights and measures, etc. 

7. Tentative translation procedure has been decided upon. This should include exegetical studies, overview study with helper, key term studies, and various checking procedures. Teams will vary widely in their approach to translation depending on the educational level of the translation helper and other factors. This procedure should be written up and submitted to the ADLA for his approval. 

8. Initial translations have been checked and approved by a translation or exegetical consultant. 

2.6.2. 

Full Production Phase 

After completing approximately 15% of the NT and before completing 25% of the NT approved for publication, each translator should complete the following requirements before going into the full production phase of his translation work. 

1. Review the status of the orthography and the progress of the literacy program with the ADLA or his appointee. 

2. Review current level of vernacular scripture usage with ADLA, and if needed submit plan for increasing the usage of vernacular scriptures. 

All scripture translations, before external publication, must be checked and approved by either: 

1) the President of PBT or an appointed representative of PBT/USA, 

2) a UBS or SIL consultant (the above may be a PBT/PNG branch member), or 

3) other PBT/PNG branch members approved by the branch. 

Limited copies should be produced locally for checking purposes. 

CAUTION: Do not let books pile up before checking them, and do not let the translation program get too far ahead of the literacy program. 

2.6.3. 

Approval Process for Scripture Translation 

In-house Checking: 

1. Get okay from ADLA to translate first 5 chapters 

  assigned to core group 

  discuss with ADLA selection of book 

2. Initial translation of 5 chapters and village comprehension checking (later it may be more feasible logistically to do 10 or more chapters at a time as translators move faster, or the participants in consultation with the ADLA may designate a specific number of chapters for the next session) 

3. Completed Vernacular/English (VE) to be received by the Session Coordinator at least one month before checking session, OR each chapter is sent to the Session Coordinator (SC) as it is completed with the last chapter to be received by the SC not less than two weeks before the target session. These time requirements may be adjusted by mutual consent of the ADLA and the teams involved 

4. Take a holiday, look over VE’s from other translators, or start on new translation 

5. Checking session (In setting up the guidelines for preparation for and activities during the session, try to allow the SC freedom to operate) 

6. Self, Peer, & Session Coordinator evaluations written up and sent to the ADLA 

7. Translator does revisions/projects as recommended, then sends revised translation/project materials to ADLA/SC for approval (This normally should be completed within a month) 

Translator does village comprehension checking 

Repeat steps 1-7 as many times as necessary to complete book(s) 

External-checking: 

1. Complete book or books are completed through Self-checking steps 1-9 

2. ADLA appoints an approved consultant to check finished book(s) 

NOTE: UBS will normally want to be working with the team from the beginning, rather than just checking their work near the end. In that case, this step will need to be done at the very beginning of the translation process. 

3. ADLA receives report from approved consultant, with recommendations for revisions, projects and/or printing (The approved consultant needs to have discussed these recommendations with the translator at the end of the checking); if needed, ADLA discusses revisions/projects with the translator 

4. Translator completes any needed projects/revisions 

5. ADLA approves projects/revisions 

6. The book is printed 

2.7. 

Church Growth Requirements 

Expansion and strengthening the kingdom of God in response to the Great Commission is the reason for PBT’s existence. Bible translation and the necessary support roles to conduct the translation ministry are a means to that end, and not an end in themselves. 

All members are expected to involve themselves in activities that will expand and/or strengthen the kingdom, not limiting themselves to their translation and literacy roles. Those activities may include involvement in the lives of different individuals leading them to a greater knowledge of God and His word, to a saving faith, and cultivation of a Christian lifestyle. It may also include involvement in the growth of congregations to enrich the quality of their corporate life, the emergence of effective leadership, and in the increase of the number of active believers. It may also include involvement in the multiplication of congregations as a part of a process of evangelization of their own people group and the co-operation of Christian bodies together to achieve this goal. It may also include involvement in the development of cross-cultural missionaries to reach other ethnic groups. In working in a sectarianly divided church community, it may include involvement in the lives of individuals and in the church community by a shifting of focus to the Lordship of Christ, the repudiation of false gods and anti-Christian practices, a growing commitment to the authority of the Bible and a growing desire to simply practice non-sectarian Christianity. 

Translation teams will conduct a religious survey of their prospective language group before allocating and discuss potential church growth with the directors. 

Strategy and goals from each translation team for church growth should be written out and submitted to the directors within the first year after allocating. The strategy and goals should be reviewed and updated at least once each term. 

Progress on these goals shall be part of each report submitted to the PBT board by the member. 

Lack of effort or involvement by the member will be noted by the directors, and the member will be consulted to encourage more active involvement. 

A member’s program/role will be considered satisfactory only as they are involved in church growth activities. 

Members should keep as their goal to leave a church or individuals in that church indigenous, more equipped for service, spiritually stronger, more mature, and vernacular scripture in use because of their involvement. 

2.8. 

Involvement in Mission Activity 

Each team will need a certain amount of spiritual outlet and spiritual involvement with the people of the language group we are working in. We should therefore not shun opportunities to help other missions when our help is needed and requested. We should keep in mind, though, that our primary tasks center around our translation ministry. Teams should avoid the temptation to become too involved in the worship and teaching programs of other missions. As well as being a potential area for varied problems, it can often interfere with the missions’ plans to indigenize the churches. We should never be uncooperative, but we must ensure that our cooperation helps and does not hinder either the other mission or ourselves. 

All teams should cooperate with the people and churches of their area as much as possible where like goals are shared. All published materials are available for all denominations. 

2.9. 

Government Public Relations 

It is both the privilege and responsibility of each team to be involved in government PR on both the local and provincial levels. PBT teams are not to become involved politically, but are to assist local and regional government educational programs wherever possible. 

2.10. 

Community Service 

Your allocation will be your “home” and your community for the next several years. As you will be asking certain things of your hosts throughout the duration of our program, it is only fair that they should have certain expectations of you. Just because they allow you to live among them and do “your thing” does not mean they have fully accepted you and “your thing,” or that the product you are offering will scratch where they are initially itching. Finding practical ways in which you can help or serve the village people during your beginning stages will reap real rewards during the later stages of your program. Beware, however, of doing things for people rather than training them to do new tasks. 

PBT teams are to serve the people, the church and the government, but not to the exclusion of any of the above goals. This means that worthwhile community projects and church activities must be evaluated in terms of the general assignment of the team. 

2.11. 

Training 

In cooperation with the goals of our host government concerning indigenization and rural development, each PBT team should devote up to 30% of their time in training a core of nationals to carry major responsibility in several areas of our ministry. This not only multiplies our efforts, but is also a lasting benefit to the people when we leave. Assistants can be trained in typing, taking and filing notes, complete use of tape recorders, etc. For an on-going literacy program there should be trained writers, trained printers in use of silk-screen, etc. Instead of thinking in terms of just hiring language helpers, we should think in terms of developing them into co-translators capable of producing first-draft materials, assisting in meaning checks, idiom searches, and much, much more. 

With the formation of the Papua New Guinea Bible Translation Association and the national translator courses being offered by SIL, PBT teams should also be seeking and encouraging qualified nationals to become translators. 

3. 

Sociolinguistic Surveys, Decision Making and Allocation 

The purpose of this section is to enable PBT teams to allocate in less time and with greater ease. If a team follows these guidelines, sociolinguistic surveys and allocation will proceed more smoothly with less tension due to waiting, and with fewer mistakes. 

3.1. 

Sociolinguistic Surveys 

Before a team can even consider allocating in a particular group, a thorough sociolinguistic survey must be completed. The procedures for the survey and PBT’s expectations of the survey team are discussed in the following sections under the headings of preparation, the survey itself, and follow-up. 

3.1.1. 

Preparation 

3.1.1.1. 

Choice of Language Group 

The impetus for a survey may come from either the ADLA or a translator, but the final decision on which group to survey is made by the ADLA. Normally this will be a language group that is already listed on the allocation priority list. 

After choosing the language to be surveyed, the translator will consult various sources and attempt to gather the following information: 

1. Statistics—the number of villages in the language group and the population of each village. 

2. Missions—what missions are working in the area and where their centers are located. 

3. Accessibility—what is the easiest and least expensive way to get into the area. 

Possible sources of information are as follows: 

Laycock, D. C. ed. 1973. Sepik languages — checklist and preliminary classification. PL B25. 

Z’graggen, John A. 1975. Languages of Madang District. PL B41 

PNG Census Bureau 

3.1.1.2. 

Survey Dates 

In conjunction with the ADLA the team will then set the dates for the survey. When planning a survey a team should allow a day for each village or major center in the language group. In areas where villages are close together it may be possible to survey several villages in one day, but this is dependent on the availability of people. After the dates are tentatively set, plans can be made for transportation into and out of the area, missions in the area may be contacted, and a tok save should be sent over Radio Madang, Radio Wewak, etc. All transportation to and from the area should be arranged through the ADSS and charged to the sociolinguistic surveys account. 

3.1.1.3. 

Materials 

In preparation for collecting data while on the survey a team should read or review Bugenhagen’s A Guide for conducting sociolinguistic surveys in Papua New Guinea and several survey reports that have been written by past teams. After studying these, a team should get sufficient copies of the various survey forms from the office or photocopy the number of forms needed. A special arrangement of the abbreviated SIL word list is available in the computer room. This arrangement with all villages listed under each word is a valuable aid in elicitation, e.g. if the word from one village is widely divergent from all the other villages you may want to recheck the word. This arrangement also makes the counting of cognates easier. 

Below is a tentative list of equipment and supplies that may be useful on a survey. 

survey forms
paper
pens
good backpack
comfortable shoes
two changes of clothes
mosquito net
sheet
blanket (opt.)
foam pad or mat (opt.)
small cooking pot
plate or bowl
cup
spoon
medical kit
small camera (opt.)
torch with spare globe and extra batteries
toiletries
water bottle
water purifying tablets 

food — a couple evening meals and then mainly high energy snack foods. Plan to depend on the villagers for your main food. Staminade is recommended to prevent loss of too much salt. 

money — small amount for emergency usage and possibly for transportation needs. 

Other material that may be helpful to have is reading material (TIME magazine, Reader’s Digest, etc.) or letter writing material for the times when you have to wait for people. 

NOTE: All personal supplies and food costs are considered personal expense. Travel costs and other costs should be reported to the ADLA who will ensure proper reimbursement upon request. 

3.1.2. 

Survey Itself 

Flexibility is the key word on a survey. Be prepared for long periods of waiting, re-routing of the survey due to paths that existed on the map only, and finding out that a village that was supposedly in the language group to be surveyed is actually in another language group. 

If there are two or more people involved in the survey, it is wise to have one person collect the word lists and the other do the sociolinguistic data. This will lead to more consistent data and will allow for both parts of the survey to be done simultaneously if there are enough people available. 

In discussions of the purpose of the survey be sure to emphasize that Pioneer Bible Translators is a mission that helps all Christians because all Christians share the same Bible. Also emphasize the fact that we are not planning to send a team to that language group at this time. The survey is simply a means of collecting information about an area. Many language groups want a translation of the Bible, but PBT only has a few workers. 

If possible, plan to meet with missionaries or church leaders working in the area and spend some time explaining to them the purpose of our survey. 

Above all else, remember that surveys are a great time to see God’s hand at work as he provides people to take you to the next village, places to sleep, and food for each day. Expect to be pleasantly surprised each and every day. 

3.1.3. 

Follow-up 

After completing the survey, one member of the survey team should plan to spend at least a week writing up a report on the survey using the guidelines set forth by Bugenhagen and other surveys done by PBT teams. At least four copies of each survey should be turned in — one for PBT/USA, one for SIL/PNG, and two (one being the original) for PBT/PNG. Additional copies may be sent to missionaries in the area surveyed accompanied by a cover letter from the ADLA. 

3.2. 

Decision Making Process 

The decision about where to allocate is based on three major factors — the examination of the survey data, the approval of the village/language group leaders during administrator’s visit and personal response to the group based on a trial visit. In this section we will look briefly at each of these factors. 

3.2.1. 

Examination of Survey Data 

Most survey reports will include an evaluation of the viability of the language group. If a language group is no longer viable then it will not be considered for allocation. If you were not on the original survey team, you will want to visit the area personally especially the social/linguistic centers which will be the most likely places for allocation. If the survey is more than two years old you will want to be especially careful and recheck the social interaction patterns. Look for factors that may have changed such as new schools, new missions, new businesses, disintegration of certain villages, etc. On the basis of the original survey and any new information, prioritize and list the villages which seem to be the best for allocating. The visit with administrators will be to the village that is highest in priority on your list. 

3.2.2. 

Visit with Administrator 

The first visit to discuss the possibility of allocating should be made with either the Director or ADLA. On this visit the administrator will take the leading role in discussions with the village leaders in order to establish the fact that the translator has a boss to whom he is responsible. General topics to be discussed will include the following: 

1. The nature/work of PBT. 

2. The task of Bible translation, duration of work, and need for help from the village people at all stages of the work. 

3. Translator’s needs for housing, food, etc. 

4. What the people can/cannot expect from translator. 

5. Any other topics deemed necessary by translator or administrator. 

During this visit the administrator will make arrangements for a trial visit. 

3.2.3. 

Trial Visit 

Before making a final decision about where to allocate, a translator may choose to live for three weeks or so in an area in order to gather more information about the sociolinguistic situation and to better determine which village or area would be most suitable for a more permanent allocation site. This visit will be set up like a village living time with no long term commitment on the part of either the team or the village people. During this time you will quickly come to a conclusion about whether or not you are willing to make a long term commitment to the language group. 

3.3. 

Allocation 

Beginning the allocation process presumes that you have already prayerfully considered all the factors involved and decided on a language group to work in. It also presumes that you have discussed the decision with the ADLA and received approval. Based on those presuppositions, the information in this section will assist you in the process of allocating. The topics discussed will be the first stay and house-building. 

3.3.1. 

First Stay 

A translator’s first stay should be six weeks to two months in duration. Before going out, the translator should look at the language learning requirements and prepare the material suggested in those sources. In addition the translator should be sure to consider taking the following suggested items in addition to what a team normally has for village living. 

Poisons for termites, ants, etc. 

Small supply of tools, nails, etc. 

Water collection system — tarp and drum or bucket 

Book shelf material or pre-built cabinet 

Old magazines, esp. National Geographic 

Solar panel, battery, radio, lights 

The main emphasis at this stage is language learning and building relationships. This means spending a lot of time with people. 

3.3.2. 

Housebuilding 

For specifics on housebuilding, see the ADSS and Miscellaneous Information in the Policies & Procedures Manual to be sure that the translator thinks about the following factors that will affect the housebuilding. 

1. Housebuilding always takes longer than planned. Put off housebuilding for as long as possible or at least until you have a good grasp of the language. Housebuilding might even be put off until your second term. 

2. House size ideally should not be much larger than the largest village house, but make it large enough that you will enjoy your home and your time in the village. 

3. The location of the house should be neutral territory so that you are not viewed as siding with one clan versus another. 

4. The house arrangement should encourage interaction between people and translator, i.e. plan sufficient space for visiting. 

5. Be sensitive to the cultural means of payment. In many areas a few gifts, feeding the workers and a large feast are more appropriate than hourly wages. 

6. Try to plan housebuilding for a time of year when the people are not busy with other activities such as making new gardens. 

3.4. 

Towards a Philosophy on Consulting 

The consultant is a member of the team who serves as a resource for improving the quality of the final translation. As such it is vital that both translator and consultant view the role of consultant as positive and beneficial to the translation process. A view of the consultant as one who judges, polices, or arbitrarily restricts the translator is counter-productive and leads to unnecessary strains on working relationships. 

In the same way that a translator draws upon professional and technical tools such as linguistic theories, Greek language resources, and commentaries, he should draw upon the unique knowledge and experience of the consultant. Because of his multi-language exposure and perspective, the consultant is often able to give insight and suggest solutions that are beyond the scope of the average translator. By treating the consultant with the respect a fellow professional deserves, the translator will be able to tap into a valuable resource and allow the consultant to make his special contribution to the quality of the translation.