I had another of those moments the other day. For quite a few months, we've been having some email conversations with a local chap who's been busily beavering away at making books in his language. From his emails, you could tell that this man is right on the money - he's organized, he's got great communication skills, and he knows what's what when it comes to literacy and education. And of course, he's one of the experts in his language. We've also been having lots of requests from people in various churches, organizations and bits of government who want books in this language because it's one of the bigger language groups in this country.
But of course, he's been living in a different part of the country, and so we've never been able to sit down with him and actually talk face to face to get the scoop on what's going on with his literacy books. But last week, it actually happened. We had an appointment booked with him for about 3 weeks, and finally, he came. And he did not disappoint! For one thing, he was splendidly dressed in a whole outfit of this gorgeous green, blue and brown African print - the long tunic with embroidery and matching trousers underneath. His face also bears the traditional scarification of his tribe. His are some of the nicest I've seen though - nice and even, and unobtrusive!
And he was a joy to chat with, as well. Really, just knows what he's talking about. He's done some linguistic work with a European University, as well, so can relate to us at a very high academic level. He's currently working with a sort of "sister" organization that's also involved in Christian translation and language development work, so he knows what we're all about.
Anyway, we sorted out some of the book issues (though I'm still trying to track down the electronic copies of things which are stored on some computers elsewhere in the country!). We also took him to meet the Director of the department in the Ministry of education that we work most closely with - a man who also used to work in literacy and Bible translation before he was appointed to his current position in the government.
Jackie and I both wished that we had a video camera to record these two older men discussing language and translation issues and some of the funny things they've encountered! They're from different language groups, and have never met each other before, but they still had lots to talk about and so many stories to share.
Once again, I was reminded that no matter how much experience I have here, or how many journal articles I read, or how many letters I have after my name, I will never really know as much as these mother tongue speakers know, and I will never have the same kind of insight that they do into the challenges (and joys!) of language development work. But what fun it was to sit and listen to these guys talk and laugh and share their experiences together! The best part about it is that it's just all in a days' work :)
But of course, he's been living in a different part of the country, and so we've never been able to sit down with him and actually talk face to face to get the scoop on what's going on with his literacy books. But last week, it actually happened. We had an appointment booked with him for about 3 weeks, and finally, he came. And he did not disappoint! For one thing, he was splendidly dressed in a whole outfit of this gorgeous green, blue and brown African print - the long tunic with embroidery and matching trousers underneath. His face also bears the traditional scarification of his tribe. His are some of the nicest I've seen though - nice and even, and unobtrusive!
And he was a joy to chat with, as well. Really, just knows what he's talking about. He's done some linguistic work with a European University, as well, so can relate to us at a very high academic level. He's currently working with a sort of "sister" organization that's also involved in Christian translation and language development work, so he knows what we're all about.
Anyway, we sorted out some of the book issues (though I'm still trying to track down the electronic copies of things which are stored on some computers elsewhere in the country!). We also took him to meet the Director of the department in the Ministry of education that we work most closely with - a man who also used to work in literacy and Bible translation before he was appointed to his current position in the government.
Jackie and I both wished that we had a video camera to record these two older men discussing language and translation issues and some of the funny things they've encountered! They're from different language groups, and have never met each other before, but they still had lots to talk about and so many stories to share.
Once again, I was reminded that no matter how much experience I have here, or how many journal articles I read, or how many letters I have after my name, I will never really know as much as these mother tongue speakers know, and I will never have the same kind of insight that they do into the challenges (and joys!) of language development work. But what fun it was to sit and listen to these guys talk and laugh and share their experiences together! The best part about it is that it's just all in a days' work :)
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