19 adults, 4 dogs, 3 kids, and a pig
We sat on picnic tables and church pews with a makeshift tin roof over our heads. No walls. A dirt floor. Across from me, a young pig knocked its snout against the leg of its owner before settling down in the dirt at his feet, seemingly satisfied.
A debate raged around me, causing the group to expand as everyone within earshot was moving closer to add their opinion. I sat in the middle, trying to grasp words I recognized in the flurry of speech around me . . . without much success.
I had asked a simple question, "Does this phrase mean that they are supposed to connect the two words that are opposite?" Apparently, it wasn't so simple.
The only words I could pick out of the debate was the English phrase "draw a line" that we were checking the translation of. Every time I tried to insert a question or a comment, a new group of people were drawn into the conversation, making it louder and fuller.
I waited. Deciding to let them discuss the matter in full, I began watching the group. On the edges, a man sat at one of the tables, working on a back-translation for another lesson. In between tending the needs of the small child on his lap, he peered into the group listening to what was being said, but not joining in.
The man with the pig at his feet, a local pastor, put in a few words here and there, but mostly just followed along.
An older woman, sitting on my right, pulled a worn copy of another Sunday school book that had been translated before from her bilum and paged through it, looking for another lesson that had a similar activity. The group began dissecting other phrases they found in the book for similar activities, not content with any of them.
Several dogs curled up in the shade under the tables, until the next person to crowd into a circle shooed them away, then they slunk back into the stifling sun looking for more shade.
Eventually, the group turned back to me, drawing me back from my musings. They wanted me to read the original activity instructions in English again. I did, pausing slightly before suggesting, "If you can't find a way to say 'draw a line', why don't you try saying 'match the two'?"
New fervor entered the conversation as the phrases I heard turned from "draw a line" to "match the two". A few minutes later, the spokesperson turned to me triumphantly. "We can say that."
Forty-five minutes we sat there debating a phrase that I didn't even know was a problem. I was simply asking about the "opposites" part of the instructions. It emphasized how truly you do not know what will come up in your translation advisor checks!
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| I found some cool dirt! |
A debate raged around me, causing the group to expand as everyone within earshot was moving closer to add their opinion. I sat in the middle, trying to grasp words I recognized in the flurry of speech around me . . . without much success.
I had asked a simple question, "Does this phrase mean that they are supposed to connect the two words that are opposite?" Apparently, it wasn't so simple.
The only words I could pick out of the debate was the English phrase "draw a line" that we were checking the translation of. Every time I tried to insert a question or a comment, a new group of people were drawn into the conversation, making it louder and fuller.
I waited. Deciding to let them discuss the matter in full, I began watching the group. On the edges, a man sat at one of the tables, working on a back-translation for another lesson. In between tending the needs of the small child on his lap, he peered into the group listening to what was being said, but not joining in.
The man with the pig at his feet, a local pastor, put in a few words here and there, but mostly just followed along.
An older woman, sitting on my right, pulled a worn copy of another Sunday school book that had been translated before from her bilum and paged through it, looking for another lesson that had a similar activity. The group began dissecting other phrases they found in the book for similar activities, not content with any of them.
Several dogs curled up in the shade under the tables, until the next person to crowd into a circle shooed them away, then they slunk back into the stifling sun looking for more shade.
Eventually, the group turned back to me, drawing me back from my musings. They wanted me to read the original activity instructions in English again. I did, pausing slightly before suggesting, "If you can't find a way to say 'draw a line', why don't you try saying 'match the two'?"
New fervor entered the conversation as the phrases I heard turned from "draw a line" to "match the two". A few minutes later, the spokesperson turned to me triumphantly. "We can say that."
Forty-five minutes we sat there debating a phrase that I didn't even know was a problem. I was simply asking about the "opposites" part of the instructions. It emphasized how truly you do not know what will come up in your translation advisor checks!
I remember one time in Japan that translators and our team worked so long on a sentence for a presentation that I finally put everyone out of their misery and made a picture for the presentation. Bless you, honey, since you can't just "make a picture"! Love you - mm
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