3122 Edition
December 26, 2011-January 1, 2012
General Assembly News

Reported by Sam Lee

Written by Lydia Ma

Taipei Presbytery’s Po-Ai Sign Language Church pastor, Rev. Wu Hsin-chang, attended the launch of Asia-Pacific Sign Language Development Association in Seoul recently, which was followed by a seminar on translating the Bible in sign language.

In light of this conference held November 24-December 10, 2011, Bible Society in Taiwan also convened a meeting of its own with pastors from various sign language churches across Taiwan to start a steering committee on translating a sign language Bible in Taiwan. The committee is expected to start translating the Gospel of Mark and compile a list of Christian terminology and phrases in sign language.

Wycliffe Bible Translation Agency - Asia Region convened a two-day meeting in Seoul recently and invited representatives from 14 different countries to attend and formally establish Asia-Pacific Sign Language Development Association. Wu was sent as a delegate representing Taiwan to take part in discussions about Bible translation work and learn about the experiences of other churches.

According to Wu, there are 2 main sign language systems in Asia, the first one is used in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan and the second one is used predominantly in Southeast Asia. Besides these 2 systems, Hong Kong and China have their own sign language system. Due to these differences, each system has its own publishing timetable.

As early as 2009, Bible Society in Taiwan invited sign language churches from across Taiwan from various denominations, including Baptist, Presbyterian, Bread of Life, Methodist churches, to collaborate in this long awaited project of translating the Bible into sign language.

To explain this huge task, Wu underscored that translators not only need to be fluent in sign language, they also need to consult academics regarding whether to use dynamic equivalence or formal equivalence when translating. Furthermore, they also need to take into account the particularities of sign language Christians and the needs and preferences of each sign language church.

The task of translating a good sign language bible is enormous, said Wu, and the team needs the prayer and support of all churches in Taiwan.