ElemeOld Testament Translation
Support team training of local ministry entrepreneurs in West Africa. Equip and empower the team as they draft a number of Old Testament books in 2024.
Bible Translation
Country
- Nigeria
Region
- West Africa
Language Population
58,000
Effective Translation takes time & Training
The Eleme Old Testament translation program is currently underway in one of the central Eleme communities in Rivers State, Nigeria.
While there is farming, many people work for companies on Eleme land. The companies are there due to Eleme’s strategic location including two seaports and two refineries.
The Eleme Old Testament translation program will help the Eleme people engage with the Word of God in their heart language, bringing hope, life, and transformation to the community.
Prepare & Support Nigerian Leaders
We believe that every community should have the chance to read the Bible in the language they know best, led by people they trust and respect. Your financial gifts and prayers enable us to prepare and support leaders in Nigeria as they translate the full Bible into the Eleme language of their people.
Program Goals
- Increase team capacity and skills: the team will learn to use Paratext software, and a workshop on general translation theories and linguistics will be organized for all translators.
- Draft translation: the following books will be drafted in 2024: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 1 Kings, and 1 Chronicles.
Eleme Old Testament Translation Program Plan
Step 1
Begin team training in best practices.
Step 2
Start translation on seven Old Testament books.
Step 3
Complete team and community checks for translation work.
Meet the Local Team
team members
3 translators
1 consultant
15 reviewers
the assistant general secretary
and a finance manager
REV. Linus Otronyi
Rev. Linus Otronyi grew up in the rural village of Iboko, in the Yala-speaking area of northern Cross River State, Nigeria. Rev. Linus is an ordained pastor with the Lutheran Church of Nigeria and serves as an International Associate with Lutheran Bible Translators.
Partner Organizations
Honoring the Language
Almost all Eleme nouns begin with a vowel and end with a vowel.
There are 12 vowels, with five of them being nasalized.
There is a complex system of vowel harmony, with the system being controlled by later vowels. That is, the last vowel or vowel combination of a noun controls the first vowel of that noun, and that vowel or vowel combination can, in some circumstances, control the vowels in the preceding two words. So, when speaking, one needs to think of how later words are pronounced before pronouncing earlier words.
