Aighon Translation Project — Aighon Scripture Portions (Papua New Guinea)
Overview
The Aighon Translation Project is 7 books of scripture in the Aighon (Psohoh) language of West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea, published by SIL International and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4000; abbreviation: AIX). This represents the first written scripture for the Aighon community; before this project began, Aighon had no scripture in any form. The translation is carried out by Wycliffe Bible Translators missionaries (the Duhe family, based in PNG), with SIL International as the formal publishing partner. Global Recordings Network has also produced three audio portions in Aighon ("Beginning with GOD," "Mighty Men of GOD," "Servants of GOD"), predating the written translations. Translation updates documented in The PNG Experience blog (September 2023) describe ongoing milestones in the project.
Language and People
Aighon (ISO 639-3: aix; autonym: Psohoh, also written Apsokok; alternate names: Bao, Do) is an Austronesian language: Austronesian → Malayo-Polynesian → Oceanic → Western Oceanic → North New Guinea → Ngero-Vitiaz → Southwest New Britain → Arawe-Pasismanua → Pasismanua. The Pasismanua subgroup is a cluster of closely related Oceanic languages on the southwestern coast of New Britain.
Aighon is spoken between the Avio and Amgen rivers, West New Britain Province, Papua New Guinea — on the southern coast of New Britain island. This area is part of the Pasismanua coast, characterized by coastal fishing communities.
Estimated speakers: approximately 2,000–3,800 (2003 data: ~2,000 per Wikipedia; Joshua Project more recently: ~3,800).
Cultural Context
West New Britain is one of PNG's most linguistically diverse provinces, home to dozens of Austronesian and Papuan languages within a compact coastal and interior region. New Britain itself is a volcanic island known for the Gazelle Peninsula and Rabaul (site of a major 1994 volcanic eruption that destroyed much of the town). The Pasismanua coast where Aighon is spoken is a comparatively remote area, with communities accessible primarily by boat.
The Aighon project represents the broader Wycliffe/SIL effort to address the remaining approximately 1,600 languages worldwide that still have no scripture of any kind (as of recent estimates). PNG alone has over 850 languages, many with no written tradition.
Publishing and Organizations
Published by SIL International, in partnership with Wycliffe Bible Translators (translation team: the Duhe family, based with Wycliffe PNG).