Ndrulo Ruth and New Testament Books
Overview
The scripture translation in Ndrulo (Ndrulo Ruta ndèymí njàddí Lò-tdey tsò gbádha mí bǔkù nà — Ruth plus NT portions, approximately 22 books) was published by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. It is available online via YouVersion/Bible.com. SIL International has also produced an Orthography Guide and Lexicon for Ndrulo (archived at sil.org).
Language and People
Ndrulo (ISO 639-3: dno), also called Northern Lendu or Ndrukpa, is a Central Sudanic language belonging to the Lenduic (Lendu–Ngiti) branch of the Nilo-Saharan family. It is closely related to Lendu (Balendru) and Ngiti, which together form the Lenduic cluster. The Lenduic languages as a whole are spoken by approximately 960,000 people; Ndrulo has an estimated 110,000 speakers.
The Ndrulo-speaking Ndrukpa people live in Ituri Province, northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in territories west and northwest of Lake Albert, bordering Uganda. A smaller number of speakers extend across the border into Zombo District of northwestern Uganda. Ituri Province is a region of significant ethnic diversity and historical conflict; the Lendu and Ndrukpa peoples have traditionally inhabited its highland and savanna zones, while the neighboring Hema, Alur, and Okebu peoples live in adjacent territories.
The name Ndrulo is the speakers' own term for their language; outsiders have historically called them Ndrukpa or Northern Lendu to distinguish them from the larger southern Lendu (Balendru) group. The tonal orthography of Ndrulo features distinctive diacritic marks, as reflected in the vernacular title of this translation (e.g., ndèymí, Lò-tdey, bǔkù).
Publishing and Organizations
Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. is the world's largest Bible translation organization, founded in 1942. It works alongside SIL International (its field-linguistics affiliate) on translation, literacy, and language documentation. SIL's published Ndrulo Orthography Guide and Lexicon (available via sil.org) reflect the foundational linguistic work that preceded this scripture translation.