Fordata 2016 Edition (FRDWBT)

Overview

This edition contains the New Testament in Fordata, an Austronesian language spoken in the Tanimbar Islands of the Maluku province in eastern Indonesia [1][2]. The translation represents 25 years of work led by Craig and Sarah Marshall of Wycliffe Global Alliance (Asia-Pacific), who moved from the United States to Indonesia in 1988 to begin the project [1]. Mother tongue translators including Lue Maiseka, Zeto Wekan, and De Elath collaborated on the translation, studying the national language Bible and translation resources while the Marshalls cross-checked the text against Greek, Hebrew, and English sources for accuracy [1]. The completed New Testament was dedicated in July 2016 in a ceremony on Pulau Fordata featuring traditional dance, a trumpet band, and fireworks, marking the first time a complete Testament had been translated into the Fordata language [1]. Prior to this translation, the Fordata people had only accessed Scripture in Bahasa Indonesia, a language vastly different from their own, since Christianity was introduced to the islands in the early 1900s through Dutch Reformed and Catholic missionaries [1]. Following the dedication, printed copies were distributed across villages in the Tanimbar Islands, and work on Old Testament translation, beginning with Genesis, is underway [1].

Language and People

Fordata (ISO 639-3: frd) is spoken by approximately 50,000 people in Indonesia, Southern Maluku. [Glottolog: ford1242]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA. Translation type: First.

References