Kuku Yalanji Bible (GVNWBT)

Overview

The Kuku Yalanji Bible, known in the vernacular as Godumu Kuku, is a shorter Bible containing the complete New Testament and extensive Old Testament portions, completed in 1984 [1]. The translation was the work of Wycliffe missionaries Hank and Ruth Hershberger, who dedicated 25 years of their lives to completing the Kuku Yalanji New Testament and the book of Genesis [2]. The Hershbergers also produced a Kuku Yalanji dictionary in 1986 as part of their broader linguistic work [2]. Kuku-Yalanji is the language of the Aboriginal people at the former Lutheran mission at Hopevale, near Cooktown in Far North Queensland, and is spoken at home by over 300 people according to the 2016 Census [3]. Although the language is classified as threatened, language use is described as vigorous and it is taught in schools, with the number of speakers increasing [1]. Noel Pearson has described the SIL translations of the New Testament into Kuku Yalanji and other Cape York languages as "magisterial" [3].

Language and People

Kuku-Yalanji (ISO 639-3: gvn) is spoken by approximately 320 people in Northern Australia. [Glottolog: kuku1273]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA.

References