The New Testament in Kayah (KYUWBT)

Overview

The Western Kayah New Testament was first completed in 2009 and published by the Bible Society of Myanmar, with the text copyright held by the Christian Far East Ministry [1][2]. Western Kayah (also known as Kayah Li, Karenni, or Red Karen) is spoken by approximately 184,000 people across Myanmar and Thailand, with the largest concentration of 162,000 in Myanmar's Kayah and Kayin states [3]. The Kayah Li script used for this translation was devised by Htae Bu Phae in March 1962, partly in response to Latin-based orthographies that had appeared after 1950; it was subsequently proclaimed the official national alphabet of Kayah State [4]. The first documented Western Kayah Christian was a man named Ngapah in 1871, but despite this early conversion, a complete New Testament in the language was not available until over a century later [3]. By 2024, fifteen Old Testament books had also been completed, and the translation is distributed through the Kayah Phu Baptist Association office in Kayah State as well as digitally through multiple apps and platforms [3][1]. Only about 10 percent of Western Kayah speakers can read their own language today, making audio and digital formats particularly important for Scripture access [3].

Language and People

Western Kayah (ISO 639-3: kyu) is spoken by approximately 150,000 people in Central Myanmar. [Glottolog: west2409]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators USA.

References