Banda-Linda New Testament (2024)

Overview

The Banda-Linda NT is the complete New Testament in the Banda-Linda (Banda-Bambari) language of the Central African Republic, published in 2024 by The Seed Company and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 4561). The translation project passed through at least three phases: Phase Two focused on the Gospels, Galatians, and Ephesians; Phase Three completed the remaining NT books. The Banda-Linda were first exposed to the gospel in the 1920s — meaning the NT arrives roughly 100 years after initial Christian contact, during which the community had only access to Scripture in the national language (Sango and French), not their heart language. At the time the project launched, approximately 25% of the Banda-Linda identified as Christian, with no prior heart-language Scripture.

The Seed Company's CAR partner is ACATBA (Association Centrafricaine de Traduction de la Bible et Alphabétisation — the Central African Republic's national Bible translation organization, analogous to CABTAL in Cameroon). Linguistic work on Banda-Linda has been published by Kenneth S. Olson (SIL International), including a reanalysis of its nine-vowel system and an orthography guide (Précis d'orthographe du banda-linda, SIL, available online).

Language and People

Banda-Linda (ISO 639-3: liy; also Banda-Bambari, Linda) is an Ubangian language of the Niger-Congo family, spoken in Ouaka Prefecture, Central African Republic, with its center at Bambari — the capital of Ouaka Prefecture and the second-largest city in CAR. The Banda-Bambari people number approximately 342,000 (Joshua Project), making this one of the larger language communities in CAR. The broader Banda language group is actually a cluster of mutually unintelligible Ubangian languages spread across central CAR, of which Banda-Linda/Bambari is one variety; other Banda languages include Banda-Mbanza, Banda-Ndélé, Banda-Yangere, Langbashe, and others.

The language has nine vowels: /i ɨ̟ ɯ̟ u e ə o a ɔ/ — an unusual vowel inventory for the region, the subject of Olson's phonological reanalysis.

Historical and Political Context

Bambari and Ouaka Prefecture have been at the heart of CAR's devastating civil conflict. On 23 December 2012, Bambari was captured by the Séléka rebel alliance that subsequently toppled President François Bozizé in a coup in March 2013. Anti-Balaka militia formed in response, and the country descended into sectarian violence between the predominantly Muslim Séléka and Christian/animist Anti-Balaka forces. A Bible translator in CAR was shot and killed in December 2013 while trying to evacuate his family during the violence. Bambari subsequently became contested territory, passing through multiple armed group occupations.

Despite this conflict environment, ACATBA and Seed Company translation teams continued work, the NT was completed and published in 2024 — a testament to both the translators' commitment and the resilience of the Banda-Linda community.

Publishing and Organizations

Published by The Seed Company in partnership with ACATBA (Association Centrafricaine de Traduction de la Bible et Alphabétisation), the national Bible translation body of the Central African Republic. The Seed Company is a Wycliffe Bible Translators affiliate specializing in NT completion for minority languages.

References