Sundanese Formal Version (SUNIBS)

Overview

The Sundanese Formal Version (Sunda-Formal) is a New Testament translation in Sundanese published in 1997 by the Indonesian Bible Society (Lembaga Alkitab Indonesia). It stands in a long tradition of Sundanese Scripture translation that began in the nineteenth century. The Dutch missionary Sierk Coolsma (1840-1926) completed the first Sundanese New Testament in 1877 and the full Bible in 1891, working from his base in West Java. [1] Coolsma's translation was done in prose rather than the poetry the Sundanese traditionally valued, in hopes of conveying new ideas more clearly. [2] His linguistic work, including a Sundanese grammar and dictionary, contributed significantly to the standardization of written Sundanese. [1] The 1997 Formal Version represents a modern continuation of these efforts, produced in a formal register of the language for use alongside the "Today's Sundanese Version" (Kitab Suci Nganggo Basa Sunda Sadidinten) published in 1991. [3]

Language and People

Sundanese (ISO 639-3: sun) is spoken by approximately 32,400,000 people in Indonesia, Java and Bali. [Glottolog: sund1252]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Indonesian BS, Jakarta.

References