Witu New Testament (WIUTBL)

Overview

The Witu New Testament, titled Weneya Totono Keraisu Yesunomo, is the first New Testament translation in the Wiru language (also called Witu) of Papua New Guinea, published in 1990 with a revised edition in 1992 by Wycliffe Bible Translators. [1] The translation was the work of SIL missionaries Harland and Marie Kerr, who arrived in the Philippines with SIL in 1954 and began living near Wiru territory in 1958 before entering the community proper on August 4, 1960. [2] Marie Kerr launched a vernacular literacy program that enabled local participation in the translation effort, while Harland produced linguistic studies including a master's thesis on Wiru verb structure and the publication Wiru, Essentials for Translation (1986). [2] [3] Wiru is spoken by approximately 20,000 people in the Ialibu-Pangia District of Southern Highlands Province and is classified as a Papuan language with resemblances to the Engan language family. [4]

Language and People

Wiru (ISO 639-3: wiu) is spoken by approximately 20,000 people in Papua New Guinea, Map 9. [Glottolog: wiru1244]

Publishing and Organizations

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

References