Akha 2001 Edition (AHKTBS)

Overview

The Akha 2001 Edition is a New Testament in the Akha language, published by the Bible Society of Thailand. The Akha are a hill tribe of Southeast Asia, with communities in Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and China's Yunnan province. The history of Akha Bible translation is closely tied to the work of Paul and Elaine Lewis, American Baptist missionaries who went to Burma in the early 1950s to serve the Akha and Lahu peoples, settling in Kengtung in eastern Shan State. [1] Paul Lewis developed the first Akha writing system, a Roman-based script known as the "Baptist script," in 1950, and subsequently used it to produce literacy materials and translate the New Testament, which was first printed in 1968. [1] [2] When Burma closed to foreign missionaries in 1966, the Lewises continued their work with Akha communities in Thailand. [1] This 2001 edition, published by the Thailand Bible Society, represents a continuation of that translation tradition using the Lewis Baptist script. More recently, a Common Akha Orthography (CAO) was developed over ten years (2008-2018) by Akha representatives from five countries, and a CAO New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs was dedicated on November 17, 2018. [3]

Language and People

Akha (ISO 639-3: ahk) is spoken by approximately 616,600 people in Southwestern China. [Glottolog: akha1245]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Bible Society of Thailand. Translation type: First.

References