Nouveau Testament bété de Gagnoa — Gagnoa Bété New Testament (Côte d'Ivoire)
Overview
Nouveau Testament bété de Gagnoa ("The New Testament in the Bété of Gagnoa") is the complete New Testament (27 books) in the Gagnoa Bété language of central Côte d'Ivoire, published by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. in 2023 and available via YouVersion/Bible.com (ID 3837; abbreviation: BTG). This completes a significant milestone in Bible translation for the Bété-speaking region: the Gagnoa dialect (btg) joins the Daloa/Guiberoua Bété dialect (btb, which has an older NT) as a distinct NT translation. The title reflects the French-language scholarly convention of identifying Bété varieties by their major town — "Bété of Gagnoa" versus "Bété of Daloa/Guiberoua."
Language and People
Gagnoa Bété (ISO 639-3: btg; autonym: Beteic or wè, meaning "person") is a Kru language: Niger-Congo → Atlantic-Congo → Kru. The Kru family is spoken along the southern coast of Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia and is characterized by complex tonal systems and rich oral literature traditions. Gagnoa Bété is one of two major regional varieties of Bété, centered on Gagnoa town in the Gôh-Djiboua District (Centre-Ouest Region) of Côte d'Ivoire, while the other major variety (Daloa/Guiberoua Bété, ISO btb) is centered further west on Daloa. The two varieties are sufficiently distinct to require separate translation projects.
The broader Bété-speaking population is estimated at approximately 600,000–900,000 across both varieties, making Bété one of Côte d'Ivoire's more significant minority languages. Gagnoa Bété speakers number approximately 300,000–500,000 (estimates vary; Gagnoa Department and surrounding areas of Centre-Ouest Region).
Historical Context
Gagnoa town and the Bété region were the center of the Guébié uprising of 1970, when ethnic Bété resistance to the post-independence government of Félix Houphouët-Boigny led to a military suppression that left hundreds to thousands dead (numbers remain disputed). The Bété were historically associated with opposition politics and the later presidency of Laurent Gbagbo (2000–2011), himself an ethnic Bété from Gagnoa, whose contested 2010 election sparked the Second Ivorian Civil War (2010–2011).
Publishing and Organizations
Published by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. in partnership with SIL Côte d'Ivoire and local Gagnoa Bété translation teams.