Fordata 2016 Edition (FRDWBT)

Overview

This edition contains the New Testament in Fordata, an Austronesian language spoken on Fordata and Larat islands in the Tanimbar archipelago of the Maluku province in eastern Indonesia [1][2]. The translation represents 25 years of work led by Craig and Sarah Marshall of Wycliffe Global Alliance (Asia-Pacific), who moved from the United States to Indonesia in 1988 to begin the project, prepared in partnership with Yayasan Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Desa [1]. Mother tongue translators including Lue Maiseka, Zeto Wekan, and De Elath collaborated on the translation, studying the national language Bible and translation resources while the Marshalls cross-checked the text against Greek, Hebrew, and English sources for accuracy [1]. The completed New Testament was dedicated in July 2016 in a ceremony on Pulau Fordata featuring traditional dance, a trumpet band, and fireworks, marking the first time a complete Testament had been translated into the Fordata language [1]. Prior to this translation, the Fordata people had only accessed Scripture in Bahasa Indonesia, a language vastly different from their own, since Christianity was introduced to the islands in the early 1900s through Dutch Reformed and Catholic missionaries [1]. Following the dedication, printed copies were distributed across villages in the Tanimbar Islands, and work on Old Testament translation, beginning with Genesis, is underway [1].

Language and People

Fordata (ISO 639-3: frd) is spoken by approximately 50,000 people in Indonesia, Southern Maluku. [Glottolog: ford1242]

Publishing and Organizations

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

References