New Testament in Rapa Nui (RAPWBT)

Overview

The Rapa Nui New Testament, titled "He Vānaŋa o te ꞌAtua," is the product of over four decades of work by SIL International linguists Robert (Bob) Weber and Nancy (Thiesen) Weber, who arrived on Easter Island (Rapa Nui), Chile, in the late 1970s. [1][2] Because no standardized orthography existed for the Polynesian language, the Webers first developed a written system for Rapa Nui — creating school books and a phonological description — before undertaking the New Testament translation. [1][3] The translation was approved around 2014 and the completed New Testament was finished by early 2019. [1] The Webers were honored as "Illustrious Citizens of Rapa Nui" for their contributions to the preservation of the endangered language, which has approximately 3,000–4,000 speakers. [2]

Translators and Contributors

  • Robert (Bob) L. Weber — SIL International / Wycliffe Bible Translators; lead translator and linguist [1][2]
  • Nancy (Thiesen) Weber — SIL International / Wycliffe Bible Translators; co-translator [1][2]

Language and People

Rapanui (ISO 639-3: rap) is spoken by approximately 2,200 people in Argentina and Chile. [Glottolog: rapa1244]

Publishing and Organizations Translation type: New.

References