Western Tarahumara New Testament (TACPBC)

Overview

The New Testament in Lowland (Western) Tarahumara (Onorúgame nila ra'íchali) was first published in 2008 by La Liga Bíblica, with an electronic edition following in 2009. It serves the ralámuli of the Baja Tarahumara in the municipality of Guazapares, Chihuahua, Mexico. According to its preface, the translators preferred a meaning-based rendering with added explanatory material rather than a strictly literal one. The translation was the work of Don Burgess (1939-2022), an American linguist who lived among the Tarahumara in the Sierra Madre of Chihuahua from the 1960s onward. [1] Burgess arrived when the three Tarahumara dialects were entirely oral and had never been written down; he worked alongside Tarahumara people for decades to develop a written form of the Rarámuri language. [1] In 1997, the government of Chihuahua formed a committee to codify Rarámuri orthography with Burgess as chair. [1] In 2015, the Mexican government recognized him as a "guardian of the word" for his language preservation work. [1]

Translators and Contributors

  • Don Burgess (1939-2022) — American linguist; developed Tarahumara orthography and translated the NT and OT portions. [1]

Language and People

Lowland Tarahumara (ISO 639-3: tac) is spoken by approximately 9,230 people in Mexico. [Glottolog: lowl1265]

Publishing and Organizations

Created by Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. Published by Peninsula Bible Church. Translation type: New.

References