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February 2006

The life of an exegetical checker in the Arctic

IBT is translating the Bible for several Siberian ethnic minorities – one of them is the Nenets, a reindeer herding people of about 40,000 in north-western Siberia.

Come and meet the exegetical checker of the Nenets project. Eunsub from South Korea has already spent six years in the Nenets town of Salekhard, where the usual winter temperature varies between -20 and -50 C. Here is a day in her life in the Arctic:

“I have already put on two pairs of warm trousers and jumpers, and then, last of all, my precious computer on my back.

“'Xad ladbida, etri ladbida' - ‘a snowstorm is beating down, just beating down.'

“My glasses turn to thick blocks of ice, and my eyelashes are sticking together. Crawling or creeping, I do not know how I get there. Warmly smiling, Natalya opens the door. 

“While my frozen computer is warming up, we sit together at a small desk. Then, just when we have settled down to work, Natalya slips away and lies down on the sofa. After a big operation on her hip, it is hard for her to walk or sit. She translates orally and I write down her verbal expression of the first draft. Then I see that half the contents are missing and ask her to go back. We go back and forth over the phrases. After dealing with only about 10 verses, she says: 'That's enough for today.' She already looks awfully tired. I read aloud to her what we have written together today. I still have a lot of questions to ask about particular expressions, which will become my homework and certainly disturb my sleep. Biblical key-terms often drift into my dreams.

“It is already dark outside. The night scenery is so beautiful. Coloured lights on the edge of every roof shine in the darkness. The white snow reflects this beauty into the air. It is like a folktale. My glasses ice up and my eyelashes are frozen. Thank God, there is a food shop on the way home where I can melt my glasses and warm up a bit. I buy two packets of kefir and go on.

“I live in the centre of the city. It is a warm house, made of plywood board, but with some discomfort. As soon as I arrive home, I check the toilet. Thank God, there is no flood today. Then I run to the kitchen and change the piles of wet towels under the sink. Dreaming of a hot shower or a bath, I again ring my landlord and ask him to repair this mess. It has become my routine.

“Then I go back to today's text, thinking and seeking better expressions - not to add, nor to omit. Often 'accuracy' clashes with 'naturalness’. Closing the book, I think: ‘That’s enough for today. Xonju, xonju! - sleep, sleep!’  I calm myself down to get some sleep. “

Project of the month

Besides Eunsub, the Nenets team consists of two translators and an Australian couple from SIL/Wycliffe, also exegetical checkers. The Gospel of Luke has been published, as well as “Stories about Jesus”, the text of which has also been recorded. Now work on Mark’s Gospel is in progress. Please support the Nenets translation with your gift this month!

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