Translation Technologies Workshop

The Translation Technologies Workshop of the project took place from the 17th to the 19 of August, 2021.

The main speaker was Mr Frans Barah from CABTAL, who trained translator on the use of various translation and Literacy tools: Paratext, Paratext Lite, Bloom $ Reader, PTXprint, and HearThis. These are all SIL tools.

Paratext

The Translation Technologies Workshop started with the use of paratext.

Paratext is the world’s leading Bible translation software. It is packed with powerful features and is used by more than 9000 people in 3000 different language groups around the world. 

From studying and drafting, through checking and revising, and on to publication, Paratext supports translating God’s Word into the heart languages of people everywhere.

The participants learnt how to:

• Carry out  Paratext inventories,
• Run basic checks (character coherence etc.),
• Use the word list  panel,
• Carry out Biblical term renderings,
• Setup Glossaries,  and
• Use parallel passages.

Paratext Lite

This is a companion app to Paratext that runs on an Android tablet or phone. It can help you do many translation tasks on a smaller, more portable Android device.

The participants learnt how to Read, revise, and Review Projects on their mobile phones.

Bloom $ Reader

The Bloom library is a collection of books in indigenous languages to help foster literacy.

During the Translation Technologies Workshop. Participants Learnt how to create and publish literacy material using bloom in both audio and text format.

Furthermore, they were able to access the created sample book using the Bloom Reader mobile application.

PTXprint

Another tool studied in this seminar was the PTXprint tool.

Designed to be a companion for Paratext, PTXprint allows you to create high quality PDFs for trial publications of scripture.

The participants were able to publish the already translated books: Ruth and Jonah.

HearThis

HearThis is another SIL Literacy tool.

Using HearThis, communities record and distribute their translated scripture for themselves. They don’t wait until the translation is all done, or wait until they are fluent readers. They don’t wait until technicians can come and run recording sessions.

The participants were able to record a few verses of Genesis.

As a bonus, the Instructor of the Workshop created a mobile application for the already translated book of Genesis.