Group offers to translate Bible into Pangasinan

SKILLED translators from various Pangasinan-speaking towns work hard every day without pay at the Remote Translation Office of the Watch Tower in San Carlos City, Pangasinan province, to translate English Bibles and Bible-based literature into the mother tongue. WILLIE LOMIBAO/INQUIRER NORTHERN LUZON

SAN CARLOS CITY—There is something about their newest neighbor which stirred the interest of residents in this agricultural city in Pangasinan.

For a year, hundreds of men and women of all ages worked under the sun every day to help construct two buildings in Barangay (village) Lucban here.

When the buildings were completed and opened in January this year, residents were surprised to see people in corporate attire inside the gated 3,200-square-meter compound, prompting them to ask: “Who are these people? What are they doing in our farming village?”

Unknown to many, these 21 men and women who come from various Pangasinan-speaking towns have been translating English Bibles and Bible-based publications into their mother tongue, Pangasinan.

And they do it without pay. Working for eight hours, five days a week, they volunteer their time, energy and skill to produce family-oriented reading materials for Pangasinan residents.

They are part of the Remote Translation Office (RTO) of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in the Philippines (Watch Tower), the legal and corporate arm of Jehovah’s Witnesses, which has been translating and distributing Bibles and educational materials for the public for free.

This team has produced a modern translation of the Bible, the “Balon Mundo a Patalos na Kristianon Griegon Kasulatan” (New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures) and more than 100 books and magazines catering to the spiritual needs of children, teenagers, couples and parents.

The team also translated a popular children’s book, “Saray Istorya ed Biblia” (My Book of Bible Stories), which is being used as a reference material by teachers in several public elementary schools in Pangasinan as part of their mother tongue-based multilingual education program.

Dean Jacek, Watch Tower spokesperson, said the RTO is part of their global initiative to help people learn the Bible’s message in their native language.

He said they set up the RTO at the heart of San Carlos City because the majority of residents speak Pangasinan.

“We believe that when people receive Bible literature in a language that they can easily understand, it is more likely to touch their hearts,” he said.

In the Philippines, more than 160 people translate Bible-based English publications into 21 languages and video versions in Filipino sign language.

These Pangasinan publications can be downloaded at www.jw.org/pag.

Since 1962, Pangasinan translators have worked at the Watch Tower branch office in Quezon City. However, how the language is used in books, or even on television or in the Internet, differs greatly from how people speak in everyday life, Jacek said.

“It was a challenge for the translators to keep up with the language they use and to reach the hearts of those reading the translated publications. Hence, the decision was made to build remote translation offices in the areas where these languages are spoken,” he said.

The country’s first RTO is in Bacolod City which does translation works in Hiligaynon.