Providing People With Comfort and Hope in the “Language Of One’s Heart” As International Mother Language Day approaches, Jehovah’s Witnesses offer content in more than 1,000 languages

(中央社訊息服務20240206 16:03:09)Chinese Mandarin, Taiwanese Sign Language, Min Nan (Taiwanese Hokkien), and Amis are just some of the more than 1,000 languages featured on the most translated website in the world, jw.org^®.

International Mother Language Day approaches on Feb. 21, bringing attention to the importance of access to material in what is often called ‘the language of one’s heart.’

Around the world, about 40% of people can’t access education in a language they understand, according to UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report.

In addition to many Indigenous languages, jw.org offers content in over 100 sign languages and offers reading materials in Braille for people who are blind or have vision loss.

Content is designed to be practical for everyday life—it includes online Bibles, an interactive Bible course, articles on family life, mental health, peace and happiness, videos and animations for children and teens, and more.

The website marked its 25th anniversary in 2022.

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a robust translation work around the world. In Taiwan, all text and media in the book Enjoy Life Forever!—An Interactive Bible Course are available as Min Nan audio recordings, and the songbook “Sing Out Joyfully” to Jehovah was released entirely in written form. According to the 2020 Population and Housing Census released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, Min Nan is the mother tongue of 31.7% of the population in Taiwan.

At the 2021 International Mother Language Conference and Festival, Jehovah’s Witnesses were recognized for their translation work in the Philippines. The academic conference features educators, international policy makers, researchers, and scholars from 12 countries. In a presentation titled “Gathering People of All Nations and Languages: The Borderless Translation Initiatives of Jehovah’s Witnesses,” translator and Witness Elnathan Lee said, “Translators for the publications of Jehovah’s Witnesses view their work as a public service with the goal of producing understandable translations that know no boundaries and that can inform and uplift their audience.”

In addition to translating Bibles, Jehovah’s Witnesses support Remote Translation Offices around the world that allow translators to live where many people speak their language. This helps support global translation that is accurate and easy to understand. At present there are two Remote Translation Offices in Taiwan, supporting the translation of Amis and Taiwanese Sign Language in Hualien City and New Taipei City respectively, as well as a Min Nan translation team working in Tainan City.

A major feat of their tireless efforts was seen in 2020 during the global pandemic. Their annual convention program was translated into over 500 languages and viewed virtually, despite a number of challenges, including limited resources and time constraints.

Other recent translation news from around the world include:
＊ Bible Translations Released in South Africa.
＊ World’s First Complete Sign-Language Bible Now Available.
＊ New World Translation Released in Japanese.
＊ New World Translation Released in Shona.
＊ Revised New World Translation Released in Chinese.
＊ Jehovah’s Witnesses Release the Complete New World Translation in Four Indigenous Languages of Indonesia.

JW.ORG also offers resources for learning a new language, including the article, “Why Learn a New Language?” and a worksheet titled, “Tips for Learning a New Language.”

For more information, visit jw.org.

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Johnson Jan
Director of Communications
Email：hzhan@jw.org
Phone：0913 055 307