Call to Action

Posted on 3 September 20213 September 2021 by Jed & Katie

[Mail recipients, please go to the webpage to see the video.]

In our first post, we invited you to tell us what you want to see here! That invitation stands.

Also in our first post, we said, “[Surveyors] write reports, but we aren’t fully satisfied when readers are just informed. Our research is intended to be applied, acted upon – in the survey context, this means language communities being served as a result of our research into their needs. Likewise, we’d love for you to act on what you see here by praying, becoming part of our team, or getting involved in a more direct way yourself! Jesus’ call to “Go!” is for all believers.

This week, instead of adding to the word count, I want to invite you to action, or to conversation. So, today, I’ll share highlights from posts to date. They’re organized by our call to action: Pray! Give! Go!

Watch the video or read the text below, they are nearly identical.

Pray! – there are many in PNG without Scripture in a language that communicates best

We answered “What is Language Survey?” with “We do applied research, desiring that those we study would benefit from language development.”

We recounted a 2011 survey and defined language survey as: research the sociolinguistic situation to identify needs and desires and suggest strategies for meeting them.

When a Language Dies – the story of a grandma who was the last speaker of her language – explained, “A language is an artistic system to express all of the meanings deemed valuable enough to articulate verbally. A collaborative effort to explain the world. A tug of war between new words striving to find acceptance and old ones reluctant to be forgotten.”

Pray for those who’ve lost a language they loved, to find identity as God’s children. For those losing one to understand its value and to have wisdom to respond. Pray God’s message would be clear, regardless: “The heavens declare the glory of God… Day after day they pour forth speech… they have no words… Yet their voice goes out into all the earth” (excerpts from Ps 19:1-4).

After telling the second half of the 2011 survey, we noted, “Though there is translation work going on nearby, Mur Pano people haven’t been able to partake in a significant way. If you were one of the residents of the village, how would you think about the possibility of Scripture in your language? Would you judge it worth the effort? Will speakers of Mala and Mur Pano be among the “persons from every tribe and language” singing “You are worthy!” to God? (Rev 5:9).”

Pray for the 70 language groups we’ve researched in the past decade! Consider playing a part in researching and advocating for other speakers of minority languages by partnering with us!

Give! – your partnership enables research, which enables strategic Bible translation

As in the canoe described in Furlough & Partnership – Canoeing Sideways, we aren’t steering on furlough… YOU are. God uses you, his Body, to care for cross-cultural workers, send them to their place of service, and support them while there. Without the Church providing transport, overseas workers get dumped in that muddy river.

Furlough is a faith-growing exercise for cross-cultural workers. We do what we can, then wait trustingly – balancing the while – for the Church to say, “Yes, we want to make that happen!” (If you’re ready, get in touch, go to Partner, or ask us for suggestions about work that aligns with your interests.)

In Is It Dangerous? we asked, “Why do we do it?” Here’s one way to look at it:

Problem: people without any Scripture in the languages that communicate best
Solution: experts translate the Bible, guided by research (that’s our job)
Outcome: people engage with Scripture in their languages, better able to know and follow God

Would you go to an event if your invitation was written in a language you don’t know well? “If this is really for me, why isn’t it in my language? I’m not entirely sure what this is about.” God invites people from every nation and tongue to his table. Translating the invitation – the Bible – makes it clear and cogent.

By last count, there were close to 2000 language groups in Oceania, Asia, and Africa about which not enough is known to categorize translation need with confidence.

Solution: RESEARCH! Understanding what type of translation is beneficial and where is the first step towards meeting the needs of these people who are, in some ways, “the least of these” (Mt 25:40, 45).

Research guides translation experts to where they are needed, and often provides strategic information about how to work with a particular people group. Those translation experts do the heavy lifting, often investing 10-30 years working alongside local people to complete a New Testament.

The outcome is wonderful: another people group with God’s Word clear and attractive. “God speaks my language!”

I’m a strong proponent of long-term relational engagement across cultures, walking with God and pursuing him together, using all the languages we speak. Your part in this is pretty special, and critical. Without you, most cross-cultural Bible translation work – and the research that guides translation – just doesn’t happen. You provide the financial, prayer, and relational support needed for translation and research experts to do their jobs in those thousands of languages which remain Scripture-less.

Go! – many skillsets contribute to Bible translation

In What Just Happened? – multicultural teamwork, we stated that our organization in PNG includes staff from 15+ nations and tens of language/culture groups from around PNG. One of my goals as Chief Communications Officer role is to facilitate communication that builds relationships and team and enables collaboration within our organization and with partners. Pray for our staff as they navigate the complexities of multicultural teamwork and build relationships.

Languages and Mountains spoke of how we’ve served in a variety of roles as we see needs we can meet. What skills could you contribute? In PNG, a wide range of professions are needed!

We’re all ordinary (if anything created in God’s image is). All followers of Jesus have received the same call. Read how Tikvah responds in Obedience-Based Faith. How are you responding?

In Multi-part Harmony, we described how “[The Wheel of Vitality’s] primary purpose is to assess intergenerational language transmission, [enabling us to] make estimations about [the language’s] future. Since Bible translation is often a multi-decade endeavor, it makes sense to have some confidence that the language will be spoken when the translation is completed!”

A Walk on the Survey Trail: And then I arise [from the river], feet finding purchase among the stones, lungs breathing deep, life’s ebb and flow renewing. It’s time for another village with a different language, time to connect with a new set of beings made in God’s image. The Living Word seeks to be incarnate through Scripture in their language. He is already present in Spirit, but his message is not yet clearly and fully expressed in their tongue.

We’ve met many people in Papua New Guinea who would benefit from having the Bible in their language, enabling them to better know and follow God. There are many other groups whose need is unclear. Answer God’s call to make disciples! Pray! Give! Go!

Multi-part Harmony

Posted on 27 August 202127 August 2021 by Jed & Katie

The nose of our fiberglass dinghy dove sickeningly towards the face of the next wave. I was sure it would spear into the wave and we’d be submerged. I’d heard of boats doing this. On another trip, our boat pilot had once been late to meet us because he’d rescued people lost at sea in this manner.

Somehow the bow rose up the wave, pointing skyward. Then again we plunged down, and I was sure we’d spear into the wave and be submerged. Did someone leave this song of doom on repeat?

A calmer portion of our ride.

Our posts, newsletters, and presentations often speak of unmet need for two reasons: 1) we desire your partnership in meeting the need, and 2) we’ve met those in need, and unmet need rankles. But it’s important to celebrate too, to recognize God’s activity. So here’s a positive tale.

In 2015 we had an intern join the survey team for a few months. He and I went to Milne Bay Province where a translation team had asked for research into the dialect situation in the language group they worked with. This project had significant local support:

the community had started translation work on their own initiative
they had invited our organization to provide guidance and expertise
locals were assigned to literacy training, distribution, and translation activities

The question the survey team was asked to answer: “Will this translated material serve the dialect to the west?” The survey team decided that, rather than just doing the research and giving the new translation team an answer, we would train them to answer such questions on their own.

Hence the dinghy ride of doom. As such experiences often do, it felt like an eternity of plunging to the ocean’s depths – particularly when someone’s seat broke from the repeated pounding – but we rounded the point and the rest of the scene reasserted itself: the tropical sun, ocean breeze, and white-sand beaches. Even the water suddenly looked warmer as the waves relaxed.

*Where the people are, there you do research.*

In the following days we used our Wheel of Vitality and Dialect Mapping tools repeatedly. At first we facilitated them with the translation team observing, then gradually they took over. By the end of the trip, we were confident they could continue to investigate these questions on their own.

Before departing overland – an even bumpier experience than the dinghy ride, though sweeter by virtue of the watermelons being transported – our intern had his highlight experience: sharing a message at a local church. He subsequently became a youth pastor far from the ocean. Ha!

*Sullivan sharing an encouraging word. – – – What mark will you leave?*

A bit more about the Wheel of Vitality, which we’ve alluded to in Survey Trail and Languages and Mountains (or see the technical write-up from soon after we invented the tool):

*Is this language strong today? What’s its future? What factors will affect it?*

It’s primary purpose is to assess intergenerational language transmission in multilingual communities. By learning about how the languages available to the community are currently used and what factors are influencing language choice, we can identity the EGIDS level of the language and make estimations about its future. Since Bible translation is often a multi-decade endeavor, it makes sense to have some confidence that the language will be spoken when the translation is completed!

What factors do you think influence language vitality in this community? Write and let us know!

While we were there, it felt like we, the translation team, and the local folks were singing a multipart harmony joyfully and beautifully. “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” (Ps 133:1) But our tale in Milne Bay has a twist ending: the translation team moved to a different role a few years after this trip, so translation has slowed since. Pray that all the “singers” needed for effective harmony can be recruited, and that “the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore” (Ps 133:3).

Anyone bothered by the redundancy of ‘multi-part harmony?’ To have harmony, more than one singer is needed. The temptation can be to try to go it alone, but God made us for teamwork!

*Some of the locals were more shy than others. – – – Short cruise to the next village in the rain.*

Obedience-Based Faith

Posted on 20 August 202120 August 2021 by Jed & Katie

[Prayer requests at bottom (and a hilarious video).]

This young lady is one of my favorite people. She’s an ordinary girl, neither graced with superpowers nor recipient of extra-Biblical callings. Though sometimes grumpy about trying new things, she is obedient, just as we are seeking to be to our Father.

This 2014 trip began with a footbridge crossing – the vehicle bridge had collapsed – and included cramming vehicle-accident victims into our van for transport to the hospital. Sweaty nights on a tropical coast, ocean breeze blocked by trees. Being with local kids she didn’t share a language with. Patiently waiting through long meetings as the team discussed their research. Baths in a bucket.

*“Helping” with a literacy game which measured vernacular literacy. Travel sized for your convenience.*

What did she do in response to these challenges and discomfort? She danced in the rain.

Contrasts heighten enjoyment. Cool rain feels wonderful when you’ve been hot all day.

We’re all ordinary (if anything created in God’s image is). All followers of Jesus have received the same call.

How are you responding?

Pray, Give, Go.

Not everyone can go* – at least not to ‘the ends of the earth’ – but believers can enable disciple-making there by praying and giving. How are you saying “Yes, Lord” today? If not today, when?

*Or can they?

God gave us marvelous bodies to adventure in. Enjoy them!

Prayer

Thank you for praying for the survey team’s trip to Gulf Province last month. They reported success despite significant challenges:

Theft revealed conflict over the land of the airstrip they landed on.
Sickness of a partner they were training – praise for access to a hospital in the area.
Retaliation related to sorcery led to the team leaving a village during the night.

These certainly highlight the challenges of multicultural teamwork and the dangers of language research!

Please continue to pray for:

Healing for an ongoing health issue limiting a surveyor’s ability to go on trips.
Wisdom to know where to focus research in a nation with 840 language groups!
Further opportunities for effective partnership.
Hanna and the translation team as they take the next step with these communities towards language development and translation.

What Just Happened? – multicultural teamwork

Posted on 13 August 202127 August 2021 by Jed & Katie

What just happened? With my motorcycle helmet on and earplugs in, the young African American man’s enthusiastic gestures, given dramatic flair by his dreads, were hard to interpret. The movement of his lips were, to me, soundless. I nodded and grinned – he couldn’t see my grin, helmet obscuring – and he moved on.

Cross-cultural interactions can look like this, even without a helmet blocking audiovisual. Signals can be sent and received but not understood. Perhaps, like the helmet, something is obscuring comprehension: language or accent; ‘worldview’ – ways of thinking about the world; or differences in what is meant by expressions. Next time you have a misunderstanding, it may help to identify what’s contributing.

In PNG, briefly-raised eyebrows mean ‘yes.’ Eyebrows are more efficient than nodding (much of the world) or wagging (India) the head, but easy to miss if you don’t know what to look for! Wikipedia calls the India version a ‘head bobble’ and says, “The motion usually consists of a side-to-side tilting of the head in arcs along the coronal plane. … it may mean yes, good, maybe, ok, or I understand, depending on the context. Head bobbles can also be used in an intentionally vague manner. An unenthusiastic head bobble can be a polite way of declining something without saying no directly.” Thanks Wikipedia for confirming the possibility of misunderstanding across cultures! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_bobble

Among the most disorienting of conversations are those where people appear to be in agreement along the way – both parties are tracking – only for the other person to draw a completely different conclusion at the end! “How unreasonable of them!” (They’re thinking exactly the same about you, probably.)

Lost in the jungle

One survey in 2012 we were deep in the bush, following a barely-visible trail as dark approached. “Barely visible” – at times, I could be standing on the trail and not see where it went. Our guide, we later learned, had never been on this trail either, and he was hurrying to get to the next village before nightfall, when enemy spirits might roam. It had been a very long day, and we were frustrated that he kept disappearing ahead. At one point he came back and asked, “Didn’t you see the signs I left?” He then pointed at a branch on the ground he’d turned to show the direction he’d taken. To him, accustomed to the trackless bush, this was like a neon sign. To us, accustomed to neon signs, it looked like a branch in a jungle full of them…

We didn’t make it by nightfall, and were met by a man with a rifle as we descended a precipice by headlamp. He’d thought we were invading enemies. Our guide proved his worth by clearing that up. Misunderstandings have consequences.

High and low context cultures

Sometimes signals are sent and simply NOT received. This is especially true when a culture is a ‘high context’ culture and the cross-cultural worker is from a ‘low context’ culture. Much goes unsaid in a high context culture, because it’s assumed that one already ‘gets it’ from the context; literally “it goes without saying.” Isn’t it funny that in the west people often say, “It goes without saying,” and then say it anyway? Hint: low context culture! In low context cultures, the expectation is that everything needs to be elucidated verbally.

In 2020 the survey team consisted of 1 third-culture kid, 1 US midwest, 1 US west urban, 1 US northwest, 3 PNG highlanders (2 urban-ish, 1 more rural-ish), 1 PNG coastal. Plenty of opportunities for miscommunication! Our organization in PNG includes staff from 15+ nations and tens of language/culture groups from around PNG. One of my goals as Chief Communications Officer role is to facilitate communication that builds relationships and team and enables collaboration within our organization and with partners. Pray for our staff as they navigate the complexities of multicultural teamwork and build relationships. (See Languages and Mountains – Chief Communications Officer for more on the this role.)

It can be tempting to glom with similar people; sometimes doing so provides energizing rest for cross-cultural workers. But, despite the challenges, multicultural teamwork can bring a level of creativity and flexibility not attainable otherwise. Working in such contexts can be humbling, as people discover that their way of seeing things is one way, not the only way. Becoming a strong multicultural team takes time and talent, and though ‘what just happened’ moments will always be with us, the result better reflects the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12, Ro 12:4-5).

Is It Dangerous?

Posted on 6 August 202127 August 2021 by Jed & Katie

“Is it dangerous?” We get this question sometimes when we share about conducting language research in remote villages in PNG. Yes, there is some danger and a high degree of uncertainty.

Why do we do it? Here’s one way to look at it:

Problem: people without any Scripture in the languages that communicate best
Solution: experts translate the Bible, guided by research (that’s our job)
Outcome: people engage with Scripture in their languages, better able to know and follow God

God created humankind and seeks to live in everlasting fellowship with it. Sin – rebellion against God and his design for us – separates us from God. Some facts enable us to understand God’s invitation: that we are sinners and condemned, that Jesus as the sacrificial lamb opened a Way to God, that we have but to believe in the Savior and follow our Lord. Those facts must be communicated; complex communication happens best with words. Hence the Scriptures.

Let’s examine that problem further: “people without any Scripture in the languages that communicate best.”

We’re about people, possessed of eternal souls, just as God is. Sometimes we get to talking a lot about languages and translations, but it’s about people like you and me.
Once you’ve learned to read, it’s pretty difficult to know what it’s like to be illiterate. Similarly, for those with Scriptures in their language, it’s hard to imagine themselves without Scriptures. Try for a second. The Word is a treasure.
There is no substitute for Scripture, no alternative. God purposed it and imbued it with great power.
Languages are the primary way people connect with other beings, including spiritual beings. Multilingual people have several languages to choose from, but usually a particular language is used for their most significant interactions. They will benefit greatly if they are able to connect to God in that language.

Today, “Bibleless peoples” are on a continuum, which includes:

those with no Scripture in their language
those with Scriptures in one of the languages they regularly use, but not in the language that would ‘communicate best.’

For those with zero access to Scripture (1), the need for translation is clear. For those with some access (2), what is needed or desired can be less clear, but translation can often be beneficial.

Here’s a curveball for you: in Oceania, Asia, and Africa, there are hundreds of people groups whose level of Scripture access is insufficiently understood. In PNG, our team’s research in 70 language groups since 2010 has:

described previously undocumented languages
found multiple dying languages not in need of Scripture (these people now speak other languages), and
has confirmed that the speakers of a significant portion of these 70 languages would benefit from Scripture.

By last count, there were close to 2000 language groups in Oceania, Asia, and Africa about which not enough is known to categorize translation need with confidence.

The outcome is wonderful: another people group with God’s Word clear and attractive; “God speaks my language.”

It would be nice to end this post there. The reality, as shown by our Scripture Use Research and Ministry project (2014-17), is that many communities who have Scripture in their language do not use it as much as we hope. Why? Well… that’s another post. What it means: that communities benefit when someone – whether people from our organization or someone else – comes alongside them beyond the completion of vernacular Scriptures. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a strong proponent of long-term relational engagement across cultures, walking with God and pursuing him together, using all the languages we speak.

Your part in this is pretty special, and critical. Without you, most cross-cultural Bible translation work – and the research that guides translation – just doesn’t happen. With such an involved task, a tent-making approach generally isn’t viable. You provide the financial, prayer, and relational support needed for translation and research experts to do their jobs in those thousands of languages which remain Scripture-less.

Well, that’s one way to look at the ‘why.’ Additional pieces would include personal indebtedness to God’s redemptive work and the power of his Word in our lives. It’s a big endeavor, complex in its motivations. It’s part of God’s Kingdom work.

“Is it dangerous?” A counterquestion: “What’s worth risking in service to our Lord?” And a testimony: our experiences in remote PNG villages has generally been very positive. Hospitality is widely practiced.

A Walk on the Survey Trail

Posted on 23 July 202127 August 2021 by Jed & Katie

At long last we put foot to trail and set off for the walk to the next village. That first step marks the end of a long process of divvying gear, packing up, loading up, receiving gifts, finding somewhere to put them, saying goodbye, thanking everyone for their hospitality, sharing our plans, laughing at a memory, discussing trail options and how long it would take, affirming the connection we’d established, checking the room one last time, thinking of another question to ask, shaking a few more hands, taking photos with new friends, asking, “Is everyone ready?” again, taping up a hot spot on someone’s foot so it wouldn’t blister, discussing the possibility of reconnecting in the future… several false starts later, the first steps are an accomplishment!

A community exploring the intergenerational use of their language using the Wheel of Vitality

If you’re me, your bare feet conform to the contours of the trail, feeling every stone and root, the hot sand of the beach or the cool mud of the bush. My feet have known the cut of a machete, the fangs of a snake, the thorns and sharp rocks of many a trail. Through hard living, they have become wise.

Devin and Karl. I could play on this stuff all day!

Feet feel the way as eyes, nose, ears, and skin take in the rest of the scene: friends and teammates on the trail before and behind, trees shading boulder-strewn ground, sloping away to the sea on our right. Ocean waves drum unceasingly on the shore. A breeze flirts coyly, by turns cool and muggy, the tang of the tropics. The trail crosses a cliff, demanding full attention and enjoyment of the adventure and view. Then we hit the beach.

As feet push into the warm sand, the brain turns to teammates and to how I, as team leader, can affirm their good work and encourage work on gaps; to what we’d learned from research in the previous village and questions not fully answered; to the time and work remaining; to misunderstandings that had arisen with our guides; to how pleasant it was just to be here, putting feet to the Good News (Ro 10).

Devin, Karl, and some locals on the fun part

The path turns inland through grass over our heads, sea breeze blocked, sun more urgent in its affections. Many years before a teammate had nicked an eyeball on such grass… so many had come and gone from the survey team since! Banter back and forth as sweat prompted shifting of loads and thoughts of water and shade. Then lo and behold, a clear knee-deep river crossing and trees opposite! New faces popping up from here and there from the village to which we were headed, but little more than “Hello” from me, wanting to prolong the stillness.

Nothing better than dropping the pack and immersing fully into the water. The delicate balance of relaxing while resisting current and holding breath. The liquid world summons full consciousness as the normally thoughtless rhythm of breathing is halted. Time runs slowly to oxygen’s end, the thud of heartbeats marking its passing. The river, nearing its anonymization in the sea, has lost none of its joy and purpose; it too is fully present as it obeys its maker’s design.

Fording one of many rivers plunging to the sea

And then I arise, feet finding purchase among the stones, lungs breathing deep, life’s ebb and flow renewing. It’s time for another village with a different language, time to connect with a new set of beings made by their Creator. The Living Word seeks to be incarnate through Scripture in their language. He is already present in Spirit, but his message is not yet clearly and fully expressed in their tongue.

6 surveyors, 3 guides, and another local

Furlough & Partnership – Canoeing Sideways

Posted on 16 July 202116 July 2021 by Jed & Katie

Furlough is an important part of cross-cultural work, but it can be difficult! Before I get to that, I’d ask you to pray for two things:

Surveyors Crystal and Mary are on a survey trip to Gulf Province. Pray they’ll have wisdom, proficiency, and good teamwork. Pray for Hanna, the translator they’re working with, and her team, some of whom are on the trip to build relationships in villages. Pray for two YWAM staff who are accompanying the survey team to grow in their understanding of sociolinguistic research. Pray for Mary’s husband Devin as he looks after their child while Mary is away.

We’ve recently connected with several couples – ex-colleagues or on furlough – who are facing significant challenges in their marriages. It’s not uncommon for husbands and wives to have very different experiences overseas, and to then pull in different directions. Pray for healing and unity!

Furlough being difficult: in 2011 we were floating sideways down a muddy river in a dugout canoe that was ridiculously long and narrow. All four surveyors were scrunched on a small bench in the middle, laughing at the awkward scene we were making, but careful to keep our balance. At the far end of the canoe was a PNGan man with a pole… which broke on one of his first punts.

Many survey photos from this and other trips at https://carter-pathways.com/?page_id=7, scroll down. If you want to hear the story behind a particular photo, we’d be happy to share! This survey began in a helicopter.

On furlough we’re scrunched together, going somewhere sideways, not knowing what to expect. MANY of our colleagues have gone for furlough only to never make it back to PNG. We are 1 of only 4 teams remaining in PNG from the 21 teams we started with in 2010.

As in that canoe, we aren’t steering on furlough… YOU are. God uses you, his Body, to care for cross-cultural workers, send them to their place of service, and support them while there.

Without the Church providing transport, overseas workers get dumped in that muddy river.

The girls were a lot smaller last furlough!

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24)! There’s room to improve this partnership in both directions.

More inspiration from Hebrews 10: For we are those who “have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way”! “Let us draw near to God” and “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess” (vs 19-20, 23) so that we will “receive what he has promised” (vs 36).

Let us be faithful in following and proclaiming this Way, for “it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (vs 31)!

Languages and Mountains – Chief Communications Officer

Posted on 9 July 20219 July 2021 by Jed & Katie

I have a half-time role as Chief Communications Officer (CCO). Communication is essential for Bible translation in a nation with 840 languages, especially when your staff come from 15+ countries!

The CCO and team produce our annual report, sent to government officials. We made this annual report poster-size, desiring that recipients hang them on their walls. Side 1 includes stories of perseverance, a letter to the government, stories of language vitality (recognize the lady?), and publications in PNG’s languages completed in 2020. [If you can’t read the images below, the file is available for download at the bottom of this post.]

Side 2 presents an abbreviated form of the EGIDS Mountain. Books have been written on this – if you’re interested, I’m happy to share more – but for our PNGan audience, our objective was to introduce this framework to encourage reflection about the vitality of their language. Many of PNG’s languages remain unwritten; an organization like ours can facilitate language development!

We’ve served in a variety of roles as we see needs we can meet. What skills could you contribute? In PNG, a wide range of professions are needed!

Rejoice that Bible translation continues through trials! Pray for the team; COVID continues to have an impact. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Ps 23:4).

2020AR_finsm Download

Mur Pano Survey – Madang Province – 2011

Posted on 30 June 202127 August 2021 by Jed & Katie

After completing research in Mala, we reboarded the dinghy and made our way up the coast to Mur village, where detective work was called for. Reports claimed that an undocumented language was spoken there. Could we ‘discover’ a language? Sounded exciting!

Communication infrastructure is such that contacting people in advance of our arrival in their village is usually impossible or impractical (though mobile phone service has significantly expanded since 2011). Mur was one such place. We sat in the shade cast by a house on stilts, awaiting the arrival of a leader who would know what to do with these strange visitors. It is not uncommon for us to be among the first foreigners to visit remote areas of PNG.

PNG offers great backdrops for research!

After a wait, we were accorded the hospitality typical of PNG villages: a house to stay in, food to eat, and all the conversation we could handle! It really is a fantastic environment for learning about each other. There was one weevil in the sago pudding: a young lady had recently died, and the community stopped everything to properly mourn. In villages like these, everyone is related.

We participated respectfully and bided our time, but our detective work paid off after some days. The language situation was as follows:

1 language dead, no longer spoken, but remembered.
1 language named Dawang, reportedly related to Wab to the NW, spoken only by one old man in the village. His name was Moses, photo below. See When a Language Dies for more on dying languages.
1 language called Molet was related to another language, located inland, named Asaro’o.
And finally, yes, an “undocumented” language. You can find it at Ethnologue. Notice the ISO code, [tkv]? Well, some people name stars or islands after their children. We got to link an ISO code to our first daughter’s name, Tikvah; she was born that same year.

Each of these groups has a rich history, but without writing, it can be hard to get at. They had an origin myth of three brothers who’d come down in canoes from the west, one stopping at Mur, one continuing down the coast, and one paddling across to Umboi Island. Lo and behold, Mur Pano is related to two other languages in the areas described: Pano (formerly Malasanga) down the coast and Karnai on Umboi. This supports their origin story.

Languages isolated by time and distance tend to diverge over time, so though the three brothers would have spoken the same variety, there are now three distinct languages. They have some shared words and similar grammar, but are indeed distinct languages, no longer mutually comprehensible, and requiring unique literature in each case.

This trip was before our development of participatory research processes. Because we used individual interviews and lengthy tools, research took more time than it does today, and we’d sometimes work late into the night.

Moses, the final speaker of the Dawang variety of Wab

Why so many languages in this one village, Mur? Because some decades ago authorities asked them to move to a single location for easier administration. Relocation from traditional lands and close contact with speakers of other languages often results in people shifting away from some languages towards others, as had occurred in Mur.

During our 2020 survey to the same coastline, which researched languages between Mur Pano and Mala, we stopped briefly at Mur because our dinghy was based there. I stepped out and wandered into the center of the village, remembering our first survey and old teammates. As at our first arrival, there weren’t many people there – they were likely out in their gardens. Though there is translation work going on nearby, Mur Pano people haven’t been able to partake in a significant way to date. If you were one of the 1,000 residents of the village, how would you think about the possibility of Scripture in your language? Would you judge it worth the effort? Will speakers of Mala and Mur Pano be among the “persons from every tribe and language” singing “You are worthy!” to God? (Rev 5:9).

Thus ended my first research trip, in 2011. In both the Mala and Mur Pano language areas we’d discovered a need for translation; in the later we’d ‘discovered’ an undocumented language. From 2010-present (Jun 2021), the survey team has conducted research among 70 language groups in PNG, some large, some small, most of which would benefit from Scriptures in their language.

Pray for the Mala and Mur Pano, and the 70 language groups we’ve researched in the past decade! Consider playing a part in researching and advocating for other speakers of minority languages by partnering with us!

Want to read the full survey report? Here it is: A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Mur Village Vernaculars. Tell us what you think!

First research trip in 2011 completed! Many since. There are 840 languages in PNG, plenty to research still!

When a Language Dies

Posted on 25 June 20219 July 2021 by Jed & Katie

A grandmother’s trembling voice told a story only two other people in the world could understand. A language which had been used to groan the pain of childbirth, remark joyfully at holding that baby, to say ‘mama’ and ‘papa’ for the first time, to teach the child right from wrong, by the child in delighted play in the jungle, for that child to know her own spouse and children, and on the cycle goes… that language was near it end.

Her voice accelerated with excitement, perhaps from happy memories, then became slow and thoughtful. The audio recorder captured her words. It, like we, heard only empty sounds. Recording and transcribing the story was inadequate, but it was something.

What does it mean to lose a language? A language is an artistic system to express all of the meanings deemed valuable enough to articulate verbally. A collaborative effort to explain the world. A tug of war between new words striving to find acceptance and old ones reluctant to be forgotten.

Let’s not forget, either, the knowledge contained within a language. These people are the leading experts in their particular environment. Over generations, they have captured with their labels and descriptions their best understanding of their place and how to succeed there. Rarely does such knowledge get translated to another language; it is lost.

We have many past and present examples of the horrendous uprooting that can occur when a language is lost through a people’s own choices – this is usually gentler – or because of an external force. Such uprooting can leave its people bewildered and disconnected for generations, identity-less and unable to describe and pursue value or purpose.

When grandmother’s story came to a quivering halt, there was only silence.