Holistic Training and Support for Translation Teams: Insights from Cameroon

Which translation would you rather check: one done by a team experiencing tensions in their relationships or one done by a team that appreciates and draws on each other’s strengths, praying together for God’s wisdom as they work?

The quality of people in a Bible translation team and their relationships with God and each other can have an impact on the quality of the translations produced. Informal research in my context indicates that most challenges that translation teams face are linked to interpersonal and team dynamics. Effective training for Bible translators needs to be holistic and focus on personal and team development in addition to the strengthening of technical competencies. What would such intentional and holistic capacity building look like? This paper will describe such an initiative in SIL Cameroon and highlight some insights from studies in translator training and theological education which have informed its design and delivery.

Yearly retreat and team building events are organised for translation teams and language committee leaders in order to create space and time for reflection, formational activities and ongoing team support. These one-week events have four main components:

• Spiritual formation (engaging in various spiritual disciplines individually and corporately)

• Character development (facilitating self-reflection and commitment to personal growth)

• Team building (providing a safe space to discuss challenging team dynamics and help the teams set realistic goals to improve their teamwork)

• Rest and recreation

The paper will conclude with brief illustrations of the impact the training has had on translation teams and the quality of their work.