A Bunch of Checkmarks

I have now left Musoma. But I wanted to take a chance to show you a picture that summarizes my work over the past 5+ years.

Impressive right?

Ok, maybe not. But what does it mean?

Other than being a bunch of boxes with checkmarks, it means the following for each Jita, Kwaya, and Zinza:

- Approved orthography status (as of my last day in the office!!!)

- Over 250 pages of peer-reviewed linguistic documentation.

- Basic grammars, both in English and in Swahili.

- Extensive documentation of the spelling rules, both in English and in Swahili.

Praise God for all of the work that he enabled me to accomplish!

We're Getting So Close!

For all of you who have been chomping at the bit to hear that the Kwaya orthography has been finalized, well, that time is drawing near. (If you haven't been chomping at the bit...that is ok too).

Five years ago I was assigned to help develop the Kwaya orthography. Last week I finished my side of the work. It is being reviewed a final time by others and then it will be official, the Kwaya language will have an approved orthography.

Getting an approved orthography is a HUGE step towards being able to print the New Testament in a language. Even if the New Testament was fully translated and ready to be printed, it can't be printed without the language having had an approved orthography for at least two years.

So, this is one barrier to the Kwaya language community getting the New Testament in their language that will soon be removed!

Zinza Language Committee

HUGE step forward for the Zinza writing system (orthography)!!!

Last week I met with the Zinza language committee, presented the Zinza orthography to them, debated a couple of choices that have been made, and in the end, received their approval for the orthography that we've developed over the past 25 years!

Why is this such a huge step?

Because it is the final piece (of many) needed to submit the application for "Approved Orthography Status". This status gives us a lot more freedom in printing Zinza materials, and an orthography has to have this status for at least two years before the New Testament can be printed. This status also means that this way of writing Zinza is becoming accepted by the community and is being used more.

Praise the Lord for preparing the way to reach this important step.

Pray that the application will be accepted and that we are granted "Approved Orthography Status".

Here is a picture of the language committee that gave us their approval: