Mauwake New Testament (MHLPNG)

Overview

The New Testament in the Mauwake language of Papua New Guinea, published in 1998 by the Bible Society of Papua New Guinea under the title “Yeesus Opor Eliwa.” This was the first Scripture translation in Mauwake, a Papuan language spoken by approximately 2,000 people. The translation was carried out by Kwan Poh San, a Singaporean linguist, and Liisa Jarvinen from Finland, working with Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL). ^{[1] [2]} The pair spent over 20 years among the Mauwake people beginning in the late 1970s, being adopted into the village headman’s family and immersing themselves in the culture. ^[1] The translation took approximately 18 years to complete and involved extensive checking with native speakers. ^[1] The translators faced the challenge of rendering abstract theological concepts in a language that lacked direct equivalents; for example, “forgiveness” was rendered as “take away his heaviness.” ^[1]

Language and People

Mauwake (ISO 639-3: mhl) is spoken by approximately 2,390 people in Papua New Guinea, Map 7. [Glottolog: mauw1238]

Publishing and Organizations

Published by Bible Society of Papua New Guinea. Translation type: First.

References

• [1] She spent over 20 years in Papua New Guinea translating the Bible - Salt&Light, Singapore. Profile of Kwan Poh San and the Mauwake translation project.
• [2] One of a thousand tongues in Papua New Guinea - Translating the Bible into Mauwake - The Methodist Church in Singapore. Account of the Mauwake translation and dedication.
• Audio Bible - Audio Bible, Faith Comes By Hearing
• NT - Online text, Faith Comes By Hearing
• Yeesus Opor Eliwa - Online text, Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.
• Bible For Developers - DBL archive entry, Digital Bible Library
• find.bible entry - find.bible. Bible catalogue entry for MHLPNG.
• Global Bible Catalogue - Global Bible Catalogue entry.
• ebible.org entry - ebible.org.