Chad has well over a hundred different languages. French is used for administration, but the most widely spoken language is the Chadian dialect of Arabic.
Chadian Arabic is
- The mother tongue of at least 15% of the population.
- Spoken on a daily basis by another 20% or so.
- Also being used increasingly by a growing proportion of the population.
At least some of the people in all the Northern and central unreached groups speak Arabic. For these reasons, it is a very strategic language for scripture translation.
WEC is working, in partnership with others, to get the Bible into Chadian Arabic. It is being printed book by book. So far Genesis and Jonah are in print along with about 55% of the New Testament. Each publication appears in two alphabets; the Arabic alphabet, obviously, and also the French for those who have learnt to read in French but speak Arabic much better.
Chad Arabic translation FAQs
How different is Chadian Arabic from standard Arabic?
Every Arabic speaking country people speak their own local spoken dialect and the schools, media and the authorities use and write in standard Arabic. Chad is somewhat cut off from the rest of Arab world and the majority of its Arabic speakers are not really Arabs. The use of standard Arabic anywhere in the country is very limited. For these reasons, the local Arabic is significantly different and few can follow standard Arabic well.
Isn’t Wycliffe Bible Translators involved?
Yes, Wycliffe is involved. WBT-SIL is engaged in language development and is printing folk stories, lexicons, literacy aids and other learning materials.
Is it a literal translation?
That is a kind of trick question. Almost any translation can be called ‘not literal’. What we are aiming for is a translation that is clear and accessible to people of little general or biblical education.
If not many people read, why have a scripture translation?
True, literacy is low in Chad, but rising. Those who read are hungry for material. In addition, the translations provide a basis for the development of audio materials – radio, cassettes, talking tracts, etc.
