10 Nov 2022

Vice President Slumber Tsogwane has described the  Shiyeyi translation of the biblical Book of Matthew as a display of greatness by Wayeyi people and Bible Society of Botswana.

“All of us ought to do more to develop our languages and promote them so let’s emulate what Wayeyi and other tribes have done and promote our languages,” he said at the translation’s launch in Maun yesterday.

He said the event’s the theme, God speaks my language too, God speaks Seyeyi too,  gave Batswana confidence to speak their own languages.

Emphasising that equity and inclusivity were essential for the attainment of a united nation, Mr Tsogwane stated that it was government’s mission to see a united Botswana where people were free to express themselves in their mother tongues.

The vice president said mindset change espoused in the Reset Agenda affirmed that languages and culture should be celebrated because they defined a Motswana.

He further called on Batswana to welcome the society when it approached them to assist in translating the Bible into their languages. Mr Tsogwane commended the Wayeyi Bible translation project team for doing a sterling job especially since they translated from Greek, the original language in which the book was written,  instead of  using existing  translations.

The society’s general secretary, Mr Ofentse Maruping, said its mandate was to translate the Bible into Botswana indigenous languages.

He said the belief was that  when the Bible was translated into different languages,  it would not lose  meaning and essence.

Revealing that the society produced an entire Kalanga Bible in 2018, Mr Maruping  said it was currently working on Sekgalagadi and Sesarwa translations.

In addition, the society was in the process of developing an application for translating the Book of Luke into Shiyeyi and Sekgalagadi.

The general secretary said the aim was to translate the entire New Testament into Shiyeyi in two years.

He said the translators for the Book of Matthew consulted Bayeyi to ensure they neither distorted nor diluted the language.

Mr Maruping said the society wanted to make it possible for Batswana to read the Bible in their own diverse languages.

“God speaks all languages hence when you speak to him in your language he hears you so don’t feel ashamed to converse with God in your language,” he said.

Giving the project’s background, the translation advisory committee chairperson Mr Wazime Qhamayah stated that it was conceived in 2010 as a collaboration between Wayeyi people and the society.

The first translation was the Book of Mark which was completed last year, he said.

Batawana regent Kgosi Kealetile Moremi said the Book of Matthew was one of the popular books as it taught about the birth of Jesus, his death and resurrection.

Kgosi Moremi expressed the belief that the spirit and wisdom of God directed the translation team.

She encouraged the society to continue translating the Bible into other indigenous Botswana languages. Ends