[Slling-l] Translating the Bible into British Sign Language

[Mark Mandel]

*The British Sign Language project stretching back 2,000 years*
[Dec. 22, 7am ET / Noon UTC]
https://www.bbc.com/news/disability-59650048

Deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis wowed on Strictly Come Dancing last year -
and the film Coda, about a teenager who is the only hearing member of a
deaf family, won best picture at the 2022 Oscars.

Now another project under way, with its roots stretching back more than
2,000 years: the Bible is being translated into British Sign Language (BSL).

Rev Dr Hannah Lewis, a Deaf priest based in Liverpool, always believed she
had a good understanding of the Bible. As someone who is "completely
bilingual in English and BSL", she didn't think she was missing out.

"I can read it, I can understand it, I can preach on it. But when I see the
Bible in BSL it just hits me - emotionally, spiritually - in a way that
reading never will.

"However good the interpreter, you're receiving the Bible once-removed,"
she told Radio 4's Sunday programme. [
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnbd]

BSL is Hannah's first language and, as such, the most meaningful.

Currently, while there are some non-traditional versions of the Bible
available in BSL, there has been no official translation until now.
Previously it had come down to the subjective reading of individual
interpreters - their take on the stories and words on any given day. Come
the following week, or a different interpreter, the Bible stories might be
signed slightly differently and convey slightly different meanings.

[Click link at article headline for full story]

-- Mark Mandel
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/slling-l/attachments/20221222/11bb5ac3/attachment.htm>