WBTC to launch Bible in Awadhi language

Lucknow – The World Bible Translation Center is all geared up to launch a Bible in a hugely popular dialect, Awadhi, which is similar to Hindi.

Awadhi is an Indian language, often considered a dialect of Hindi, spoken in the historical region of Oudh or Awadh in Uttar Pradesh. Its speakers are also found in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Nepal.

According to WBTC's Ervin Bishop, Awadhi has been considered a dialect of Hindi for years. But the speakers have their own literature and folklore to share, a sub–culture in the prevailing one.

A Bible in the native dialect will tremendously help in the outreach of the WBTC, he said.

"It has the same alphabet and shares the same features of the Hindi language. The education in those areas has been in Hindi, but the people have held on to their language and they're very receptive to publications," he added.

Whereas the translation of the New Testament was completed almost 10 years ago, the translation of the Old Testament has been completed just now.

"The work has now been completed and, in fact, it's being printed as we speak. Plans are to introduce it in December, this year,” Bishop said. “It'll take place in Bihar, which is the center of interest for Awadhi speakers."

For more details, click http://www.wbtc.com