Translation
SIL works not only in linguistics and literacy, but also in translation. The materials that are translated can be grouped into different categories, including:
Shell books: Standardised booklets on a variety of subjects with texts that can easily be translated into any Cameroonian language, with graphics and formatting already done. Among the subjects included are health, community development, stories and Bible portions. A large collection of Shell books is available at SIL Cameroon for use by all the linguistic communities of Cameroon.
The Bible: SIL Cameroon desires to help the churches to translate the Bible into the different languages of Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. This includes Bible portions and specific books of the Bible in addition to the Old and New Testaments.
The training of translators who are mother tongue speakers is a high priority, since they are the ones best able to create a translation that is clear and natural. SIL Cameroon recognises the necessity of a good linguistic foundation on which to build a good translation. In addition, we recognise the contribution of oral skills and methods in the entire translation process. Translation as an activity of communication requires not just the teaching of good translation principles but also oversight and feedback from translation consultants in order to produce more skilled translators and improved efforts.
All the translations that are supervised by by SIL Cameroon go through a process of community testing, review by community revisers and verification by certified translation consultants, so that quality and precision are maintained.