Breaking the Literate Bias: Exploring the Sufficiency of Oral Bible Translation

While Oral Bible Translation is increasingly accepted within the Bible Translation movement, questions remain about its sufficiency versus a traditional written translation. These questions include concerns such as, “How will individuals participate in Bible studies with only an oral translation?” or “How will they follow along with the Scriptures during a pastor’s sermon if they rely solely on an oral translation?” While these are valid questions, they are often brought up by people who have experience working in written translations and are based on a literate bias. Oral Bible Translation meets the needs of oral preference communities by giving them access to Scriptures in a format that best matches their cultural norms and learning styles and is not dependent on the traditions of literate societies. This paper will examine these concerns and similar questions to identify these potential biases and understand whether an oral translation meets the needs of an oral preference community while sharing examples from current oral translation projects.