Conversations with Mozambicans always seem to me like a blend of fact and fantasy. In conversation yesterday I learned that the reason there are so many truck wrecks on our highway is that certain villages do magic ceremonies to cause tipovers so that the villagers can carry off the cargo. I also learned that tuberculosis has two causes. The first is genetic. You get it from your family. The second is drinking impure homebrew alcohol.

Pamwepo Iye adaimirira acicosa bzakubvala bzace, adatenga nguwo yakupukutira acimanga m’ciuno mwace.

Then he stood-up removing clothes his, he-took sheet cleaning tying on-waist his.

The Nyungwe reviewers had suggested that this be changed to “his outer clothing.” That change made, we still had to discuss what kind of cloth he wrapped around himself. Was it a towel? Or a capulana like the colorful pieces of fabric that women tie over their skirts to keep them clean? Looking at us from the outside you would see three men sitting at a desk intensely concentrating on the Word of God. It is a scene from my missionary fantasies. Little did I know back then that the men sitting at the sacred translation desk were discussing how to make it sound like Jesus wasn’t naked and vigorously debating whether pronouns should be capitalized when they refer to Jesus.

Spot the differences in John 13:3

Jezu akhadziwa kuti Baba adapereka bzinthu bzentse m’manja mwace. Akhadziwa pomwe kuti adacokera kuna Mulungu, ndipo ali kubwerera kuna Mulungu.

Jezu akhadziwa kuti Baba adapereka bzinthu bzentse m’manja mwace. Akhadziwambo kuti adacokera kuna Mulungu, ndipombo ali kubwerera kuna Mulungu.

Listening to a church song this morning in Nyungwe: Baba mungandituma ndiniyenda ka palidza, “Father, when you send me I will go and preach.”

Word of the day: ndicidzabzilatiza

na tenepo ine nin’dzamufuna iye, ndicidzabzilatiza kuna iye.

And so I will love him, showing myself to him.

From John 14:21 in Nyungwe

ndi-ci—dza-bzi-latiz-a = 1S-progressive-future-reflexive-SHOW-indicative

Nyungwe loves consonant clusters. It is not a tonal language like most of the Bantu languages so consonant patterns bear a heavier load. A word like “ndicidzabzilatiza” sounds like an electrocution in progress.

Brain Fry + Fish Fry

Today’s work was accompanied by the overpowering odor of fish being fried in oil. For hours it seemed. I will never read John 14 again without thinking of fish. But the translators are eating well and a well-fed translator is a productive translator.

Final verse count:

• Paciposi: Madutswa maxanu (5 verses)
• Pacipiri: Madutswa makumanomwe na ibodzi (81 verses)

Hendiatrys

Hendiadys is two nouns serving as the equivalent of a noun plus adjective. I think that John 14:2 contains a hendiatrys: I am the way and the truth and the life. The meaning being, “I am the true way of life.” I was quite amazed that I convinced the translators to adopt this in the Nyungwe translation. I had less success with Jesus saying, “I am the crab-apple” in John 15:1. They opted for “I am the true fruit tree.”

P.S. Photos were from an evening walk with Hilary, Ellie and Henry.