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Did you know that for millions of Deaf people around the world, reading is all but impossible? That's because in most cases, they've never heard the phonetic sounds associated with the writing symbols they see printed on paper, road signs or computer screens.
 When it comes to "hearing" and understanding God's Word, sign language is the heart language of the Deaf. But even sign languages can vary from region to region and country to country. Some researchers estimate there may be up to 400 distinct sign languages worldwide.
Wycliffe and its partner agencies have begun to translate Scripture for Deaf communities in Kenya, Colombia, Spain and other countries, using some innovative strategies. In Spain, for example, one team created a 3D animated colour version of the Christmas story, presented in a sign language used by up to 60,000 Deaf in that country.
Wider Impact
Now a Wycliffe computer team has been assembled to create a cutting-edge animation software tool for sign language Bible translation projects everywhere. In virtually all of these projects, on-screen signing of translated Scripture is crucial. There is simply no widely acceptable way to represent sign languages in written form for the Deaf, who are actually often illiterate in the languages of the surrounding hearing population.
Animating an on-screen signer is a better strategy than videotaping a real person. It allows for much easier editing and corrections. As well, videotaping a real person signing must be avoided where Christianity is not welcomed. In these places, a signer's identity needs to be protected to avoid persecution.
Of Growing Importance
Only a tiny fraction of the world's Deaf are believers and virtually all of them are without the Scriptures in a form they can understand. As a result, Bible translation in sign language is of growing importance to Wycliffe and other partner agencies.
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