Create an Alphabet Description: Alphabet puzzles and an example of a tonal language This lesson relates to the “Language Development” checkpoint on the Road to Transformation found at www.wycliffe.org/transformation.

•

Materials: • •

Aims: •

5

Children will understand that many languages do not have an alphabet, so translators must create alphabets in order to translate the Bible into those languages. Children will pray for translation teams that are developing alphabets for languages that need them.

Audience:

• • •

Grades 1-6

Country/Area: • •

• • •

Mexico India

Minimum Time Requirements: • • • • • •

Activity page Creating an alphabet Optional craft bookmark Scripture discussion Optional: Make-believe alphabet Prayer

5 minutes 8 minutes 3 minutes 1 minute 3 minutes 1 minute

•

Scripture to Study: John 20:30–31 If you have any questions or problems related to this lesson, please contact [email protected].

•

More curricula to engage children in Bible translation are available at edu.wycliffe.ca. Select from the drop-down category menu in the middle of the page.

•

No part of this lesson may be republished or sold without permission. Copying for classroom use is encouraged! ©Wycliffe USA 2008

Lesson 5: Create and Alphabet, Summer 2012, page 1

Copy of blank John 3:16 poster from page 5 A copy of activity page 6 or 7 for each child Computer with speaker Optional: A copy of Mazateco John 1:14 from page 10 Copies of “Alphabeti Spaghetti” activity sheet for each child, page 9 Pencils Paper Optional craft project: crayons or colored pencils, scissors, glue sticks, and cardstock Optional: current prayer request for a Bibleless people group from www.wycliffe.org/ Pray BiblelessPeoples PrayerProject.aspx Footprints 1–3 from lesson 2 Bible marked at John 20:30–31

Pre-class Preparations: • • •

•

• •

• • • •

Make one copy of the blank John 3:16 poster, page 5. Decide whether activity page 6 (younger children) or page 7* (older children) is more suitable for your students. Then make copies of the one you choose for all your students. Save a copy of the audio file “Mazateco Audio #1” from www.discipleland.com/VA-Teacher-Downloads**. You’ll find it in the section “Lesson 5 Downloads and Links.” Remember where you save it so you can play it during the lesson. Decide if you want to show your students a copy of John 1:14 written in Mazateco from page 10, and if so, make a copy of it. If you want your (older) students to do the activities on that page, make enough copies for each student or small group to use. Familiarize yourself with the “Alphabeti Spaghetti” directions on page 8. There you will find the answers to the activities on page 9 and directions for the optional craft project. Make a copy of “Alphabeti Spaghetti” activity page 9 for each child. If you decide to have the students color and cut out the bookmark, prepare cardstock strips the same size as the bookmark. Place pencils at the center of each table. Decide if you want to include the optional activity “Create a Make-Believe Alphabet.” If so, provide paper for it. If you decide to include a prayer for a Bibleless people group at the end, pick up a current request at www.wycliffe.org/Pray/ BiblelessPeoplesPrayerProject.aspx. Make sure you have footprints 1–3 from lesson 2.

Class Time: Review Bible translation steps 1–2, using the footprints. Introduce today’s lesson with footprint 3.

*The colored activity pages included in Steps to Bible Translation are from DiscipleLand’s My Volcano Adventure curriculum, and are used with permission. **Wycliffe’s partnership agreement with DiscipleLand gives you permission to access this website for these materials as if you had purchased the My Volcano Adventure curriculum.

Materials: •

Footprints 1–3 from lesson 2

•

Copy of blank John 3:16 poster from page 5

•

Copies of activity page 6 or 7 for each child Pencils

Activity Page: Show the children the blank John 3:16 poster. Explain, This is how John 3:16 looks in more than 2,000 languages around the world. Many of those languages don’t even have a written alphabet. Often a translation team must create an alphabet before beginning a new Bible translation. Distribute activity page 6 or 7. Tell the children,

Lesson 5: Create and Alphabet, Summer 2012, page 2

•

Many of the languages that don’t have a Bible, don’t have anything written down in their language yet. So, how do you suppose Bible translation teams create alphabets for previously unwritten languages? Allow some discussion before reading or inviting a volunteer to read the introduction under “Create an Alphabet” on their activity page. Then assist students as needed while they complete the exercise that follows. Answers page 6: /æ/ æ/ and /ei/

Page 7: /æ/ æ/ /i/ /II/ /o/ /Ʌ Ʌ/ /ai/

Creating a New Alphabet: Ask, Do you think people would want to read a Bible written in IPA? Allow children to respond before agreeing, Probably not. They would want their alphabet to look “normal” like other languages in their area. The translation team needs to work together with many people who speak the language to create an alphabet that works—an alphabet that makes the people want to read their language. Some languages can be kind of tricky to write down. Their words change meaning just because of the tone used to speak them. Some of them are so musical, that people can actually “play” or whistle messages without using any words at all. Listen to this audio file, and you’ll see what I mean!

Materials:

Play the Mazateco Audio file you saved to your computer during pre-class preparations.

•

Ask the children, How would you create an alphabet for a language like Mazateco? Would you find that job difficult or fun?

•

Optional: Show the students John 1:14 written in Mazateco, page 10. Point out how they used numbers to designate the different tones.

• •

Optional: Let (older) students work through questions on the “Mazateco Verse” activity page. Distribute “Alphabeti Spaghetti” activity page 9 and say,

Lesson 5: Create and Alphabet, Summer 2012, page 3

•

“Mazateco Audio #1” previously saved on your computer Computer with speaker Optional: a copy of Mazateco John 1:14 from page 10 Optional: copies of “Mazateco Verse” from page 10 for each student or group of students to work on “Alphabeti Spaghetti” worksheet from page 9

This page shows an example of Devnagri* writing from India. Devnagri does not use tone to change the meaning of words, but the letters of the Devnagri alphabet look very different from English! Do you think we can figure out what this says? This puzzle uses Devnagri letters to make English words. So the puzzle solution words are actually in English instead of Devnagri. Assist as needed while the students complete the “Alphabeti Spaghetti” worksheet. Answers are on page 8.

Optional Craft Project: Prayer Bookmark

*Some people spell Devnagri like this: Devenagari. Both ways are accepted.

Materials: • •

Pencils Paper

•

Optional: craft project: crayons or colored pencils, scissors, glue sticks, and previouslycut cardstock strips.

•

Optional “Create a Make-Believe Alphabet” activity: paper and pencils

•

Bible marked at John 20:30–31

•

Optional: current prayer request for a Bibleless people group from www.wycliffe.org/Pray/ BiblelessPeoplesPrayer Project.aspx

Give directions for creating their bookmark from page 9. Explain that the verse on the bookmark is in Jirel, not English, so they have to look it up in their Bible to find out what it means.

Optional: Create a Make-Believe Alphabet: Tell the children, How would you like to try creating your own alphabet? It will be kind of like a code. Pick a symbol to stand for each sound that you hear in your name (or in John 3:16). Then use the symbols to write your name (or the verse).

Scripture Discussion: Read John 20:30–31. Ask, • How did John help people believe in Jesus? (He wrote down what Jesus did.) • Do you think it would be easy to learn about Jesus if no one had ever written the Bible in your language? (probably not)

Prayer: Thank God that someone wrote the Bible for you many years ago. Pray that God will enable translation teams to hear the sounds of unwritten languages well and write them down accurately using the IPA. Pray for God to help them create a final alphabet the people will enjoy reading. If the children made a prayer bookmark, invite some volunteers to pray for the Jirel people. Pray that many will come to know Jesus as they read the New Testament and that a strong Jirel church will grow. Optional: Pray for a Bibleless people group.

Lesson 5: Create and Alphabet, Summer 2012, page 4

John 3:16

Lesson 5: Create and Alphabet, Summer 2012, page 5

When did you first believe that Jesus lived, died, and rose again to forgive your sins?

What does John 5:24 say about you? Fill in the word below. I have

life.

Create an Alphabet

Bible translation teams listen carefully and write down all the sounds in a language. They choose symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for each sound. The IPA has one symbol for every possible sound human beings can make. Translators agree on an alphabet that fits each language.

To translate John 3:16 below, write one English word above each phonetic word. Try to figure out which phonetic symbol represents each English sound.

John 3:16 looks like this in the International Phonetic Alphabet… For

so

gave

the

only

that

son

in

should

have

life.

perish

© NKJV

Choose symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet above to write the “a” vowel for these two English words:

620

cat

cave

whoever

FareFare • population: 820,000 • location: Ghana • New Testament: completed 1986 • Old Testament: completed 2008

When did you first believe that Jesus lived, died, and rose again to forgive your sins?

What does John 5:24 say about you?

Create an Alphabet

Bible translation teams listen carefully and write down all the sounds in a language. They choose symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) for each sound. The IPA has one symbol for every possible sound human beings can make. Translators agree on an alphabet that fits each language.

To translate John 3:16 below, write one English word above each phonetic word. Try to figure out which phonetic symbol represents each English sound.

John 3:16 looks like this in the International Phonetic Alphabet…

.

© NKJV

Choose vowel symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet above to write these English words:

cat 720

be tore

fizz mutt

by

FareFare • population: 820,000 • location: Ghana • New Testament: completed 1986 • Old Testament: completed 2008

Leader’s Instructions:

Wycliffe Bible Translators

Pre-class Preparations: 1. In advance, photocopy enough activity sheets for everyone to have their own copy. 2. Collect enough cardstock to cut out backings for each bookmark. Class Time:

Description: activity page & craft that could tie in with lessons about India

Aim: to teach that different scripts are used in Bible translations

Audience: children grades 1-6, any size group

Time: 20 minutes Equipment: pencils, colored pens, scissors, gluesticks, copies of activity sheet, cardstock Scripture to Study: Psalm 119:130

www.wycliffe.ca Tel: (403) 250-5411 Wycliffe Canada ©Wycliffe USA 1997. No part of this lesson may be republished or sold without prior permission from the copyright holder. *Copying for classroom use is encouraged!

Bright Ideas!

1. Hand out activity sheets and pens and explain the first activity: • Figure out the three words: apple, orange and banana • Figure out this sentence: God’s Word brings life. • Write your own name in Devnagri Script. 2. Hand out scissors, glue sticks and cardstock and explain the second activity: • Color the bookmark. • Sign your name in Devnagri on the bookmark. • Cut out the bookmark. • Glue it onto the card stock. 3. Pray together for the Jirel people. Pray that many will come to know Jesus as they read the New Testament and that a strong Jirel Church will grow.

Discussion and Application: 1. Ask the children where they plan to keep the bookmark so as to use it for a reminder to pray for the Jirel people. (perhaps in their own Bible or in the Bible the family uses for devotions at dinner) Then they can lead the whole family in praying for God’s work around the world! 2. Be careful to point out the difference between what the children have written (which is English written in a foreign script) and the verse on the bookmark (which is a foreign language and a foreign script). Otherwise they may try to decipher the ‘code’ on the bookmark when they get home and won’t be able to do it. 3. The Devnagri script has been simplified for the purposes of this activity. Depending on where you live, there may well be children in the group who already know this script. If so, make the most of it! They may have specific prayer requests that add life and impact you never expected. Revised from The Wycliffe Idea Bank, England, UK

Alphabeti Spaghetti 1/2 8

Here alphabet. Wycliffe Bible Translators Here isisthe theDevnagri Devnagri alphabet.ItItlooks looksa abitbitlike likespaghetti. spaghetti.

Wycliffe Bible Translators

16'5U

Here are some English words written with Devnagri letters. Can you find out what they mean?

Devnagri letters are joined up together to make whole words. Each word looks like a clothes line with washing hanging on it. Here's a whole sentence. Can you work out what the message says?

Can you write write your yourname nameininconnected connected Devnagri letters? Can you Devnagri letters?

Fact: Hindu Scriptures. Scriptures. Devnagri writing of of Fact: The TheDevnagri Devnagriscript script was was first firstused usedto to write write the the Hindu Devnagri means means "the “the writing the gods." Today this alphabet is used to write languages around North India.

the gods.” Today this alphabet is used to write languages around North India.

Fact: languageininthe theDevnagri Devnagri script.Translators Translatorstook took22 Fact: The TheJirel Jirelpeople peopleof of South South Asia Asia write write their their own own language script. 22 years to put the New Testament into the Jirel language. Now it has been published for the first years to put the New Testament into the Jirel language. Now it has been published for the first time! time! Here is isaa bookmark bookmark to tocolor colorand andkeep: keep:

To find out what this verse from the Jirel New Testament says, read Hebrews 4:12a. 4:12a

Alphabeti Spaghetti 92/2 8

Photocopy Master

Bright Ideas!

John 1:14 Huautla de Jiménez Mazatec* of Mexico

*In Huautla [WOW-tlaw] de Jiménez Mazatec each syllable has a tone or a combination of 2 tones (glide). The alphabet uses a ‘?’ to show a glottal stop, like the sound at the beginning of the English word “uh-oh”. 1. How do you know which tone to use on each syllable? 2. How many different tones and glides do you see in John 1:14? 3. What Mazatec consonant combinations do you see in John 1:14 that English doesn’t have? Answers: 1) Numbers 2) 4 tones (1, 2, 3 and 4) and 2 glides (4-2 and 1-4) 3) jn, cj, and jnc (ts and nt may occur at the end of syllables like “ant” or “acts” in English)