Nomaande

Old Testament

Country

Cameroon

Language(s)

Nomaande

Speakers

19,000

Dedicated local pastors long for foundational Old Testament Scripture to strengthen their remote churches. Church leaders have hand-picked a team for extensive training.

Thank you! This project has been fully funded for the year!

Funds to meet this year's goals

the Need

For centuries, the Lemaande people who speak the Nomaande language have lived in the remote mountainous savannah region of central Cameroon, in many ways untouched by all the changes taking place in their country’s urban centres. After the New Testament dedication in 2008, the church spoke of a deeper faith, and they expressed a desire for the Old Testament, digital access to Scripture, and a wider literacy program to increase engagement with Scripture and facilitate spiritual growth.

The Project

Nomaande project team members, trained by staff from our national partner in Cameroon, have made the commitment to:

Revise the Nomaande alphabet according to government standards and edit existing literacy materials.
Make essential revisions to the New Testament translation.
Translate the Old Testament.
Promote the use of mother-tongue Scripture in churches and engage the language community with God’s Word.

Translation Progress

Drafted

Community-Checked

Quality-Checked

A Chance to Learn

Mr. Roger grew up in an isolated Nomaande community where electricity was unreliable if available at all. Modern day computers and cell phones never even entered his imagination until he came to work on the Nomaande Old Testament project. Much of the work occurs using translation software loaded onto a laptop, and Mr. Roger encountered a very steep learning curve. However, seeing his enthusiasm and willingness to try new things, the translation team leader enrolled him in a basic computer workshop. “My level in computer science was zero,” laughs Mr. Roger. “After the modules of what a computer is and how to use the keyboard, I am now able to type all the characters of the Nomaande language very well.” He is excited to get to work helping with the Old Testament translation. Mr. Roger says, “I would like to thank the donors, the teachers, and CABTAL [OneBook’s national partner in Cameroon] for the opportunity they gave us to come and learn.”

Beyond Words

The goal of the alphabet workshop was to collect a significant amount of Nomaande words to inform the Old Testament translation and improve other translated materials. Jean, a member of the project team, expected it to be a breeze—after all, wouldn’t they just make a list of words they knew? However, once the work got underway, Jean started to appreciate the work of language development and translation in a way he hadn’t before. Each word was considered for its meaning and naturalness, and the best ones were selected. Jean explained, “Although this activity seemed easy in our expectations, it is not at all. It is very interesting, however, and helps us enrich our vocabulary both in French and in Nomaande.”

NEW

God Hears and Understands

Micheline had heard the story of Pentecost before, but she never really understood it. The thought of everyone hearing other tongues was a bit too confusing—it was hard to understand the passages and sermons in the national language. She couldn’t imagine hearing God’s promises in Nomaande. Then Micheline joined Mme. Minette’s listening group. Each week they gathered to listen to Scripture in Nomaande and discuss. When the group came to the book of Acts and Micheline heard the story of Pentecost in her own language, it all became clear. “Even my mother tongue, Nomaande, is recognized in heaven because all the multitudes of mother tongues spoken that day were heard in heaven!” Now, Micheline prays with a new hope and confidence. “When I pray in Nomaande, God hears and understands!”

“We dream of the day when we will have a Nomaande-French dictionary."

Adeline, a woman in the Nomaade community.