(JTA) — After a 34-year translation project, the Hebrew and Christian Bibles were published for the first time in an Eskimo language.
This week, a group of Inuit Christians in the Canadian territory Nunavut completed the task of translating the texts into the local Inuktitut, according to Haaretz.
Plant and animal names were among the biggest difficulties and often the word "tree" was used for them. In some cases, English words such as "camel" were used. One surprising difficulty was the complete absence of a term for "peace" in Inuktitut. That forced the translators to use complete sentences to get the idea across to readers, according to Haaretz.
There are approximately 50,000 Inuits in Canada.
The translation project was funded by the Canadian Bible Society and the Anglican Church at a cost of $1.7 million. The translation will be launched in a ceremony at the igloo-shaped St. Jude’s Anglican Cathedral in Iqaluit, Nunavut’s capital, on June 3.
