What we do among the nomatsiguenga also happens in Colombia, in Brazil, in Mexico. That is the network.
SIL Global has spent decades building tools for work with languages. The question few ask is: how does that tool reach a translator in the jungle of Peru, or a literacy team in Colombia?
That is exactly the task. We are not the ones who write the code, nor the ones in the field with each community. We are the bridge: those who know both shores and can speak to each one in its own language.
40+
translation and language-development tools at SIL Global
6+
AI-powered tools that support translation
All the
Americas
the region coordinated by the Language Technology team
What good is a great tool if no one knows how to use it?
I coordinate Language Technology for all of the Americas with SIL Global. My job is for the teams working with indigenous groups — in Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and beyond — to use these tools with confidence and get the most out of them.
But there is more than training. What I care about most is looking ahead: seeing the whole picture before the details hide it, anticipating where the problem will be before it appears, proposing paths that still work five years from now. I would like our team to be sought out not only when something breaks, but when someone needs to think the way through.
I don’t get lost in the tree. I always keep the forest in view.
Bible translation
Software that shortens the translation process and improves comprehension for speakers
Artificial intelligence
Tools that assist the translator without replacing their cultural and linguistic judgment
Scripture engagement
Resources so communities not only have the Bible, but use it
Media and audio
Tools to record, edit and distribute the Bible in audio in indigenous languages
Giving a language a voice is more than translating it.
I am part of SIL Global’s Language Development team for South America. What we do is exactly what it sounds like: developing the language — giving it a written form, building its first reference tools, creating the materials a community uses to learn to read in its own tongue.
We do not come to impose anything. We come with decades of experience and we place ourselves at the service of those already working with indigenous groups, whether or not they belong to our organization. That is what makes this work worthwhile.
My work among the nomatsiguenga, at the BMA, is part of that larger project. What I learn with them informs what I share with the team. And what the team develops, I can bring back to the field.
Literacy
Materials and methods so speakers learn to read in their own language
Lexicography
Dictionaries and word lists that document the language
Writing system
Development and standardization of the writing system
Workshops and training
Training local leaders who carry the work forward from within
About SIL Global: an organization with decades of experience in applied linguistics in the service of indigenous peoples worldwide. It has no denominational flag: it works with missions of different traditions that share one goal — that every people have access to the Word of God in its own language. Pepe and Miriam have served with SIL Global since 2013 and 2018, respectively.