by Patricia Napier, Feba
Patricia Napier explores a fundamental element of culture -
language. Many of Feba's listeners understand more than one language - so why
do we set such a store on broadcasting to them in their mother tongue?
 If you're reading this article, it's
likely your mother tongue is English. Now, just imagine if someone in your
family were to turn on the radio and exclaim, "How wonderful to hear our own
language!" You'd probably be rather surprised! Our language is known and used
worldwide. We take it for granted.
How different from the experience of many of Feba's listeners! In
Pakistan, for example, the national language of Urdu is the mother tongue of
fewer than ten percent of people. That means many speak a different language in
their school or office than the one they normally use at home. Some rarely - if
ever - hear their own language on the radio. No wonder Feba's listeners who
speak a 'minority' language are thrilled when they hear it on air! A man in
Pakistan happened to tune into one of Feba's Siraiki programmes. He picked up
his pen that same day to thank us. "I love listening to Siraiki," he wrote
joyfully, "because it is my mother tongue!"
A Way to Show Concern
Broadcasting to audiences in their own language is not just about
communicating information. As Feba's Director of Programming Tony Ford
explains: "It carries a strong message that you are interested in them as
people." The first letter to Feba's recently launched service in the Yemeni
dialect of Arabic surely proves his point. "We thank you for caring for the
believers in Yemen by producing programmes in our language." wrote the
listener. [You can read his letter on page 7.]
Some broadcasters argue that using a country's official language, or a
regional one used in trade, is the best use of resources. It's certainly
cheaper to broadcast in one major language, understood by most people in the
region, than in several minor ones.
Yet Christians working among minority groups will tell you it's
communicating with people in their own language that's most likely to draw them
to God. Feba India Director C. A. Benjamin has preached widely in India. He
says more people respond when he preaches their mother tongue than when he does
so through an interpreter. Why? "It is more a heart talk than just words," he
explains.
That's the key. The Gospel's about heart issues. And it's in our mother
tongue that we first learn to express our hearts - love, joy, sorrow, need. The
Christian anthropologist Charles Kraft is convinced of the superiority of the
'heart language' for sharing the Gospel. "Heart concepts such as Christian
conversion and growth seldom mean what they ought to mean in any language but
the heart (usually the first) language of a people," he writes.*
Painful Associations
Ease of understanding is only one of the issues broadcasters need to
consider. A country's national language may have painful associations for some
listeners. For example, the Oromo of Ethiopia. A hundred years ago the land of
Oromia was invaded by the 'Christian' Amhara and the people subjugated after a
bloody struggle. Amharic became the official language of Ethiopia, and until
recently was the only one used in schools. Paulos, the producer of Feba's Oromo
programmes, explains the effect of these events on the Oromo: "They hated
Christianity because of its association with the enemy forces. They never
thought Christianity had anything to offer them but colonisation!" The result
was that many Oromo embraced Islam - largely to have a different identity from
the Amhara.
You can understand why Amharic would not be the language to tell the
Oromo about the love of Christ! But Feba's Oromo broadcasts have a huge and
appreciative audience. "Even Muslims tune in," says Paulos, "just to hear their
language." Oromo listeners regularly write and say they have met with Jesus
through the radio ministry.
Strong impact
Paulos is an Oromo himself. His is the ideal background for a
programmer. Because talking the same language as your audience goes much deeper
than words. It means identifying with its culture - the joys and griefs of its
history, its art, its 'world view'. It means understanding its religion, even
if your own faith is a different one.
A major strength of Feba's new Yemeni service is that it includes
programmes voiced by a local believer. The audience can recognise the presenter
as one of them. Furthermore, a local voice counters the assumption that the
Gospel is 'foreign' or (worse still, in the eyes of an Arabic audience)
'western'. Arabic team member Rana Sami expects that hearing a local voice will
have a strong impact on the Yemeni audience. She explains: "This will make them
think: 'Aha! - there are Yemeni people who believe in Christ! But why?' "
It's all about identifying with your listener. And hasn't God set us an
example? Historians tell us that those who gathered in Jerusalem on the Day of
Pentecost - Parthians, Medes and many other ethnic groups - probably all
understood Greek, which was spoken throughout the Roman Empire. Yet to declare
the wonders of God, the Holy Spirit communicated personally and intimately with
each one - in their own 'heart language'.
*Anthropology for Christian Witness by Charles H. Kraft,
published 1996 by Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York
Credit: Patricia Napier, Feba. First published in
Threshold February, 2004. Feba, Ivy Arch Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN14
8BX
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