The work, which has been supported by deaf and hard of hearing people, will help deaf and dumb people in Kenya to understand the liturgical texts.
Kenya – Nairobi (22/10/2020 15:00, Gaudium Press) — The Chaplaincy of the Deaf-Mute of the Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya, has launched an official translation of the Roman Missal into sign language.
A work of Six years
The work, which has been supported by deaf and hard of hearing people, will help deaf and dumb individuals in Kenya to understand the liturgical texts. Until then, interpretation was left to specific translators, at the risk of incorrect translations.
The chaplain of the deaf and dumb in Nairobi, Fr. José Martinez, responsible for the work, explains that “the rite of Mass is very technical and we had not been able to find the correct and precise terminologies. Six years ago, we began a more serious work of translation to express the Missal’s words without losing the theological meaning of the concepts.”
Training for liturgical interpreters and hearing-impaired faithful
According to the priest, training was offered to liturgical interpreters and hearing-impaired faithful. They need to know the meaning of the Mass and must know how to respond during the celebration. “We offer training to the interpreters so that they do not interpret according to their understanding, which sometimes departs from the theological sense, but follows the conventional codes,” he emphasized.
In addition to the booklet with the translations, a fifty-minute video with the corresponding texts and gestures was also produced. Both will be officially launched on December 5, during the annual Mass for the Deaf-Mute. (EPC)
