Do you have the mind of a Bible Translator?

Language puzzle - level 1

Translators often go into language communities

and must learn the meanings of words and
sentences through observation and deductive
reasoning.

The following are eight emphatic sentences in the

Yaqui language. Your task is to identify the meaning
of each Yaqui word. THEN, to write a sentence in
Yaqui.

Yaqui (also known as Yoeme) is an American Indian

language currently spoken by about 16,400 people in Northern Mexico and southern Arizona.
It is a member of the Uto-Aztecan language family.

Yaqui sentences English Translation

1. Inepo siika. 1. I left.
2. Empo nee aniak. 2. You helped me.
3. Inepo apo'ik aniak. 3. I helped him.
4. Inepo apo'ik vichak. 4. I saw him.
5. Inepo enchi vichak. 5. I saw you.
6. Inepo enchi aniak. 6. I helped you.
7. Empo ye'ek. 7. You danced.
8. Aapo enchi vichak. 8. He saw you.

Your translation guide: (hint 1-different languages use different word order)
inepo = ____________________ siika = ____________________
empo = ____________________ apo’ik = ____________________
aapo = ____________________ enchi = ____________________
aniak = ____________________ nee = ____________________
vichak = ____________________ write: You saw me
ye’ek = ____________________ ________ ________ _______
* this language puzzle is adapted from https://lingclub.mycpanel.princeton.edu/challenge/puzzles.php

Answers to this puzzle can be found at www.canil.ca/lingquiz/index_canil.html

 Do you have the mind of a Bible Translator?

If you found that you enjoy these types on language puzzles, perhaps you should consider
further studies in linguistics, or pursuing a career in Bible Translation or other linguistic
related field of study.

What is linguistics?
Every language captures unique conceptualizations of the world, and as we compare the words
and structures of various languages, we come to a greater understanding of our world. Many
minority language communities are marginalized because of their cultural background, or
because their heart language is not the language of power. Studying linguistics enables us to
facilitate language development in communities around the world and empower people by
giving them access to more services offered in their heart languages.

Studying at Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL)

The Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL) has been offering quality linguistic and literacy
training in Canada since 1985. Our programs have been steadily growing as more students from
all over the world are drawn to our highly experienced faculty. CanIL alumni have successfully
gone to serve language communities in more than 40 countries. They do linguistic research,
Bible translation, literacy development, language survey, orthography development, language
software development, teaching English as a second language and many other linguistic and
cross-cultural activities.

CanIL integrates scholarship into linguistics with service to language communities worldwide.
We provide a wide range of applied linguistics training with specialties in descriptive linguistics,
language survey, Bible translation, orthography development, literacy development, and
language documentation. Our faculty has years of field experience, our classes are sized for
optimum interaction. We are committed to mentoring and training our students for real life
situations.

CanIL provides courses in cooperation with a number of high-quality post-secondary

institutions: Trinity Western University in Langley, BC; ACTS Seminaries in Langley, BC; and
Tyndale University College in Toronto, ON. Find out more at WWW.CANIL.CA
 BA in Linguistics through TWU
 BA in Linguistics through Tyndale
 MA in Linguistics through TWU Graduate studies
 MA in Linguistics and Translation through ACTS Seminaries
 one of eight streamlined study paths for ministry related roles

If you are in
 middle school – find out what your church or family are doing to promote missions,
then get involved in some way.
 high school – consider participating in a short-term cross-cultural ministry opportunity.
Or decide to find out more about the different cultural backgrounds of other students in
your school.
 college, university, adulthood – consider taking time to do a short-term mission trip or
cross-cultural internship to learn about God’s heart for the nations.
Answers to this puzzle can be found at www.canil.ca/lingquiz/index_canil.html
 Do you have the mind of a Bible Translator?

Language puzzle - level 2

Some ancient languages were pictographic and were largely

incomprehensible to modern archeologists until linguists
discovered the key which unlocked the secrets of this
ancient writing system. When they realized that these
portions of the Luvian language was mentioning important
names, they began to crack the language code.

Match the following to the symbols below to crack the Luvian language code.

a. Khamatu region c. Kurkuma city e. King Varpalava

b. Palaa region d. Tuvarnava city f. King Tarkumuva
hint : some ancient languages (and modern languages like Cree) write using syllables

1. 4.

2. 5.

3. 6.

Now, using what you just learned, try writing the following words in Ancient Luvian.

King Parta

King Armura

Tarmu city

Tuva region

Narva region

* this language puzzle is adapted from https://lingclub.mycpanel.princeton.edu/challenge/puzzles.php

Answers to this puzzle can be found at www.canil.ca/lingquiz/index_canil.html

 Do you have the mind of a Bible Translator?

If you found that you enjoy these types on language puzzles, perhaps you should consider
further studies in linguistics, or pursuing a career in Bible Translation or other linguistic
related field of study.

What is linguistics?
Every language captures unique conceptualizations of the world, and as we compare the words
and structures of various languages, we come to a greater understanding of our world. Many
minority language communities are marginalized because of their cultural background, or
because their heart language is not the language of power. Studying linguistics enables us to
facilitate language development in communities around the world and empower people by
giving them access to more services offered in their heart languages.

Studying at Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL)

The Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL) has been offering quality linguistic and literacy
training in Canada since 1985. Our programs have been steadily growing as more students from
all over the world are drawn to our highly experienced faculty. CanIL alumni have successfully
gone to serve language communities in more than 40 countries. They do linguistic research,
Bible translation, literacy development, language survey, orthography development, language
software development, teaching English as a second language and many other linguistic and
cross-cultural activities.

CanIL integrates scholarship into linguistics with service to language communities worldwide.
We provide a wide range of applied linguistics training with specialties in descriptive linguistics,
language survey, Bible translation, orthography development, literacy development, and
language documentation. Our faculty has years of field experience, our classes are sized for
optimum interaction. We are committed to mentoring and training our students for real life
situations.

CanIL provides courses in cooperation with a number of high-quality post-secondary

institutions: Trinity Western University in Langley, BC; ACTS Seminaries in Langley, BC; and
Tyndale University College in Toronto, ON. Find out more at WWW.CANIL.CA
 BA in Linguistics through TWU
 BA in Linguistics through Tyndale
 MA in Linguistics through TWU Graduate studies
 MA in Linguistics and Translation through ACTS Seminaries
 one of eight streamlined study paths for ministry related roles

If you are in
 middle school – find out what your church or family are doing to promote missions,
then get involved in some way.
 high school – consider participating in a short-term cross-cultural ministry opportunity.
Or decide to find out more about the different cultural backgrounds of other students in
your school.
 college, university, adulthood – consider taking time to do a short-term mission trip or
cross-cultural internship to learn about God’s heart for the nations.
Answers to this puzzle can be found at www.canil.ca/lingquiz/index_canil.html
 Do you have the mind of a Bible Translator?

Language puzzle – level 3

Doing Math in Indonesian

Indonesian is part of a language family called the Austronesian languages. These languages are
spoken by over 240 million people living among the more than 18,000 islands that are found
throughout the South Pacific and many parts of Southeast Asia.

The process of forming numbers in Indonesian is not difficult to understand. With only one
word translated into English, your task is to work out the simple arithmetic statements to build
a vocabulary of the numbers. Where blanks are provided, fill them in with the correct answers,
based on what you learn as you go along. No previous knowledge of Indonesian is necessary.
Beware - one of the statements contains an intentional error. Find the error and make the
necessary correction.

Definition: satu = "one"

A. Satu ditambah satu menjadi dua.
B. Dua ditambah dua menjadi empat.
C. Satu ditambah dua menjadi tiga.
D. Dua dikalikan dua menjadi empat.
E. Enam dikurangi tiga menjadi tiga.
F. Sepuluh dikurangi enam menjadi empat.
G. Dua dikalikan tiga menjadi lima.
H. Sepuluh dibagi dua menjadi lima.
I. Tiga dikalikan enam menjadi delapan belas.
J. Delapan belas dikurangi satu menjadi tujuh belas.
K. Tiga ditambah empat menjadi ______________.
L. Tiga dikalikan tiga menjadi sembilan.
M. Sepuluh ditambah sembilan menjadi ____________.
N. Dua puluh empat dibagi dua menjadi ____________.
O. Tiga puluh dibagi lima menjadi enam.
P. Tujuh puluh dibagi dua menjadi ________________.

1. ____________ 6. ____________
Now, based on what you have discovered, write out the
2. ____________ 7. ____________
following numbers in Indonesian:
3. ____________ 8. ____________
7 _____________________________________.
4. ____________ 9. ____________
19 _____________________________________. 5. ____________ 10. ____________
23 _____________________________________. + ____________ - ____________
39 _____________________________________. x ____________ ÷____________
= ____________
Which statement (A-Q) contains an error? _________ 24. _________________
Rewrite the statement correctly (two possible solutions):
________________________________________________ 30. _________________
____
* this language puzzle is adapted from https://lingclub.mycpanel.princeton.edu/challenge/puzzles.php
____

Answers to this puzzle can be found at www.canil.ca/lingquiz/index_canil.html

 Do you have the mind of a Bible Translator?

If you found that you enjoy these types on language puzzles, perhaps you should consider
further studies in linguistics, or pursuing a career in Bible Translation or other linguistic
related field of study.

What is linguistics?
Every language captures unique conceptualizations of the world, and as we compare the words
and structures of various languages, we come to a greater understanding of our world. Many
minority language communities are marginalized because of their cultural background, or
because their heart language is not the language of power. Studying linguistics enables us to
facilitate language development in communities around the world and empower people by
giving them access to more services offered in their heart languages.

Studying at Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL)

The Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL) has been offering quality linguistic and literacy
training in Canada since 1985. Our programs have been steadily growing as more students from
all over the world are drawn to our highly experienced faculty. CanIL alumni have successfully
gone to serve language communities in more than 40 countries. They do linguistic research,
Bible translation, literacy development, language survey, orthography development, language
software development, teaching English as a second language and many other linguistic and
cross-cultural activities.

CanIL integrates scholarship into linguistics with service to language communities worldwide.
We provide a wide range of applied linguistics training with specialties in descriptive linguistics,
language survey, Bible translation, orthography development, literacy development, and
language documentation. Our faculty has years of field experience, our classes are sized for
optimum interaction. We are committed to mentoring and training our students for real life
situations.

CanIL provides courses in cooperation with a number of high-quality post-secondary

institutions: Trinity Western University in Langley, BC; ACTS Seminaries in Langley, BC; and
Tyndale University College in Toronto, ON. Find out more at WWW.CANIL.CA
 BA in Linguistics through TWU
 BA in Linguistics through Tyndale
 MA in Linguistics through TWU Graduate studies
 MA in Linguistics and Translation through ACTS Seminaries
 one of eight streamlined study paths for ministry related roles

If you are in
 middle school – find out what your church or family are doing to promote missions,
then get involved in some way.
 high school – consider participating in a short-term cross-cultural ministry opportunity.
Or decide to find out more about the different cultural backgrounds of other students in
your school.
 college, university, adulthood – consider taking time to do a short-term mission trip or
cross-cultural internship to learn about God’s heart for the nations.
Answers to this puzzle can be found at www.canil.ca/lingquiz/index_canil.html
 Do you have the mind of a Bible Translator?

Language puzzle –level 4

Samoan language – South Pacific

Christian missions first went to the Samoan islands in the early 1800s, and many Samoan
people were among the first missionaries to venture to other islands to share the Gospel
message.

The Samoan language is spoken by 38,700 people in American Samoa and 153,000 in Western
Samoa, an independent country. About 162,000 more live in New Zealand, Hawaii, Fiji and on
the West Coast of mainland USA. Samoan is a Polynesian language. The Malayo-Polynesian
language family is one of the most widespread on earth because the ancient Malayo-
Polynesians were great ocean sailors. They were masters of the tides, winds and currents, and
evidence of their travels can be found throughout the Pacific region. The word "Polynesian"
means "many islands."
English is an Sbj Vrb Obj language
Here are some Samoan sentences and their translations into English: Samoan is a _________ language

1. 'Ua lafi le pua'a. = The pig hid. Verbs

2. 'Ua tutuli e tagata maile. = The people chased away the dogs. ‘Ua = ________________
3. 'Ua pupu'e e le pusi 'isumu. = The cat caught the mice. e = ________________

4. 'Ua pu'e e le tama le pusi. = The boy caught the cat. ‘isumu = ________________

5. 'Ua fefefe teine. = The girls got scared. lafi/lalafi = ________________

tuli/tutuli = ________________
6. 'Ua fasi e tama le 'isumu. = The boys killed the mouse.
pu’e/pupu’e= ________________
fasi/fafasi = ________________
Now, based on what you learned above, try translating the following
fefe/fefefe= ________________
from Samoan into English:
Nouns (subject or object)
A. 'Ua fefe le pusi. = _________________________ le = ________________
B. 'Ua tuli e 'isumu le pusi. = _________________________ - = ________________
pua’a = ________________
Now, try translating from English into Samoan: pusi = ________________
C. The boys hid. = _________________________ maile = ________________

D. The mice caught the dog. = _________________________ ‘isumu = ________________

E. The girl killed the pigs. = _________________________ tama = ________________

teine = ________________
tagata = ________________
* this language puzzle is adapted from https:
//lingclub.mycpanel.princeton.edu/challenge/puzzles.php
Answers to this puzzle can be found at www.canil.ca/lingquiz/index_canil.html
 Do you have the mind of a Bible Translator?

If you found that you enjoy these types on language puzzles, perhaps you should consider
further studies in linguistics, or pursuing a career in Bible Translation or other linguistic
related field of study.

What is linguistics?
Every language captures unique conceptualizations of the world, and as we compare the words
and structures of various languages, we come to a greater understanding of our world. Many
minority language communities are marginalized because of their cultural background, or
because their heart language is not the language of power. Studying linguistics enables us to
facilitate language development in communities around the world and empower people by
giving them access to more services offered in their heart languages.

Studying at Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL)

The Canada Institute of Linguistics (CanIL) has been offering quality linguistic and literacy
training in Canada since 1985. Our programs have been steadily growing as more students from
all over the world are drawn to our highly experienced faculty. CanIL alumni have successfully
gone to serve language communities in more than 40 countries. They do linguistic research,
Bible translation, literacy development, language survey, orthography development, language
software development, teaching English as a second language and many other linguistic and
cross-cultural activities.

CanIL integrates scholarship into linguistics with service to language communities worldwide.
We provide a wide range of applied linguistics training with specialties in descriptive linguistics,
language survey, Bible translation, orthography development, literacy development, and
language documentation. Our faculty has years of field experience, our classes are sized for
optimum interaction. We are committed to mentoring and training our students for real life
situations.

CanIL provides courses in cooperation with a number of high-quality post-secondary

institutions: Trinity Western University in Langley, BC; ACTS Seminaries in Langley, BC; and
Tyndale University College in Toronto, ON. Find out more at WWW.CANIL.CA
 BA in Linguistics through TWU
 BA in Linguistics through Tyndale
 MA in Linguistics through TWU Graduate studies
 MA in Linguistics and Translation through ACTS Seminaries
 one of eight streamlined study paths for ministry related roles

If you are in
 middle school – find out what your church or family are doing to promote missions,
then get involved in some way.
 high school – consider participating in a short-term cross-cultural ministry opportunity.
Or decide to find out more about the different cultural backgrounds of other students in
your school.
 college, university, adulthood – consider taking time to do a short-term mission trip or
cross-cultural internship to learn about God’s heart for the nations.
Answers to this puzzle can be found at www.canil.ca/lingquiz/index_canil.html