Eswatini's siSwati Bible remains under South African copyright

The Bible Society of South Africa holds the copyright to the existing translation of the Bible into siSwati, which limits the Bible Society of Eswatini's independence to print copies itself. Its board chairman, Sicelo Dlamini, explained this difficulty during a seminar devoted to Bible translation held at the organisation's premises in Mahlanya, according to the Times of Eswatini.

The current translation was produced in South Africa, where the copyright remained with the South African organisation. The Eswatini society is now studying ways to strengthen its skills to translate, publish and manage its own version of the Scriptures. Sicelo Dlamini notably wants the organisation to master the procedures and technical requirements needed for an independent translation.

The chairman also noted references unsuited to the local context in the current version. He cited in particular the use of the South African rand instead of the lilangeni, Eswatini's national currency. The seminar, entitled "Understanding Processes of Bible Translation", brought together in particular Dr Samy Tioye, of the United Bible Societies, and Professor Sambulo Ndlovu, of the University of Eswatini. The discussions focused on the linguistic and technical requirements needed to produce a translation faithful to the biblical texts and suited to the realities of the country.