ABSi/SBL Bible Technologies Conference, Rome, April 2002 OSIS Past, Present & Future A Bible Society Translation & Publishing Perspective Daud Soesilo

ABSi/SBL Bible Technologies Conference, Rome, April 2002

OSISPast, Present &

Future

A Bible Society Translation & Publishing Perspective

Daud Soesilo & Kees de Blois

(with input from Bob Batzinger)


Publishing Cycle

Market research / Needs assessmentProduct development

• Translation preparation, research & training

• Text processing, editorial process • Prepress & typesetting• Production

DistributionProduct evaluation


Market Research

Research (focus groups) on:

Target audience (young / old, churched / unchurched)

Most effective media (print, audio, video, CD)

Content (text & helps)

Text (new or existing translation)

Format (color, lay-out, illustrations)

Size of edition


Preparation & Research

Language reduced to writing? (linguistic analysis)

Stable orthography?

Socio-linguistic survey of language and its use

Authors/translators/artists available?

Hardware/software (incl. resources)


Training

Selection of translators (by national Bible Society on recommendation of translation staff)Training in Translation theory & practice Biblical backgrounds Authoring skills Team skills Understanding publishing process Time management Computer skills


Translation & Editorial Process

Exegetical preparationFirst draft by team member Ideally straight text with SFM-encoding

Internal review (peer revision)Input from external reviewersRunning consistency checks (content & format)Consultant checks (ideally at all stages)Trial publications – comprehension testingEvaluationRevision


Prepress & Typesetting (print media)

Preprocessing of manuscripts (proper tagging, consistency of text format)Conversion tags to proprietary formats for typesettingPagemaking in proprietary software (in house or outsourced)Inserting footnotesOutput PDF, camera-ready-copy or film


Production

Despatch CRC/film to printer

Printing & binding

Shipment of product

Transportation to warehouse/distribution centers


Distribution

Program focused (Bible Society, churches, parachurch groups, literacy agency)

Sale via bookshops (Bible Society, church, commercial)


Product Evaluation

Assess reception:Sales of productEvaluation of use in programsQuestionnaires

Completion of publishing cycle


Publishing Process: Stakeholders


Translation Process: current pre-OSIS reality


Standard Format Markers

Generating textbases with SFM’s (Standard Format Mark-up)


Standard Format Markers

System of back-slash codes

Developed by SIL

Adapted / customized by UBS

In use since eighties

Regional variations

UBS working on pre-OSIS global standard


Sample text (unformatted)with text, references and notes

Example of TEV in Paratext (unformatted view)


Sample text (unformatted)\id MRK 42MRK.TEV Todays English Version (ABS) May 2000\h Mark\st The Gospel according to\mt MARK\c 1\s The Preaching of John the Baptist\r (Matthew 3.1-12; Luke 3.1-18; John 1.19-28)\p\v 1 This is the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. \f a \rf 1.1\

rf* \itw Some manuscripts do not have\itw* the Son of God.\f*\v 2\x \rf 1.2:\rf* Mal 3.1.\x* It began as the prophet Isaiah had written:\q <<God said, <I will send my messenger ahead of you\q2 to open the way for you.>\q\v 3


Sample text (formatted) with text, references and notes

Example of TEV in Paratext, (formatted view)


Sample text (formatted)MRK 42MRK.TEV Todays English Version (ABS) May 2000

The Gospel according to MARK

1 The Preaching of John the Baptist

(Matthew 3.1-12; Luke 3.1-18; John 1.19-28) 1 This is the Good News about Jesus Christ, the Son of God. a 2 1.2: It began as

the prophet Isaiah had written: “God said, ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you

to open the way for you.’ 3 1.3: Someone is shouting in the desert, ‘Get the road ready for the Lord; make a straight path for him to travel!’ ”

a1.1 Some manuscripts do not have the Son of God.1.2: Mal 3.1. 1.3: Isa 40.3 (LXX).


Focus on format marking• Allows for rapid development of

formatted material• Encourages inconsistent and

incomplete attempts at markingdocument features

• Makes it difficult for marking document structure (hierarchy, nesting)


Tools to handle SFM-text

Editorial & checking tools based on SFM mark-up developed

Successfully implemented across the globe


SFM-input for typesetting

SF-Marked up text-bases serve as direct input for typesetting in TeX

SF-Marked up text-bases can be converted into input for typesetting in proprietary DTP systems (Ventura, PageMaker, Quark Xpress)

Custom conversion scripts (CC, Perl, TeX) handle desired implementation of SFMs


Challenges Pre-OSIS Approach (1)

Most exegetical and translation tools only available in proprietary formats:

• Linking between references often problematic

• User needs to operate several applications at once


Challenges (2)

ii. Non-Roman scripts in the pre-Unicode approach


Challenges (3)

iii. Problems of keeping generic text-bases updated, when last-minute editorial changes are implemented in proprietary formats


Challenges (4)

iv. Problems of regional and agency-specific variations in SFM mark-up

(within UBS an effort is being made to establish a global standard)


Translation / Publishing Process

(OSIS implemented)


Advantages (1)

Facilitate the interchange of textbases between

agencies, publishers and software developers


Advantages (2)

Potential for web publishing of Scripture

text and resources


Advantages(3)

Facilitates publishing in a wide variety of

formats and media

resources


Where do we go from here?


Implement OSIS 1.0

An XML schema marking structure and data types for Scripture (for both source

texts and translations)


XML-Compliant Software

Develop user-friendly software tools for inputting, editing & checking Scripture text compliant with the OSIS schema (Paratext, FieldWorks)


Converting Textbases

Write scripts for conversion of SFM textbases to OSIS

markup


Mark-up for Reference Tools

Develop schemas for existing and new scholarly help & reference tools to be linked up with Scripture text


Displaying Reference Tools in Browser

Develop support for displaying scholarly help and reference tools in a browser window which links to Scripture texts selected by various

attributes


OSIS 1.0A Major Step Forward!!

Documents

ABSi/SBL Bible Technologies Conference, Rome, April 2002 OSIS Past, Present & Future A Bible Society Translation & Publishing Perspective Daud Soesilo