Located in southeastern Asia, between the Philippine Sea and the South China Sea, and just east of Vietnam, is the self-governing country of the Philippines. Their independence and ability to speak and translate in English has been a valuable asset to the spreading of the Gospel in the Philippines and other nearby countries. This has opened up a rare opportunity for the Philippines office to be a translating haven to supply thousands in their native lands and neighboring countries with Message material.
The Manila office is located in a secure metropolitan area of the city where it is easily accessible to visitors coming from outside the region. In the notably neat and spacious facility, there is a reception and display area, manager’s office, translator’s office, large conference room and storage area, and a fully equipped recording studio. It is here that the Message translation process begins for Tagalog and Cebuano languages.
The state of-the-art recording studio is one of the central focuses at our office in Manila. Located on a busy street in Metro Manila, the studio is easily viewable from the road to attract curious spectators to inquire about the work at the office. The studio is also just a short flight away from China, which allows our Chinese translators to conveniently record their translated sermons at this office as well.
A look inside the recording studio shows two padded, sound-proof rooms. One room is for the recording equipment and recorder, and the other for the translator. They communicate by microphone and gestures through a piece of sound-proof glass. The recording equipment consists of state-of-the-art instruments that can modify sound to produce the best audio results possible. It takes about one day to translate and proof a single Message, and the translators often prepare 7-8 Messages at a time. Frequent breaks are required during the translating process to allow the translator to refocus, and refresh.
The Message recordings performed at the Manila office are carried out with great care and precision, but nonetheless it is not an easy job to create a final product up to standard.
Here is a report from Brother Jeremiah concerning the translation process:
Translation, I would say, is one of the most exacting jobs in the world. It requires a combination of many things in order to come out with a translated text that carries with it the same anointing that's in the original English text. One has to be first, proficient in the English language and at the same time a native of the language or dialect to which the Message is translated to, coupled by an attitude of care and precision. Proficiency in language should not give the translator the self-confidence to depend on his ability but he should be humble enough to refer to important references like dictionaries, the Bible and even historical references in order to come up with the most precise translation that exactly more or less matches the very meaning of the English word or words used by Brother Branham. Translated words should not, as much as possible, even increase or decrease the intensity of the meaning of the English word being translated. A good translator does not correct Brother Branham, instead he should be able to reflect in his translation everything that Brother Branham said, as the Bride deserves every Word of It.
A good translator although does not need to be a minister, but he should at least have a considerable background of the Scriptures and the Message itself. The Message also is an important reference in Itself. There are many things that Brother Branham says in one Message that may not be clear at first but could be further verified in his other Messages, making it become much clearer towards a more correct translation. And lastly, a translator should be in the Spirit when he translates because even if he is proficient in the English language and its grammar, there's no way he could fully understand what Brother Branham means. That Spirit that was in Brother Branham would have to be the same Spirit that will make the translator understand what Brother Branham meant.
After the translator shall have completed his work, we endorse the same to another brother who normally is a minister that will review the same work in details, focusing thoroughly on the grammatical correctness and precision of the translated words used. It is not the aim of the translation to make the Message more palatable for reading or compromise some words just to make it more understandable. We aim to make use the nearest translation word that will approximate the meaning of the English word if none could be found to precisely convey the exact meaning of the same word.
After this, we endorse the same translation work to the concerned VGR staff to further review the same work and include now the more detailed line-checks as to possible missing words, sentences, phrases, including any punctuation that may have been missed from the English manuscript. This likewise includes further checking the work against both the manuscript and the Message in audio. Thereafter, we discuss the final work as to major items that the staff could not agree with the translator and the editor/minister especially on the Tagalog language. I also have to take special interest of items in the translated Message that are highly doctrinal statements to make sure that these are all correctly translated.
Thank you and God bless you,
Brother Jeremiah
The Philippines Office has submitted a continuous stream of Tagalog and Cebuano translations since their opening in 2005. There are more than 75 native languages spoken by Filipinos, but only 6 of these so-called mother tongues are major languages. The Tagalog (25% of population) and Cebuano (24% of population) are the major languages spoken.
English, French,
Hindi, Malayalam, and Telugu
are other languages in the Philippines which VGR offers.
The Philippines office stays very busy in their day-to-day operations. In addition to running the office, the staff takes special attention to providing material to the public jails, public libraries, and commercial businesses throughout the Philippines. They also plan special trips, visiting leper colonies and other places that could otherwise be overlooked. Youth meetings, ministers meetings, and distributor meetings are also constantly on the agenda.
Most anyone who has dealt with the Philippines office has been very pleased by the efficiency and thoroughness of the staff. We have received many reports from different sources of how Message accessibility in the Philippines has been revolutionized since the opening of the new VGR office in 2005.
Soon to come on In The Spotlight will be an in-depth look into the outreach made by Brother Jeremiah and supporting ministers to facilities such as jails, libraries, leper colonies, nominal churches, and other places the Gospel Light has shined in the Philippines Islands.