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Ways to Reduce the Power Gap Between Consultant and Consultees

Translation consultants are often seen as the 'experts', coming in to a project to 'check' their work and improve it. There is a danger that we are continuing colonial practices by doing this. So, here are a few suggestions (this is not a comprehensive list) of ways to reduce this power gap.

  1. Learn from the team. It's their language, not yours
  2. Have a humble attitude
  3. Make an introductory statement such as 'I am not here to criticise your work...'
  4. Encourage the team to discuss any problems/issues in their language, rather than yours. You can always ask for a summary of their discussion.
  5. Stay locally with believers in the area (not in a hotel)
  6. Give positive feedback when they are seeing local support come in for the project, whether financial or other
  7. Praise their translation - look for good aspects, not only things that need improvement
  8. Mentor a local consultant to take over from you
  9. Ask them for their feedback at the end of the consultation (ways you can improve)
  10. Do the washing up! I knew one consultant who used to dive straight in after lunch and wash up. The team were so impressed!

It's so important to involve the whole team in any discussions. Leaving team members out can make them feel unwanted.

In addition we need to realise that a self-funded team, even if slower than an externally funded one, will be so much better in terms of the process (leading to transformation), that it's worth seeing this as a goal for future translation programmes. We need to be incarnational in Bible translation!

Please add any suggestions below, or email them to me!
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