Converting minority language bibles into Logos from YouVersion?

Hi,

I'm about to try and get a Pacific Island church here in New Zealand to get Logos.
The text of the Tongan Bible is available at YouVersion aka www.bible.com,
but is there a way to quickly convert it into a personal Bible book for Logos?

Thanks in advance,
David Roberts.

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Lee

First you need to get a text file of the Tongan Bible, it must be in a .DOCX format then use that file to build a PB.

delete12066188

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795814#Comment_795814

not shure if this is the Tonga Bible [;)]

You can do it with copy past and put it into Word (plain Text) Better way is just call Wiclif and let them sent you a Text.

6320.Main Nɨ Ena.docx

delete12066188

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795823#Comment_795823

Here is a free plain Text just copy and Past it into Word and save as docx

http://gospelgo.com/p/tongan_bible.htm

delete12066188

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795825#Comment_795825

http://gospelgo.com/a/unicode.htm#Tonga_Island

David Roberts

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795823#Comment_795823

Thank you Sascha for the links.

Do you have a link or phone number for Wiclif?

David Roberts

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795814#Comment_795814

Thanks Lee for your reply.

NB.Mick

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795832#Comment_795832

David,

a PB bible is one of the more complex things to build in Logos, if it should work like the commercial bibles in lookup, scolling along etc. (i.e. you need chapter and verse milestones).

There are some examples of PB bibles linked from https://wiki.logos.com/User_Contributed_Personal_Books and there are some discussions spread over the forum in doing those. (a google search of site:community.logos.com for PB bible may help a lot) If I remember correct, some people found it more convenient to build the structure in Excel than in Word.

You should know the versemap your bible follows, and code your milestones accordingly, otherwise there are some nasty surprises down the road.

delete12066188

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795833#Comment_795833

David I just have the Germans

https://wycliff.de/

delete12066188

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795837#Comment_795837

I ask them for an Kontakt in Neuseeland. .but there just in the Office Tommorow

Jan Krohn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795840#Comment_795840

I've always been wondering why in German Wycliffe is spelled without an e...

Here's the NZ website: http://www.wycliffe.org.nz/

They have a piece of software called "Toolbox" for their Bible translations. http://www-01.sil.org/computing/toolbox/

A couple of years ago I had a small project to convert native Toolbox files into MS Word. I focused on some basic formatting as a first step towards publishing. I guess I could dig the thing out again, to create a new version that generates PB friendly Word documents. (I guess I would need some more details on the PB process, and it would really only make sense if we know for sure that Wycliffe would share their files for such a purpose.)

delete12066188

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795914#Comment_795914

[Y]

Robert M. Warren

Hi David:

I took the text from the link that Sascha provided and gave it a shot. When I compiled it, it had 30 or so warnings. A few of those I was able to fix, as they were some dumb things I did. But there are still some invalid milestones, which are probably related to a different verse map, or some variant versification made by the translator(s). See the tab on the Excel file "Log Warnings 2nd Run" and "Notes". I couldn't delve into the remaining invalid milestones, since I couldn't compare the verses to English bibles.

This is what I did:

Opened Sascha's link
Copied and pasted it all into Word
Ran a find and replace to make each verse a paragraph
Copied and pasted into Excel.
Built formulas to make the tagged verses
Copied and pasted into Word
Used special characters I put in Book names and Chapter headings to make them Heading 2 & Heading 3 using find and replace
Use find and replace to re-format verse numbers to bold and 2 pts smaller
Compiled as Bible (no language option for Tongan; there's a Tsonga, but I think that's related to an African area. My installation of Word didn't have Tongan, either)

NB.Mick is correct [:)]

I hope this is useful, or at least is something that gets you started. The zip file has the docx and the Excel work file. If someone knows how to identify and use a different verse map, changing the Excel formulas for that is probably not a huge undertaking.

EDIT: here's the link (I must have been halucinating last night):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wp7osme0gn37zek/Tongan%20Bible.zip?dl=0

delete12066188

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795929#Comment_795929

thanks for your Work please ad the File :-)

JohnB

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795929#Comment_795929

EDIT: here's the link (I must have been halucinating last night):

Too much PB work gets you like that!!

David Roberts

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795929#Comment_795929

Hi David:

I took the text from the link that Sascha provided and gave it a shot. When I compiled it, it had 30 or so warnings. A few of those I was able to fix, as they were some dumb things I did. But there are still some invalid milestones, which are probably related to a different verse map, or some variant versification made by the translator(s). See the tab on the Excel file "Log Warnings 2nd Run" and "Notes". I couldn't delve into the remaining invalid milestones, since I couldn't compare the verses to English bibles.

This is what I did:

Opened Sascha's link

Copied and pasted it all into Word

Ran a find and replace to make each verse a paragraph

Copied and pasted into Excel.

Built formulas to make the tagged verses

Copied and pasted into Word

Used special characters I put in Book names and Chapter headings to make them Heading 2 & Heading 3 using find and replace

Use find and replace to re-format verse numbers to bold and 2 pts smaller

Compiled as Bible (no language option for Tongan; there's a Tsonga, but I think that's related to an African area. My installation of Word didn't have Tongan, either)

NB.Mick is correct

I hope this is useful, or at least is something that gets you started. The zip file has the docx and the Excel work file. If someone knows how to identify and use a different verse map, changing the Excel formulas for that is probably not a huge undertaking.

EDIT: here's the link (I must have been halucinating last night):

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wp7osme0gn37zek/Tongan%20Bible.zip?dl=0

Wow, thanks so much!

Schumitinu

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/795914#Comment_795914

Jan, I never heard of Toolbox being used for translation. I thought Toolbox is a database program for language and culture data. It can also be used to do text analysis, and interlinear work. For translation, SIL either uses Bibledit (freeware) or Paratext (license need). Both of these use the USFM Bible format (united standard format markers, developed by SIL and UBS I think). This formt cannot easily be converted into a DOCX for PB. However, I have successfully done so using http://freely-given.org/Software/BibleDropBox/ and then taking the XML output file and using https://github.com/schierlm/BibleMultiConverter to produce a HTML file which with LibreOffice can be converted into DOCX. However, Michael Schierl, the man behind the Bible Multi Converter is considering building a module that allows to import USFM Bibles right into his converter. Whether he gets to it, I don't know. Also, the Bible Multi Converter does help suggest which Logos Verse Map fits best with your Bible. But you need to have the Bible in a supported input format in order to use this converter.

However, I'm not with SIL. There are SIL members here on the forum that might chime in.

As far as copyright of these Bibles, it depends on who made the translation. Not all YouVersion Bibles come from Wycliffe/SIL. Some are copyrighted by UBS etc. So one needs to ask and find out.

Jan Krohn

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/796086#Comment_796086

You're right! I did dig out my 10 year old stuff, and found a piece of code that creates a formatted dictionary from Toolbox, and another piece of code that creates a Bible in ThML format from a Media Wiki source. Somehow my mind mixed these two things together when I tried to remember what I did back then :-)

John Duffy

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/796087#Comment_796087

The original question could be implemented by a different route. The Digital Bible Library (http://www.everytribeeverynation.org/library ) is the central repository where bible.com (YouVersion) subscribes as a 'card-holder' to the massive collection of digitised Bibles uploaded in USFM format by Bible Societies around the world. I believe that subscription to this library by bible.com or Faithlife might be free of charge (although I could be wrong on this). If Faithlife were able to easily convert Bibles from the Digital Bible Library into Logos or Vyrso formats, with a minimum of processing, it would allow users access to a wealth of new translations.

A major issue, though, would be versification, since not all Bibles have the same versification e.g. e.g. Psalm 4:2 in some translations is the equivalent original text as Psalm 4:3 in others. With my limited knowledge of the technical issues that would be required, I would imagine that if a versification cross-reference table were produced and double-checked by volunteers (at no cost to Faithlife) for each Bible version on the Digital Bible Library, to a Logos or Vyrso software standard, then maybe there wouldn't be such a big problem in converting such Bibles for use in Logos or Vyrso. It might also enhance the marketing reach of Faithlife products to users who can only access some of those Bible translations using free software instead.

I personally would like to see some of the Irish language (Gaeilge) publications recently made available through the Digital Bible Library become available on Logos (which I admit I've mentioned before), as well as other translations. But then, a project like this could be costly in employing Faithlife staff, even for a minimal degree of format conversion, and now doesn't seem to be a suitable time to suggest taking on more staff. Yet, having such translations available on our favourite Bible software is nevertheless on my long term wishlist.

David Roberts

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/796271#Comment_796271

... I personally would like to see some of the Irish language (Gaeilge) publications recently made available through the Digital Bible Library become available on Logos (which I admit I've mentioned before)...

Celtic languages are awesome. It's kind of sad because many in Ireland, Scotland, Briton, and in those countries where they spread out in the colonial days, are of Celtic descent, but can not speak their ancestral heritage language. I've start learning the Brittonic Celtic language of Kernowek lately. It's odd to think of some Brits as not being English, but it's true. I learnt some Scottish Gaelic before that, I'm have ancestry from both.

féadfaidh an grásta Dé a bheith in éineacht leat

John Duffy

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/796318#Comment_796318

féadfaidh an grásta Dé a bheith in éineacht leat

May God's grace be with you too, David.

Yes, it's great to have so many translations available, but how much better would it be to have them in our favourite Bible software too, especially if it is your own 'heart' language!

Rath Dé ort

David Roberts

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/796347#Comment_796347

féadfaidh an grásta Dé a bheith in éineacht leat

May God's grace be with you too, David.

Yes, it's great to have so many translations available, but how much better would it be to have them in our favourite Bible software too, especially if it is your own 'heart' language!

Rath Dé ort

Totally hear you on the heart languages thing. Years ago I found out that Celtic languages weren't just in Briton, but used to be in Asia minor.
The Galatians spoke a Celtic language. For us today, it would be a blast to go back in time and listen to them speaking ancient Celtic in the Church at Galatia. I found this quite interesting:
"In the 4th century St. Jerome (Hieronymus) wrote in a comment to Paul the Apostle's Epistle to the Galatians that "apart from the Greek language, which is spoken throughout the entire East, the Galatians have their own language, almost the same as the Treveri". The capital of the Treveri was Trier, where Jerome had settled briefly after studying in Rome)."
The Treveri link is fascinating.

John Duffy

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/796570#Comment_796570

Totally hear you on the heart languages thing. Years ago I found out that Celtic languages weren't just in Briton, but used to be in Asia minor.
The Galatians spoke a Celtic language. For us today, it would be a blast to go back in time and listen to them speaking ancient Celtic in the Church at Galatia. I found this quite interesting:
"In the 4th century St. Jerome (Hieronymus) wrote in a comment to Paul the Apostle's Epistle to the Galatians that "apart from the Greek language, which is spoken throughout the entire East, the Galatians have their own language, almost the same as the Treveri". The capital of the Treveri was Trier, where Jerome had settled briefly after studying in Rome)."
The Treveri link is fascinating.

Yeah, Celtic links to other people groups in Europe and even the Middle East are really interesting. I think that we are all descended from people or people groups much further afield from where we live, in one way or another. My main concern is from a mission or evangelism context, to have scriptures in Gaeilge easily available to those who love the language. It's great that we can access the Bible digitally so easily today, compared to decades or centuries ago.

DominicM

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/796318#Comment_796318

theres also: http://pacificbibles.org/

David Roberts

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/796695#Comment_796695

... My main concern is from a mission or evangelism context, to have scriptures in Gaeilge easily available to those who love the language. It's great that we can access the Bible digitally so easily today, compared to decades or centuries ago.

Amen. We have so much to be grateful for.

David Roberts

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/796704#Comment_796704

theres also: http://pacificbibles.org/

Thanks for the link!