Sign language animation of Luke's Gospel being made for the deaf

Two organisations have begun work on a sign language animation of the Gospel of Luke, aimed at helping deaf and hard-of-hearing people learn about Jesus. The project's creators note that there are more than 70 million deaf people worldwide, though depending on how deafness and hearing loss are defined, some estimates put the figure as high as 400 million.

One of the least-reached groups

According to a joint statement from the two organisations, the deaf community is considered one of the least-reached people groups in the world, with only about 2% of it currently reached by the gospel. Once the first chapter of the Luke animation is completed, the plan is to adapt it into more than 300 different sign languages.

A demanding task

British Christian writer and deaf community advocate Emily Owen has called the project innovative, while stressing that translating Bible content into sign language is a complex undertaking that must preserve the true meaning of the text. She said she likes the concept, provided it actually works in practice, and noted she is aware of several projects where translators work hard to convey the Bible's message as accurately as possible. Owen added that a literal, word-for-word translation of Bible text into sign language does not work — a deeper adaptation of meaning is required instead.