Dave was the oldest participant at the Gathering – turning 90 this year – and has worked in Bible translation for over 60 years.

But he came to a startling new perspective after hearing a presentation about the Noongar Bible translation and language revitalisation project and talking afterwards with Noongar woman Charmaine Councillor.

By the beginning of this century, after severe damage from the Stolen Generations policies, the Noongar language of southwest Western Australia had all but disappeared from use. A seed thought to translate part of the Bible began to bring hope to the Noongar community, reviving their passion for the language of their identity. A small group of believers laboured in the Gospel of Luke for many years, bringing it to publication in 2014. The book of Ruth followed in 2020. The language is now being taught to many interested Noongar people, who are together rebuilding their knowledge of their own language.

Dave Glasgow, left front, with other Bible translators.

Dave was impressed by the value Charmaine placed on her language: “Even though it is a dying language and she only had partial knowledge of it, the little bit of Scripture in the language she identified with was genuinely God’s word,” he said. “She understood the Bible in English, but to her, it was nevertheless the white man’s book, and it carried with it the stigma of the white man.”

“I had always regarded our job as Wycliffe translators to translate the Bible into robust languages, bypassing the small and dying languages.” – Dave Glasgow

This realisation, said Dave, hit him “right between the eyes”. Dave has worked with the Australian Society for Indigenous Languages (AuSIL) and its predecessors as a translator for Aboriginal languages since 1961. Back in the early 1970s, he was part of the survey team that had determined the Noongar language was not “sufficiently robust” to assign anyone to work in it. At that time, priority was given to languages that appeared to have the strongest futures.

Dave explains the common thinking of the time: “I had always regarded our job as Wycliffe translators to translate the Bible into robust languages, bypassing the small and dying languages.”

Dave and Kathy Glasgow in their backyard in Darwin.

Nevertheless, Dave’s compassion for these Bible-less communities became part of the motivation for creating the Plain English Version (PEV) of the Bible. Dave put his energies into developing an English language Bible translation with the special needs of Aboriginal Australians, such as the Noongar, in mind.

Since the Gathering, however, Dave has begun to see the problem of language endangerment differently. While the needs of strong languages remain at the forefront, Dave now wants to know what we can do for these smaller neglected languages. Dave has begun to appeal to AuSIL members, past and present, urging us to consider the needs of these language groups that have been overlooked for so long.

Dave’s original solution to the problem of language loss will be advantageous to these new translations as its plain English is easier to translate into Aboriginal languages.

He also wants this message to reach Bible translators returning to Australia from projects worldwide, urging them, “You still have more to contribute!”

Dave and his wife Kathy have never figured out “retirement” in its usual sense, and he’s convinced there are many more like him too! And Dave has a plan. Generally, the knowledge of English is higher in communities whose own languages are suffering, meaning that mother-tongue translators can take the lead, with trained outsiders acting as guides and facilitators. And, the PEV, Dave’s original solution to the problem of language loss, will be advantageous to these new translations as its plain English is easier to translate into Aboriginal languages.

So-called “dying languages” may still have more life in them than was once thought. Like Jairus’ daughter, whom Jesus brought back to life, perhaps they are “only sleeping” (Mark 5:39)! Nothing is truly ever dead when we serve the God of the resurrection.

It’s impressive to see a veteran such as Dave, who has served this group for over half a century, embrace a new understanding with such enthusiasm. He’s not settled in his ways, not a bit complacent, or reliving his glory days, as he could be forgiven for doing at his stage of life. No, he’s calling for radical change that could affect the future of how Bible translation is done in Aboriginal contexts in Australia.

I just hope we can keep up with him!

Melody Kube is the publicist for AuSIL, based in Darwin.