With the help of SIL's Scripture App Builder software, we have been developing Scripture Apps as a way to promote Scripture in the minority languages we work with. Before the smart phone, language communities would have to wait the the entire New Tesatment was translated before they had access to the Scripture. Now, once a book is finished, we can put it in the App to maximize engagement with Scripture, and Bible Translators can get feedback on the translation work effectively.
Android Apps can be placed in our Google Playstore for distribution, allowing people to download them to their phone, and to get updates whenever new content is added.
Since many rural languages have limited access to the internet, we also distribute the Apps on Micro SD cards which allow the Apps to be easily be installed offline.
It is also possible for the users to share the App via the built in Share button which utilizes the phone's Bluetooth connection to share the app.
These apps allow people to read and/or listen to the translated Scripture in their languages. In this example, you can see the highlighted text. This happens automatically as the audio is played. So users can follow along as they listen, helping them to comprehend.
Android Apps are our focus because Android phones are the most popular in the countries where we are working. But once the Android App is created, we can easily convert it to iPhone format, and we can also make offline desktop apps so people can read on their laptops. We can make these in versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
We are also able to export the app file and create an online version which is then embedded in the websites we are helping translators to create for their language communities. People are able to access God's Word online in their own language with both text and audio in what we call the Online Scripture Reader.
