Comprehension Checking and Duh Questions

So I wrote an article about prepping for comprehension checking but now, with a little experience, I can speak to the execution of the comprehension checking (which was way more interesting than the prep!)

I was a part of a bible study in high school where we would go through a list of questions provided by our Student Minister. There were a couple of questions, especially at the beginning of each night, that would be met with silence. No one would answer. Finally, KT, our leader, would remind us it was a Duh Question.

You see, Duh Questions are those questions whose answers are so obvious that you feel stupid for answering and so you don't. It can be mentally processed in a couple ways.

• This answer can't be this obvious, so I must be missing something.
• This is a trick question.
• Clearly, the questioner thinks I'm stupid. Why else would she ask an obvious question? I'm not playing.
• The questioner must be stupid if she doesn't know the answer to this question.

But by calling the question a Duh Question, KT communicated that this question was merely foundational. i.e. If the hit-it-home application question was based on the premise that Jesus loves you, you first have to establish that everyone you're speaking to believes Jesus loves them.

When we heard that, we were put at ease. All our fears were allayed and we were able to answer the question and move on. (Not that James liked his questions being referred to as Duh Questions.)

Here's the thing about Duh Questions: If there's nothing wrong, it seems like a stupid question. If there is something wrong, it's a ridiculously super important question. And the only way you can tell is by asking.

My job in checking was to ask approximately a billion Duh Questions. And the, by far, worse questions, that I will dub: IDK Questions. i.e. "What did Herodias and her daughter do with the head of John the Baptist after it was brought to them on a silver platter?"  If the answer is, "I don't know!", awesome! If it's "they ate it", that would be bad. Again, if nothing's wrong, it's a stupid question. How should you know what they did? But if something is wrong, it's a ridiculously super important question.

The goal in checking is to find the problem spots and fix them. So the way I knew I did a good job what when I asked a question and they started talking, maybe ask me some questions, and then fall into Tok Ples (literally "Language of the Village"). I would sit and twiddle my thumbs and then they would make a change and tell me it was good and we would move on. Super glamorous, right?
(When we allocate, step one is to learn Tok Ples and then I won't be left out of the Tok Ples discussions!)

But it was awesome! There were changes made, some silly mistakes, some cultural things, some lack of clarity. There were a lot of notes made, that I left for a more experienced translator to handle in April, during the Consultant Check (the final step in translation before they'll be printing the book of Matthew.) There were a lot of lessons learned on both sides of the table.

Check out the stories below:
What were the raised saints up to for three days?
Counting in the Jungle
It's Time for a Paternity Test
Who Said What Now?
The Dark Day

(I haven't gotten around to writing all of these yet…. Stay Tuned!)