The projected goal of this group

[Haruo]

Please post anything and everything that may be useful to the project
of a new Sgaw Karen hymnal or if something pertinent is already posted
elsewhere, post a link here.

I set this group up as a result of an email exchange between me and
Duane Binkley, from whom I was ordering a copy of the 1963 Sgaw Karen
hymnal. I wrote:

As an inveterate hymnalist and hymnologist, I’m quite interested in
your comment that “it would be nice if we could get the whole hymnal
done in both languages.” If I can get my Burmese alphabet skills up to
where I can comfortably type in Karen, I’d be thrilled to work on some
such project. It would be wonderful to hear a congregation singing
bilingually, with the English text of something like, say, “Love
Divine, All Loves Excelling” sung to the tune in the Karen book (not a
Karen tune, but also not one I’ve ever seen it set to in an English
hymnal, and a fine tune), but it might also be very useful to have it
set (again bilingually) on the opposite page to one of the “normal
English” tunes for the text (BEECHER in US Baptist and Methodist
circles, HYFRYDOL in most other US churches, or BLAENWERN or LOVE
DIVINE [Stainer] in British churches). It would be good to create a
new hymnal including more recent material, more indigenous material,
more “World Church” material, etc., and prepared in formats that would
allow either printed sheet music or projectable images in both
languages. I’m starting to learn Lilypond to assist in this sort of
thing (I’m working on a music resource for the Evergreen Region, so I
need these skills whether or not I’m also working on a Karen hymnal)…

and he wrote

I hope you can get the typing skills down and get to work on a Karen/
English hymn book. One like you describe I think would be a real asset
to the Karen and those working with them all around the world.

and I, agreeing but realizing it was not something I could do by myself
—indeed, the bulk of the work will have to be done by others who
actually know the language—set up this group in hopes that it will
function as a central discussion venue and meeting point for all who
are interested in seeing this new hymnal become a reality. Now it's
all of our turns...

[KenJ]

There might be some help at:


http://www.thanlwinsoft.org/
(rich resources)

http://books.google.com/books?id=1hwYAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=karen+sgau&as_brr=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false
(dictionary)

http://www.archive.org/stream/grammarofsgawkar00gilmrich#page/10/mode/1up
(grammar book)


I also found a Karen Bible online, but forgot the URL. I could
probably find it again if you think this would be useful.


KenJ