Because I worked in translating the Bible into the smaller languages of Africa, I often dealt with issues of cultural identity. A people’s language is a big part of their identity. If their language starts disappearing, they feel that their identity is threatened. When we start translating the Bible, it is often seen as enhancing their identity and giving it added prestige.
But there’s a pull in the opposite direction too. People who speak minority African languages also usually want to be part of something larger – to have a recognized place in the world.
They are pulled in opposite directions. On the one hand they value their local identity and are happy to see that enhanced. On the other hand, they want to be part of their country and even the world. They’re riding a strange centrifuge that pulls them outward and inward at the same time.
Giving them the Bible in their language satisfies the pull outward toward the world because it connects them to Christians around the world making them part of something much larger than themselves. At the same time it satisfies the pull inward toward their local identity.
Heart Language 
But, alas, a persecuted minority religion within their country where they have fear of ancestor and regional spirits in common with the surrounding majority and minority groups. (thinking especially of SEA people groups, but also much wider)
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