This may be the most repeated statement around Wycliffe’s Discovery Center here in Orlando or at a Wycliffe event like the one I’ll be attending in Indianapolis on Thursday evening. People who have known about Wycliffe and Bible translation for a long time are often surprised by what they hear as the stories begin.
For some, it’s about the sheer scope of the opportunity.
For others it is the deep and broad impact that our work has on a community.
A few are taken off guard by the reality that language is as important as it is or that the work of linguistics is complicated stuff.
I’m thinking about introducing a “series” of blogs that address various aspects of the Bible translation movements that might surprise most of my readers. After I do a few of those (if I get to the place where I’ve done a few before becoming bored with myself), I will post a poll on here so you can tell me whether or not I should go on with a click of your mouse. I did one a while back, actually…about the scope of the opportunity, sort of.
If there is something about Wycliffe and Bible translation that you “gasped” about when you first heard it or are just plain wondering about because you don’t know, use the COMMENTS for this blog post as a way to nudge me toward writing about it.
Way back in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, “I had no idea” that some languages had NO written form! What a shock! I’m looking forward to your series.
Ok, so I think I know a lot about Bible translation, having several friends in that field. But I would LOVE to be able to say “I had no idea!” after being challenged by something new, so I vote for the series!
One thing that recently struck me as I talked with some translators is how, despite their informational newsletters, people still seemed unaware of the fact that they are in more of a facilitator role than actually doing the translation themselves. I don’t know how common this is, but I’d love to know if it is more common than the (mis)perception they observed.