Maik Gibson is SIL's international Sociolinguistics coordinator, with a particular interest in multilingualism and its impact on Scripture Engagement and Language Development. He has field experience from Peru, and North and East Africa, with experience in translation and training others for service.
When is a Bible Translation likely to ‘take’? The role of the type of multilingualism
Abstract
This paper stems from a research project looking at which factors influence communities’ choice of languages for various functions, including their engagement with Scripture. In this paper we are asking the question “Where is a Bible translation more likely to be used?”
The data comes from 15 in-depth interviews with those involved with language communities over an extended period of time, from five continents, examining the use of multiple languages in that community over the whole time period. This, along with other data, has enabled us to test some hypotheses about the language ecology, use of writing, and engagement with Scripture.
The first hypothesis is that a Bible translation is unlikely to be widely used if it is in a language which parents are not passing on systematically to their children (i.e. shifting).
The second is that a written Bible translation is unlikely to be widely used if there is not a widespread practice of literacy in that language. Both hypotheses receive some level of support from the study, and we have struggled to find other clear non-exceptional counterexamples to these generalizations. Possible exceptions will be considered, and a discussion of some of the possible implications for Bible translation strategy.
Materials from this presentation are not available for public distribution.
About the Author
SIL International