Language Vitality Through Bible Translation

Marianne Beerle-Moor received her doctorate in linguistics from the University of Zurich, Switzerland. Her primary sphere of research is the languages of the Caucasus, especially Lezgi. Among other honors, she has been recognized by the president of Kalmykia and the president of Sakha (Yakutia) for her contribution to language development in these regions of the Russian Federation. Beerle-Moor has also been awarded an honorary doctorate by the Russian Academy of Sciences for her work as director of the Institute for Bible Translation from 1997 to 2013.Vitaly Voinov received his PhD in linguistics from the University of Texas at Arlington, United States. He is one of the main editors of the first-ever translation of the Bible into the Tuvan language of Siberia and the author of Politeness Devices in the Tuvan Language. Voinov currently serves as director of the Institute for Bible Translation in Moscow, Russia.

• Contents: Marianne Beerle-Moor/Vitaly Voinov: Introduction to Language Vitality through Bible Translation – Joseph Hong: Language endangerment in the light of Bible translation – J. Stephen Quakenbush: Bible translation’s contribution to Agutaynen language vitality – Philip A. Noss: Bible translation, dictionaries, and language development: The case of Gbaya – Dieudonné P. Aroga Bessong: Bible translation and the promotion of mother tongues in Africa – Edward Riak Kajivora: The Nuba Moro literacy program – Pamela Jean Owens: Bible translation and language preservation: The politics of the nineteenth century Cherokee Bible translation projects – Steve Berneking: The new Lakota Bible as anti-imperial translation – Michael Cahill: Endangered languages and Bible translation in Brazil and Papua New Guinea – Brenda H. Boerger: Bible translation as Natqgu language and culture advocacy – Jill Riepe: Encouraging language revitalization through education and Bible translation among the Ap Ma of Papua New Guinea – Marianne Beerle-Moor: Bible translation as witness to a forgotten language: The case of Caucasian Albanian – Boris M. Ataev: The role of Bible translation in preserving the languages of Dagestan – Eun Sub Song: The effect of Bible translation on literacy among Nenets Christians – Gennady V. Kostochakov: Can Bible translation revitalize the dying Shor language?

«Bible translators were doing crowd-sourced translation and language revitalization long before these concepts existed. They have made major contributions to the introduction of orthographies, literacies, and texts into languages that were often otherwise exclusively oral. And they continue to make an outstanding contribution to language vitality, as the chapters in this volume amply attest. Bible translation can be transformative for a language, especially during the life of the project itself, when it engages some of the best minds of the community in solving formidably difficult problems in semantic mapping, orthography, metaphor, and language standardi¬zation. It may extend in influence far beyond the original project and shine as an example of best practice in ensuring language survival.»(K. David Harrison, Associate Professor, Linguistics Department, and Coordinator, Cognitive Science Program, Swarthmore College; Director of Research, Living Tongues Institute for Endangered Languages)«Language Vitality Through Bible Translation provides valuable case studies from around the world about the complex interplay of language documentation, literacy, religion, colonial inheritance, anti-imperial impulses and indigenous language use. The volume is a needed corrective to any simple notion of Bible translation among minority groups around the world, not only concerning who is driving the efforts, but also about the relation of translation work to cultural practices and community development. The contributing authors have all had direct involvement in Scripture translation projects. As a result, readers are given an insider perspective on important questions that commonly arise about Bible translation activities, such as: What, if any, is the role of missionaries in promoting language vitality? Doesn’t the Christian tradition degrade the value of linguistic diversity? Does the historical role of Christianity in colonizing and assimilatory activities destabilize the ethics of Bible translation work today? Does the introduction of literacy into communities via Bible translation undermine language vitality in any way?»(Lindsay J. Whaley, Professor of Linguistics, Dartmouth College)