discovering missions - Southern Nazarene University

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245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 114 114 Intercultural Communication rison began Bible translation almost immediately after he arrived in China in 1807 even though it would take seven years for him to see his first convert. American Board of Commissioners’ missionaries reached Hawaii (then called the Sandwich Islands) in 1820. They so successfully planted and indigenized the church that they were able to withdraw after 50 years. Authorities in Hawaii still maintain memorials to these missionaries, including some of the original missionary homes. One element in those missionaries’ indigenization strategy was that of devising a written form of the Hawaiian language so they could translate the Bible. In more recent times, medical missionary Evelyn Ramsey became so burdened to produce a Bible concordance for a language of Papua New Guinea that she reduced her hospital operating room schedule in order to have more time to work on the project. Discussions over Bible translations often swirl around questions of dynamic equivalence. Dynamic equivalence translation attempts to capture the meaning of entire thoughts expressed in the source manuscript. Dynamic equivalence, also called functional equivalence, emphasizes readability while stopping short of being a paraphrase. Formal equivalence translation, on the other hand, translates a text word by word. Which kind of Bible translation is best? Does one aim for a word-for-word translation that stays as close to the Greek and Hebrew word order and grammar as the target language will allow? Or, does one seek to translate the meaning of larger units such as phrases and sentences? The answers one gives to those questions will be influenced by the translator’s doctrine of inspiration of Scripture. For instance, someone who believes in verbal inspiration of Scripture (that the Holy Spirit dictated every word) will not be as comfortable with dynamic equivalence as will someone who believes that the Holy Spirit inspired the thoughts of the biblical writers and allowed them to use their own wording. As has been noted, critics of Christian missionaries have sometimes accused them of destroying cultures. Bible translation does just the opposite. Small cultural groups whose language exists only in oral form are in danger of having their language fade away. Putting a language into written form and producing documents in it as significant as Scripture can give a language longterm viability as well as fueling healthy pride within a people group. Ironically, some Bible translators have been criticized for retarding the integration of cultural groups into the larger global culture because they have encouraged those people to hold on to their local language! The Willowbank Report produced by the 1978 Consultation on Gospel and Culture held in Bermuda said that two formidable obstacles often hinder
245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 115 cross-cultural gospel communication. One is that of the gospel being viewed as a threat to a culture; the second is when the gospel is presented in alien forms. 5 The chances of either or both of these obstacles popping up are certainly greater if the Bible is not translated into people’s heart languages. It has been estimated that the people of earth speak about 7,000 distinct languages. Many of these are spoken by small numbers of people. Of the languages considered significant in terms of numbers of native speakers, Bible translators have said that 2,000 are still without the New Testament. 6 SIL/Wycliffe Bible Translators has adopted a vision for starting a Bible translation project in every one of those languages by 2025. 1. Reading 2. Writing 3. Listening 4. Speaking Language Learning Wrong Order of Language Learning Intercultural Communication 115 Occasionally people cringe at the idea of having to learn a new language. That may be because of frustrating experiences in which language learning was attempted as an academic exercise consuming a few hours each week rather than as a total immersion social activity. Often those who say they cannot learn another language are usually thinking about memorizing long lists of words and digesting complex grammatical rules. Language learning can also be frustrating when students are led through a historic but wrong order of learning by trying to read in their target language even before they can converse in it orally (see “Wrong Order of Language Learning” sidebar). The most natural order of language acquisition does not begin with reading. Because languages are primarily vocal, language learning is most effective when a learner becomes familiar with the sounds of the language before ever looking at written symbols or words. The most natural and productive order of language learning appears in the “Natural Order of Language Learning” sidebar. Language learners should begin by mimicking the sounds of a native speaker. Mimicry, the most basic of language acquisition techniques, is the best way to learn the vocal or phonemic sounds of a language. Mimicry is how children begin learning their mother tongue. It involves observing the teeth, lips, and placement of the tongue as well as the speaker’s tone and then attempting to closely copy all of that. Because children use so much mimicry, they get in-
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discovering missions - Southern Nazarene University

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