Bible Translation: Decelerating the Process of Language Shift

Abstract

Many of the world’s minority languages are edging toward extinction where members are abandoning their native languages and shifting to languages they perceive to be more prestigious. Many at-risk languages have never been written down. History shows that when an unwritten language is put into writing, its chance of survival increases. This is particularly true where effective literacy programs have been established and published reading materials are distributed widely and used regularly. Bible translators, who have been trained in linguistics, are actively working to analyze the sound systems of the world’s remaining unwritten languages. When the Bible is translated, published and distributed, these potentially vulnerable languages are given new vitality. Some of these efforts to strengthen a declining language have become counterproductive. A purist approach which favors archaic or contrived indigenous words over commonly used borrowed words will likely have little effect on curbing the process of language shift; or it may encourage some speakers to abandon their native language. A reading program that accepts a language where it is today will gain greater acceptance than a program that attempts to promote it when the language was spoken in a purer form. When reading materials of any kind are produced they can stem the tide of language shift. Producing these materials requires a significant investment of time, effort and funding. In many parts of the world, the most active agents of language conservation are Bible translators who analyze phonological systems, develop and implement literacy programs, publish and distribute translated Christian Scriptures.