Category

Language Issues

Sulawesi Research PilotLanguage IssuesResearch

When the High language wins – and when it doesn’t: How diglossia and the timing of translation affect vernacular scripture use

A Pilot Study Focused on Sulawesi
Stan Anonby, David M Eberhard, and Tiar Adam Simanjuntak (2025)
The non-use of completed local language (LL) Scripture translations is a persistent and costly problem for the Bible translation movement. This article opens a broader Vernacular Scripture Use research program with a pilot study conducted across eighteen language communities in…
Richard
February 26, 2026
Language Issues

Multilingualism in Lystra

A sociolinguistic reading of Acts 14:8-20 – leveraging multilingualism for mission
Timothy Hatcher (2025)
"Multilingualism is a resource for effective Gospel communication, not an impediment. The Acts 14:8-20 account demonstrates the risks involved with relying too heavily on gateway languages as a medium for ministry. The potential for catastrophic miscommunication like what was seen…
Richard
June 17, 2025
Language in the Mission of GodLanguage Issues

Language in the Mission of God

Michael Greed (Editor) (2025)
Whether spoken, written, signed, or thought, language is part of everything we do. How often do we reflect on the role of language in God's kingdom? The world's 7,000 languages are not merely obstacles to be overcome; they are part…
Richard
April 17, 2025
Traduire la Bible en ActesAdvocacyBible ReadingBible StorytellingBible StudyBible TranslationCultureLanguage Issues

Traduire la Bible en Actes

Manuel pour faire un bon usage de la Bible dans chaque langue et culture
Margaret Hill, Harriet Hill (2024)
Second Edition "Je recommande ce livre à tous ceux qui souhaitent que la traduction de la Bible transforme des vies ! Traduire la Bible en Actes rassemble une mine d’expériences de praticiens de la traduction qui cherchent à faciliter l’interaction…
Richard
November 11, 2024
Bible TranslationLanguage Issues

Translanguaging: Leveraging Multilingualism for Scripture Engagement

In The Bible Translator, Vol 73, Issue 1, 2022
Timothy Hatcher, Sangsok Son (2022)
Translanguaging as both a theoretical and andragogical lens respects established language-use preferences of end users and seeks to create engagement opportunities that correspond most naturally to a community's current language-use patterns. Use of Scripture should mirror language-use patterns observed elsewhere…
Richard
August 9, 2022
Translating the Bible into Action (2nd edition)AdvocacyBible PreachingBible ReadingBible StorytellingBible StudyBible TranslationChildrenCultureDigitalDramaLanguage IssuesLiteracyMarketing and DistributionMeditation and PrayerMemorising ScriptureMusic and WorshipTrauma HealingVisual Arts

Translating the Bible into Action

How the Bible can be Relevant in all Languages and Cultures
Margaret Hill, Harriet Hill (2022)
Second Edition (2022) When Jesus was born to Mary, God “translated” himself into our human world. This act of God’s translation continues today wherever the gospel is expressed, in each language and lived out in each culture that makes up…
Richard
June 18, 2022
God and LanguageLanguage IssuesOrality

God and Language

Exploring the Role of Language in the Mission of God
Michael Greed and Dawn Kruger (editors) (2022)
From the book description: What is language? “Language is more than syntax and morphology; it is the vehicle for assuming the weight of a culture,” writes John Pobee, quoted in Michel Kenmogne’s Foreword to this volume. More than that: language…
Richard
April 21, 2022
Engaging African MultilingualismLanguage Issues

Engaging African Multilingualism with Scripture

John L Ommani (2021)
Multilingualism in Africa is a pervasive phenomenon that requires attention and a missiological response. A modern average Kenyan is fluent in at least two languages. How does this impact our ministry in Bible translation? Many people can speak their heritage…
Richard
June 10, 2021