How The Bible Helped Develop Language Through Translations
“It’s often said that Christianity is a ‘translating’ religion—especially compared, say, to Islam. Muslims believe that the fact that the Qur’an is written in Arabic shows that there is something special about that language—the language of God—and so, although the Qur’an of course is translated into lots of languages, Muslims continue to speak Arabic and aim to study the Qur’an in its original language.
Christianity isn’t like that. The ideal of missionaries and others bringing the religion to new areas has always been to allow people to read the Bible and other important texts—such as the liturgy and other traditional prayers—in their own language. But many of these languages had no written form. So the missionaries had to devise alphabets and writing styles for their converts before translating the Bible and other texts, and this was an enormous impetus to the development of new literary traditions.
We can see similar effects more recently, too. The modern forms of English, French, and especially German are hugely influenced by the great translations of the Bible that were made during the Reformation. The sheer literary quality of some of these translations meant that they continued to be read for centuries, affecting even everyday speech.”
Taken from: Christianity Today, Christianity’s Cultural Contributions, Rob Moll interviews Jonathan Hill
Language Translation, Inc. continues this tradition today by translating many important texts for various authors, governments, and churches around the world. By providing professional document translations, some of these may become important influences in developing languages and cultures. “We speak your language, and theirs.”
