Wycliffe Bible Translators is an interdenominational organization mandated to making a translation of the Bible in every living language in the world, especially for cultures with little existing Christian influence. Wycliffe was founded in 1942 by William Cameron Townsend and is associated with the Protestant section of Christianity. There are currently branches in over 50 countries.[1] The organization is named after John Wycliffe, who was responsible for the first complete English translation of the whole Bible into Middle English.[2]
As of September 2010[update], translations of either portions of the Bible, the New Testament, or the whole Bible exist in over 2,500 of the 6,860 languages used on Earth.[3]
Contents |
Wycliffe bases its philosophy on Townsend's Protestantism which regards the intercultural and multilinguistic spread of Christianity as a divine command.[4] Protestantism, including this organization, adheres to the principle of sola scriptura and regards Biblical texts as the authoritative and infallible word of God.[5]
Wycliffe states its focus is participating with and encouraging Christian churches to minister to minority languages, so that every language community can have access to the Bible.[6]
Wycliffe itself emphasises its international nature. It describes itself as "multicultural, multinational, creative and facilitative" and states that "Wycliffe International’s headquarters is in Singapore. The Global Leadership Team is a virtual team and is spread across Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North and Central America."[7]
Wycliffe International's headquarters is in Singapore; Wycliffe USA's headquarters is in Orlando, Florida.
SIL International, originally the Summer Institute of Linguistics, began as a small summer training session for missionaries in Arkansas in 1934. It is an affiliate organization of Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Another partner organization, JAARS, originally the Jungle Aviation And Radio Service, provides transportation and technical services for missionaries and associated development workers.
The Seed Company is a subsidiary of Wycliffe USA that provides support to local translators.
Up until 1991, Wycliffe was a single organization with divisions in various countries. It has been restructured, so that the Wycliffe organizations in each country are fully independent, causing Wycliffe International to become an association of organizations.[8] In February 2011, Wycliffe International took on a new "doing business as" name, Wycliffe Global Alliance, with current headquarters in Singapore.
Wycliffe Associates is a volunteer organization that exists to support Wycliffe Bible Translators. Wycliffe Associates' relationship to the main Wycliffe organization varies in the different countries in which it operates. Wycliffe Associates USA and Wycliffe Associates UK are separate organizations to Wycliffe USA in Orlando, Florida and Wycliffe UK in High Wycombe.
Wycliffe Bible Translators has come under criticism from American ethnologist William T. Vickers, who states:
The conspiracy theorists who believe that [Wycliffe] is a simple front for the CIA will find little support for their views [...] It is true, however, that [Wycliffe] has influential ties to capitalist enterprise, politicians, and military figures in the United States and in the developing countries in which it works. [Wycliffe] is not an "empire" per se, but foreign missions such as [Wycliffe] are part of the larger political process in which powerful nations export political, economic, social, and ideological patterns to the relatively weaker and poorer regions of the world. Today, people in many developing countries are debating whether some aspects of this process should be limited or controlled. (Vickers, 1984:201)
|
|||||||||||||||||