Wycliffe USA
Wycliff eV is the German branch of a non-profit interdenominational evangelical organization ( Wycliffe Bible Translators International), which campaigns for the worldwide dissemination of the Bible. It is named after the English theologian John Wycliffe, who translated the first Latin Bible into English. The Holy Scripture is to reach as many people and is therefore translated into many languages. The work is funded entirely by donations. Claims to present more than 5,000 people for Wycliffe and the sister organization SIL International active, including about 150 in Germany.
Linguistics and Anthropology
The work of Wycliffe focuses primarily on languages which have hitherto not been fixed in writing. Each language is treated as equivalent, regardless of the number of speakers and the worldwide significance. Linguists develop their own writing systems for the now only orally transmitted languages. On this basis, a Bible translation is then made . In addition to the linguistic problems that are also ethnological factors must be considered, since the understanding of the texts is influenced by the cultural conditions and the individual prior knowledge.
History
The organization was founded in 1934 by William Cameron Townsend, who was affectionately known as "Uncle Cam". The American 1918 was faced with a missionary trip to Guatemala with the problem that the local Cakchiquel Indians of the Bible was not accessible because they knew no European language. Townsend then explored their native language and translated the Bible. 1936 founded some trained missionaries from him the Summer Institute of Linguistics ( SIL), which is one of the largest and best-known institutions of linguistic fieldwork today. The work of Bible translation has been expanded with the establishment of the organization " Wycliffe Bible Translators " in 1942 and professionalized. The name is derived from the English theologian and professor John Wyclif, who translated the Bible first in the English language. Another historical example for the Wycliffe organization is Martin Luther, who made his translation of the Bible a decisive contribution to the establishment of the German vernacular and in his epistle from interpreting aufstellte some rules.