The Bible and Language Learning (Books, Literature & Reading) Language Learning Forum

The Bible and Language Learning
Tags: Hebrew (biblical) \| Greek \| Multilingual \| Translation
Language Learning Forum : Books, Literature & Reading

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Juan M.
Senior Member
Colombia
Joined 5834 days ago
460 posts - 597 votes

Message 17 of 84

24 April 2009 at 3:53am | IP Logged

I thought this thread would be about reading the Bible in its original language(s), which would actually be very interesting.
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sprachefin
Triglot
Senior Member
Germany
Joined 5681 days ago
300 posts - 317 votes

Speaks: German*, English, Spanish
Studies: French, Turkish, Mandarin, Bulgarian, Persian, Dutch

Message 19 of 84

24 April 2009 at 4:13am | IP Logged

I stumbled across this thread, and thought that it was very interesting that people are using the book translated
into so many languages to learn languages. Being Jewish, I would refrain from doing so myself, but it wouldn't hurt
to read the part of the bible that is also in the Tanakh, as Jewish texts are not as widely available and translated into
as many languages. The best I can get is a Torah in Arabic (It is a Yemenite Jewish text so it is not in my interest of
Arabic, as it is written in either MSA or Classical, I cannot tell). Regardless whether you are Jewish, Christian,
Muslim, atheist, Hindu, Buddhist, or any other religion, the bible is a great resource because it is translated into so
many languages, and it is probably the most carefully translated texts due to the value of its word to its people. I
would not feel guilty with using it to study my languages if I used the section that is part of the Hebrew bible (I am
sorry, I do not know how to refer it as).
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Snowflake
Senior Member
United States
Joined 5894 days ago
1032 posts - 1233 votes

Studies: Mandarin

Message 20 of 84

24 April 2009 at 6:16am | IP Logged

zocurtis wrote:

http://bibleresources.bible.com/bible_read.php

Ah, the site listed has a Chinese New Testament (using simplified characters) which is supposed to be a dynamic language equivalent. Then found a blurb calling it "Chinese Contemporary NT" (http://www.ibsstl.org/aboutus/annualreport/IBS_annual_repor t.pdf). Anyhow the pages have a nice amount of space for hand writing notes which is handy for study work. Thanks

Edited by Snowflake on 24 April 2009 at 6:27am
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ennime
Tetraglot
Senior Member
South Africa
universityofbrokengl
Joined 5839 days ago
397 posts - 507 votes

Speaks: English, Dutch*, Esperanto, Afrikaans
Studies: Xhosa, French, Korean, Portuguese, Zulu

Message 21 of 84

24 April 2009 at 7:53am | IP Logged

One thing I feel you need to watch out for is that different versions of the bible can
be quite different, not just translation wise, but some passages are often translated
quite freely from the original into English and other languages... also you'll find
translations of translations... it's helpful to check first to see when and how a
specific bible translation was translated before putting them next to a version in
another language that has quite a different "genealogy" so to speak
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madalieninvader
Newbie
CanadaRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 5642 days ago
11 posts - 12 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: Spanish

Message 23 of 84

24 April 2009 at 10:33am | IP Logged

I'm agnostic leaning towards atheism but have extensive knowledge of Christianity
being raised that way. I've even read a lot if not all of the Bible and can't figure
out what the hell that last post was about.
Someone inform me?
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Alkeides
Senior Member
Bhutan
Joined 6083 days ago
636 posts - 644 votes

Message 24 of 84

24 April 2009 at 1:28pm | IP Logged

Maximus wrote:

Iversen wrote:

I think that you can find the Bible in different versions in many languages, including some that are almost modern in style. But do you really want that? Even though I'm an atheist like Dark-Sunshine I prefer the style of the older editions (insofar I can get them), - for English that would be the King James edition rather than some new and watered-down version. It is pretty clear that you shouldn't walk around and speak like a chapter of the Revelation, so you definitely shouldn't base all your language learning on that book. But if you want to produce bilingual texts yourself then the Bible is a good choice because it is found in practically every single language on this planet.

I know what you mean! I have recently been getting into Heian Japanese. I find old-fashioned Japanese really fun to read. So when I started reading my Japanese Bible for the first time, I kind of wanted it to be more old-fashioned than what it really was! I was surpised because it was more modern than what I had expected it to be. Maybe I can find one online with a more old-fashioned feel to the language.

Maximus, here's a link to the wikipedia page on Japanese bible translations. The 大正改訳 and the 明治元訳 are in bungo, and I found the former online, though it contains only the sequel (the Καινὴ Διαθήκη). A few more details on 文語 bible translations here

I'm not a Christian and I think this would be more helpful if you're learning Koine Greek, Biblical Hebrew or Aramaic, especially since translations of the bible are based on completely different contexts and worldviews from that of the Hebrews from the 9th century BC to the Judaeans of Jesus' time.

Case in point: "Turning your cheek." was a statement of defiance in Roman-era Judaea; not quite the familiar pacifist interpretation.
bible

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