Wycliffe Bible Translators USA (also known as Wycliffe USA) is an interdenominational nonprofit organization with a goal "for people from every language to understand the Bible and be transformed." Based in Orlando, Florida, it partners with many organizations and churches around the world to help facilitate the work of Bible translation. It is the largest of the many independent organizations that together are part of

Wycliffe Global Alliance Wycliffe Global Alliance is an alliance of organizations that have objective of translating the Bible into every language. The organisation is named after John Wycliffe, who was responsible for the first complete English translation of the whole ...

History

Wycliffe USA was founded in 1942 by

William Cameron Townsend William Cameron Townsend (July 9, 1896 – April 23, 1982) was an American Christian missionary-linguist who founded Wycliffe Bible Translators and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (now SIL International), both of which emphasized transla ...

, and is named after

John Wycliffe John Wycliffe (; also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, and other variants; 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, Catholic priest, and a seminary professor at the University of O ...

who was responsible for the first complete English translation of the whole Bible into

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

. It led to the founding of many similar organisations around the world, with separate Wycliffe organizations in over 60 countries within the Wycliffe Global Alliance.Wycliffe Global Alliance website
/ref> , translations of either portions of the Bible, the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, or the whole Bible exist in over 3,400 of the 7,300 languages used on Earth. Wycliffe has translated the Bible into more than 700 languages.

Methodology

Wycliffe describes its mission as being to "Serve with the global body of Christ to advance Bible translation and work together so people can encounter God through his Word". Wycliffe missionaries develop alphabets, help preliterate people learn to read and write, and translate the Bible into written versions of currently spoken languages. By developing written languages, the organization is helping to "save lost and dying languages." Due to technological advances, Wycliffe's missionaries in the United States connect with translation teams in other areas of the world to translate the Bible into additional languages. As a result, translations that used to take 20 or 30 years to finish can be completed in six or seven years in some cases. Wycliffe has also joined with the Deaf Bible Society and other organizations to translate the Bible into sign languages.

Associated organizations

SIL International SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics) is an evangelical Christian non-profit organization whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to ex ...

, originally the

Summer Institute of Linguistics SIL International (formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics) is an evangelical Christian non-profit organization whose main purpose is to study, develop and document languages, especially those that are lesser-known, in order to ex ...

, began as a small summer training session for missionaries in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

in 1934. It is a partner organization of the Wycliffe Global Alliance and Wycliffe USA. A partner organization of SIL International,

JAARS Founded in 1948 as Jungle Aviation and Radio Service by William Cameron Townsend, JAARS is a world-wide, non-profit, mission aviation and support organization that reduces barriers and eases burdens with a primary focus on Bible translation suppor ...

, originally the Jungle Aviation And Radio Service, based out of Waxhaw, NC, provides transportation and technical support for SIL in support of Bible translation across the globe.

The Seed Company Seed Company, also referred to as SC or formally The Seed Company, is a subsidiary organization of Wycliffe USA and a participant in the Wycliffe Global Alliance. SC was launched in 1993 by a former president of Wycliffe USA, Bernie May. Their fo ...

is a subsidiary of Wycliffe USA that provides support to people doing Bible translations for their own languages.

References

{{Authority control Bible societies Christian missions Christian organizations established in 1942 Christian organizations established in the 20th century Bible translators 1942 establishments in the United States

History

Methodology

Associated organizations

See also

References