language learning - best old testament books

[Xenops]

In some languages, The Bible is one of the few resources available. I've used it in both Haitian Creole and Ladino (Rashi script). I find Genesis and Exodus to be quite good for language-learning. The repetition is helpful, especially useful for numbers. I combine my reading with Thru The Bible which is a half an hour Bible study podcast in over 40 languages, many of which have a pdf transcript along with mp3 audio for free download. All the big languages are there and many smaller ones, including Cebuano but without a transcript, unfortunately. (Caveat: Thru The Bible has a major Evangelical Protestant bias.) The series is based on the work of Vernon McGee who designed the program to take 5 years to get through the entire Bible. I don't know if that means it must be done every day.

I love J. Vernon McGee! That's an awesome resource.

For someone just starting to read the Bible in a target language, I found the book of Proverbs the best; it's pretty much all in present tense, and it has a lot of repetition.

For other narratives, would the book of Acts be appropriate? As someone that was raised Christian, I have no concept of whether the narratives in that book are well known or not.

[Whodathunkitz]

I thank everyone who has commented.

It's been a big help.

In order to keep to forum rules and ensure the answers are available to others, I'm wondering if soon the thread should be locked.

I've linked to my language log so any further info could be posted there.

I wouldn't want to risk a main forum attracting any unwanted posts.

I do think purely as a learning resource the (audio and text) Bible has a unique usefulness - for unusual languages especially.

The guidance people have provided in this thread is therefore of use to others in the future.

Comments have been within the rules, I believe. Future commentators may not be language focussed.

So, for any moderators, please keep the thread and lock it when you want.

[Iversen]

Even with my moderator hat on I can't see any reason to close this thread. The Bible references have not developed into discussions about the content, and that's good since such dicussions have a tendency to develop into trench warfare. The remark about the protestant bias of a certain source is definitely a relevant information for those who might use that resource, but I notice with glee that it hasn't lead to a theological discussion of the ways it displays that bias.

You might not want to speak like the Bible when you buy vegetables on the market in a foreign country, but since the book has been translated into so many obscure language languages there may be cases where you simply can't avoid using it - like if you for instance decided to study the extinct Gothic language. But using a book to learn a language doesn't mean that you have to accept everything in it (or even form an opinion about it). Otherwise you would also have to stop reading a lot of other books written by people with other outlooks on life than your own.

I would like to mention one useful tool more, namely the multilingual bible at the Lexilogos site, where you can juxtapose two or three versions chosen by yourself in different languages.

[Whodathunkitz]

Even with my moderator hat on I can't see any reason to close this thread. The Bible references have not developed into discussions about the content, and that's good since such dicussions have a tendency to develop into trench warfare. The remark about the protestant bias of a certain source is definitely a relevant information for those who might use that resource, but I notice with glee that it hasn't lead to a theological discussion of the ways it displays that bias.

You might not want to speak like the Bible when you buy vegetables on the market in a foreign country, but since the book has been translated into so many obscure language languages there may be cases where you simply can't avoid using it - like if you for instance decided to study the extinct Gothic language. But using a book to learn a language doesn't mean that you have to accept everything in it (or even form an opinion about it). Otherwise you would also have to stop reading a lot of other books written by people with other outlooks on life than your own.

I would like to mention one useful tool more, namely the multilingual bible at the Lexilogos site, where you can juxtapose two or three versions chosen by yourself in different languages.

All good then. Just didn't want to risk losing the great info.

"And lo, I say to you, give to me a punnet of your mightiest figs" might not be ideal.

I haven't found a better resource for cebuano than the bible (drama audio plus matching text) for my current level. As you have said, it is important as a learning resource for the less often studied languages.


Thanks for the link. No cebuano/binisaya/visayan that I can see. It does have tagalog which is on my fantasy hitlist, but not near the top. Esperanto and Spanish I noticed.

Resisting dabbling in additional languages until I have a sustainable level in one language. Tagalog could be dangerous for interference with cebuano too. But it would provide additional karaoke opportunities. I have to get a cebuano 'hard tongue' (gahi linguahe) accent first.

I'll allow myself freedom in cebuano (main objective for now), Spanish (objective prior to October 2017 course) and Esperanto (Pathfinder).

If the thread looks in danger, then please prune, save and lock if possible.