Using the Bible or other religious texts as a resource to learn the language

[nooj]

What are your experiences with doing this? Pitfalls, insights, tips etc?

[tarvos]

The Bible is probably one of the most translated books ever. But a) it's a large book, b) I'm not sure I could stand some of the absolutely horrid stories of the old testament about sacrificing children, and c) I'm not sure it's the easiest language use in existence.

And that's entirely apart from my misgivings against religious scripture in general, which I won't go into here.

[rdearman]

I am doing this for Setswana. I would recommend starting with the old testament. Far to much "begetting" in the new testament. Also check the date of translation and get the latest one. Some were done in the early 1800s and both languages have probably changed a lot. If you want religious text but aren't bothered which religion then the book of Mormon is kept current for most languages.

There are others much more qualified than me to answer this question. But that is my 2 cents.

[nooj]

I am doing this for Setswana. I would recommend starting with the old testament. Far to much "begetting" in the new testament. Also check the date of translation and get the latest one. Some were done in the early 1800s and both languages have probably changed a lot. If you want religious text but aren't bothered which religion then the book of Mormon is kept current for most languages.

There are others much more qualified than me to answer this question. But that is my 2 cents.

I'm interested in your experience with Setswana. Do native speakers find that the Bible is translated into a Setswana that is idiomatic and readily understandable today?

[iguanamon]

The old TV sitcom character "Lou Grant" said: "You don't have to be a whale to read Moby Dick." Well, you don't have to be religious to read the Bible either. There is so much almost unconscious reference to the Bible in Western society. It permeates our culture, our laws, and our mores.

I've used the Bible for Haitian Creole and Ladino (Djudeo-espanyol). Yes the Bible is a religious text... it is the religious text in the Jewish and Christian faiths. It is also great literature and a familiarity with it forms a foundation for understanding the evolution of Western culture, history and philosophy outside of a religious context.

For language-learning, as with any widely translated book, being familiar with the book is important. Like, rdearman, I find the Old Testament to be more conducive in my studies. The OT is more linear and tells many stories, some of which are heroic, some are tragic, some are even tragi-comic. The narrative holds my interest and my reading brings up questions. This makes me ponder what I've read and ask "why?" and "how?".

Also, yes, a modern translation is very important- both in TL and L1. Fortunately, there are all kinds of sites available to find parallel texts and sources to make my own parallel texts. All the big languages will be represented and almost any language can be found. The Faith Comes By Hearing website offers a free download of audio. Some versions are dramatized and some are just straight-up readings. Being a Christian site, the audio for the New Testament is most often found over the Old.

I also read and listen to the accompanying Haitian Creole podcast of "Thru The Bible" from TransWorld Radio. This is a Bible study format originally developed by J. Vernon McGee, an American Protestant Evangelical, to facilitate the reading of the entire Bible in two and a half or five years in an organized fashion.

I use this as a resource to delve deeper into the language. The pastor doing the podcast uses more colloquial language in explaining what the passages mean (in his view). The accompanying transcript is exact. It really helped me to train listening in HC. The transcript option isn't available for every language, but if it is available for your TL then you've got something to work with. If you've read the chapter studied, then you'll be familiar with its discussion. You can read the transcript then listen... listen then read... listen and read... there are many variations of working with audio and a transcript. You can have a look at the website for Trans World Radio's Thru the Bible and scroll for your TL to see if it is represented with audio and a transcript. There is an option to search by book and chapter which I prefer over the random arrangement of disjointed readings by date. The podcast is a half an hour long and has around 7-8 pdf pages of transcript (if available... look for the translation of "read" with a pictogram of lines to download the transcript. If you don't see it, it ain't there.)

That being be said, as I mentioned, like anything else in language-learning, you can't always get what you want. It can take some effort to find a modern translation. Not all the languages on Faith Comes By Hearing have audio for the whole Bible and some seem to have no written version I can find.

For some less commonly studied and minority languages, the Bible may be one of the few resources available for comprehensible input. Good luck trying to find a St Lucian Kwéyòl translation of Harry Potter.

[rdearman]

I am doing this for Setswana. I would recommend starting with the old testament. Far to much "begetting" in the new testament. Also check the date of translation and get the latest one. Some were done in the early 1800s and both languages have probably changed a lot. If you want religious text but aren't bothered which religion then the book of Mormon is kept current for most languages.

There are others much more qualified than me to answer this question. But that is my 2 cents.

I'm interested in your experience with Setswana. Do native speakers find that the Bible is translated into a Setswana that is idiomatic and readily understandable today?

That is a question I cannot answer, since I don't know any native speakers. However, given that Botswana (where most people speak Setswana) is a Christian majority nation and over 70% of the population identify themselves as Christians, mostly Protestant, and I'm told most people are deeply religious I suspect the biblical translation is fairly accurate and understandable.

[FernandoTercio]

Not only there are countless translations, but you will have access to many of them (if not all) on your phone, and some of them with audio. It's an amazing book and I also plan on using it for my French once I feel comfortable enough with it. Be aware though, that if you decide to use a Protestant Bible there are some books that are not included due to them not being considered "inspired". Nothing a little research about what version you are reading can't solve, so it's not a big problem.
On another note, I know there are some languages with anki decks that used frequency lists from the Bible, so it's worth giving it a try.

Also if I were to study Greek or Russian I would read a ton of monastic texts, those orthodox monks are really something.

[Speakeasy]

As part of my continuing studies of German, I use the Kings James and the Martin Luther versions of the Bible. I love the poetic style of the language from those periods and, while the one is not a direct translation of the other, I find that comparing the two is both useful and highly enjoyable. I am not in the least attracted by the more contemporary translations of the Bible as, for me, it would be akin to reading a modern version of Shakespeare or Goethe (why would anyone even want to do this?).

[Ezra]

I think Bible is a very good tool for learning classical languages, especially, if there are shortage of beginner materials. While it still might be out of reach after reading of a textbook and/or a grammar, It can be used as a parallel text using a version in a known language. I currently learn this way Biblical Hebrew , as it has little beginner material available. There also translation for such classical languages as Sanskrit and Classical Chinese!

[Skynet]

The Bible is probably one of the most translated books ever. But a) it's a large book, b) I'm not sure I could stand some of the absolutely horrid stories of the old testament about sacrificing children, and c) I'm not sure it's the easiest language use in existence.

And that's entirely apart from my misgivings against religious scripture in general, which I won't go into here.

It's very late here, so please indulge me if I come across as being asinine. I was unable to see how any of your points would objectively answer the question posed by the OP. Wouldn't one select a voluminous text like the Bible only when one was at a level where one could be at least able to stomach its size? The horrid stories of which you speak are of historically-recorded pagan rituals. Does this mean that you don't read any content that describes pagan child-sacrifice rituals in any of your 30 languages? Do your reservations apply to run-of-the-mill horror stories too? I ask this because I picked up two French books on the Maurya and Seleucid empires from the library this evening, and I know that I will have to read about pagan rituals. As a native Dutch speaker, how did you come across the English phrase "sacrificing children" if you had not read about it? Concerning "easiest language use in existence," wouldn't one logically used a contemporary, simplified version if one found a certain version to be arduous?

I would recommend starting with the old testament

Like, rdearman, I find the Old Testament to be more conducive in my studies. The OT is more linear and tells many stories, some of which are heroic, some are tragic, some are even tragi-comic. The narrative holds my interest and my reading brings up questions. This makes me ponder what I've read and ask "why?" and "how?".

Thank-you for the suggestion, I will definitely try this with German.

As part of my continuing studies of German, I use the Kings James and the Martin Luther versions of the Bible... for me, it would be akin to reading a modern version of Shakespeare or Goethe (why would anyone even want to do this?).

I completely agree with you, but for mere mortals with nascent German skills, Lutherbibel 2017 will have to do.