Presenter: Spencer Soule, Dixie State University, English
Authors: Spencer Soule
Faculty Advisor: Olga Pilkington, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, English
Institution: Dixie State University
John Wycliffe’s translation of the bible features words and terms from old-English, indicating Wycliffe’s desire to translate the Bible not only for theological purposes to promote the spread of religious learning but to demonstrate the validity of English as a language fit to communicate the complexities and nuances of religion and Biblical Epics. Utilizing Wycliffe’s translation of the Bible as a primary source, I compared his translation with two later translations — Tyndale’s Bible and the King James version. Across these three translations, I selected 10 unique words and phrases that highlighted Wycliffe’s preference of words with Old-English etymology over words with French or Latin origins, with the exception of some French calques. The information on the etymology of these words was taken from the Oxford English Dictionary. Reading the story of Jonah in the Old Testament, I also noticed Wycliffe’s reliance on kennings such as ‘ship-hire’ and ‘all-broken’ as well as poetic forms that make the story of Jonah more similar to Anglo-Saxon epics that the lay English speaking person might more easily recognize and relate to. The overall effort of translation, though rough and wordy, maintains a diction that relates God and his works in an English that is both clear and effective in communicating both story and higher theological concepts. Wycliffe’s translation represents a significant cultural shift towards a more egalitarian language --English -- and ultimately a more egalitarian church and Kingdom. I also examine Wycliffe’s decision to translate the Latin Vulgate as opposed to other available translations such as the Greek Septuagint or the Hebrew Bible. While Wycliffe is often regarded as a precursor to the theological protestant revolution, my findings support the claim that he was arguably as successful as a linguistic revolutionary.