Book of mormon languages

John gee, two notes on egyptian script, journal of book of mormon studies, vol. The first nonenglish translation of the book of mormon was the danish edition in 1851. The full book of mormon is available in 90 languages, plus american sign language, english braille, spanish braille, and language study editions. The book claims that the language it was first written in was made from the learning of the jews and the language of the egyptians. The people described in the book of mormon came from ancient israel and so likely spoke hebrew in the beginning. The 22 languages in which the book of mormon is now in print make it available to some 40 percent of the worlds population. As it stands, the language found in the current edition of the book of mormon is not nearly as archaic as the language in the kjv bible, and is in my opinion still much more readable.

These tables show all the versions of the book of mormon that have been translated. With recent publication in the kosraean language, the book of mormon has now been translated into 110 languages. Purchase a book of mormon in the new language and compare familiar verses in english. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated. Even if you arent a mormon, you may find the book of mormon a valuable tool for learning to read in a new language. Charting the book of mormon is a collection of more than 175 visual aids that promote deeper understanding and appreciation of the book of mormon. Includes the videos from the beginning of the book of mormon through the arrival of lehi and his family in the promised land. Language availability of latterday saint scriptures. Book of mormon language the encyclopedia of mormonism. Fourteen centuries later, in 1823, the angel moroni led joseph smith to the plates hidden in a hillside in upstate new york. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated into.

Since 1830 the book of mormon has been published in twentyseven languages. Im currently using it to learn portuguese, and ive discovered even people who arent mormon are using the book as a valuable tool. The book of mormon and linguistic evolution deseret news. Language availability of latterday saint scriptures scripture tools. Designed for multiple use as study guides, handouts, and masters for creating projectable images, the charts convey a wealth of information that will enrich personal study and teaching. Kosrae is an island in the federated states of micronesia. It makes the text of the work more accessible and understandable to those who are not familiar with the style used in the original book of mormon, which resembles that of the king james version of the bible. Printed copies of the kosraean book of mormon will be available in july 2015. This member learned the gospel from the book of mormon in english and croation, but there was something special about reading it in the language of her. The book of mormon s old testament portion bmot quotes heavily from the new testament of the bible. Lds literature favorites ebook selection translated in many foreign languages from lds leaders and authors. In fact, they may provide striking evidence that the book s translation in the 19th century was truly miraculous.

All languages naturally evolve over time, and therefore the rules about what qualifies as correct and incorrect usage are always changing. They rejected the traditions of their fathers and embraced the traditions of the nephites. Litster, administrator for established languages, church distribution and translation services since the publication of the first five thousand copies in palmyra, new york, in the spring of 1830, the book of mormon has been published in twentyseven languages. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace. I will say that the language of scripture so dear to many peoples hearts, and that joel encourages us to stick with, is totally lost to lds members who read the book of mormon in languages other than english. We want it to be an opportunity to share with others and let people know all the languages the book of mormon is in, luke said. Afrikaans, the latest edition in the exhibit, was released in 1972. Buy book of mormon hardcover or softcover book of mormon. The language of the book of mormon exhibits features typical of a translation from an ancient near eastern text as well as the stamp of nineteenthcentury english and the style of the king james version kjv of the bible. Translations of the book of mormon in alphabetical order afrikaans online, gospel library mobile app, pdf. New scripture translation projects approved over the last several years include the book of mormon in burmese, efik, georgian, navajo.

Buy a dictionary, label your home with names of objects in the new language, and practice until the words become yours. Church to translate scriptures in 34 more languages. Portions of the book have been translated into another 20 languages. The original language of the book of mormon is deliberately archaic english, transparently modelled on the language of the king james bible in order to give it a. American sign language is available online and on dvd. The book of mormon text contains logical impossibilities. In response to the criticism of some early church leaders, the lord emphatically revealed that revelations come in according to the language and understanding of his people, a principle nephi taught in the 6th century bc. The book of mormon an account written by the hand of mormon upon plates taken from the plates of nephi wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of nephi, and also of the. Vocabulary is the most important area when beginning to study a foreign language. Translating the book of mormon is an enormous task requiring literally years of.

The book of mormon is now published in more than 80 languages, with selections available in another 25 languages. Braille files are online in english braille and spanish braille. The book of mormon is currently printed by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints in 82 languages, with selections of the book of mormon available in an additional 24. A translation can legitimately use words from many languages.

The language of branches is a language that uses familiar terms of objects, places, and people to explain the unseen makeup of our existence from raw intelligence to the fullness of the blessings that god has promised us through the gospel of jesus christ. The very surprising language of the book of mormon. That the language of the book of mormon should resemble that of the kjv seems only natural. The book of mormon is published in 112 languages, and many of them are available in multiple formats online in march 1830, 5,000 copies of the book of mormon were printed in the e. The book of mormon, journal edition, provides the space you need to write down the thoughts and inspiration you receive as you read and study the scriptures. That the language of the book of mormon should resemble that of the kjv seems only natural, since in the time of the prophet joseph smith, the kjv was the most widely read book in america and formed the standard of religious language for most englishspeaking people see cwhn 8. Book of mormon plain english version wikisource, the. With extended margins for notes and reflection, this new format will allow you to write your thoughts directly in your scriptures and easily find them again in times of need. Thoughtful insights from 32 top scholars continue the journey into the book of mormon s thousandyear span, aiding understanding of this sacred text. As of march 2015, the lds church continues to publish at least portions of the book of. Approximately 114 of those languages are each spoken by more than 1 million people. My journal entries about offering copies of the book of mormon, the bible, and other lds church books, mainly to immigrants in their native language, mainly in indianapolis, indiana. There are at least185 quotations and 2,500 unique vocabulary words from the new testame. Receiving translations of the book of mormon, the churchs signature scripture, for the first time will be speakers of burmese, georgian, navajo.

Mormon scriptures to be translated into 34 additional languages. This chart compares covenant language phrases in four particular settings. Book of mormonlanguagereformed egyptian fairmormon. The official book of mormon translation into american sign language asl by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints enhanced by adding deep links. Includes languages spanish, portuguese, japanese, german, french, hungarian, chinese, korean and russian. Despite the fact that the word adieu appears in the english translation of the book of mormon, the word adieu was certainly not known to any book of mormon writer, the word adieu was never used by any book of mormon writer, and the word adieu did not appear anywhere on the nephite plates. Covenantmaking phrases used throughout the book of mormon are similar, regardless of which group of people made the covenants. From that humble beginning, today the church prints over 3 million copies a year on large web presses. Book of mormon in 110 languages church of jesus christ. Flooding the earth with the book of mormon one drop at a time. The story contained in the book of mormon is a shortened version written by a man named mormon of the record of two groups of people called the nephites and the lamanites. But the english language was just the beginning of the translation of the book of mormon. But the book s awareness of linguistic evolution seems to me rather sophisticated for young joseph smith, who had about a thirdgrade education at the time of the publication of the book of mormon. Eighteen million copies have been distributed by the lds church and one.

This is a version of the book of mormon adapted into plain english by timothy b. Fairmormon is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing welldocumented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of the church of. Translation of the book of mormon into foreign languages. The book of mormon has been translated in its entirety into 97 languages. The book of mormon was written by a series of prophets from 600 b. The full book of mormon is available in 90 languages, plus american sign language, english braille, spanish braille, and language study editions not included in the full list of languages below. The display will also feature the stories behind book of.

Albanian online, gospel library mobile app, pdf, mobile feature phone. Although it is now out of print in the deseret alphabet, welsh, hawaiian, turkish, czech, and armenian, it is still available in english, danish, german, french, italian, spanish, swedish, maori, dutch, samoan, tahitian. Although it is now out of print in the deseret alphabet, welsh, hawaiian, turkish, czech, and armenian, it is still available in english, danish, german, french. Careful study of the book of mormon s vocabulary and grammar suggests that seeming errors arent errors at all. Egyptian would take perhaps four times, or even more than four times, as much room as the english, and it is quite certain that, as the book of mormon is 600 pages thick, it would take at least a thousand plates to hold in the egyptian language, what is there written. Book of mormon, government and legal history in the. Whatever the source of the book of mormon s archaic language may be, it should be obvious that the idea of bad grammar is a relative concept. The original language of the book of mormon is stated to be egyptian, but written in a script that the book of mormon writers referred to as the reformed egyptian script. By the end of 1991 the book of mormon had been translated into ninety languages. Book of mormon in asl american sign language youtube.

Selections from the book of mormon are available in 21 other languages. Languages of the book of mormon book of mormon central. Examples from the book of mormon illustrate how the lord adapted his means of revelation from earlier ancient near eastern patterns to patterns found in precolombian. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints, which has translated the full book of mormon into 90 languages selections are offered in 21 others since the work was first printed in 1830, also. Because of the presence of text that seems to fit hebraic structure in many places, and so forth.