Academic Training Necessary for Good Translation Work

It is difficult to find training programs specifically geared to the person who has Bible translation as their goal. It is also difficult to find faculty in places of higher education that understand how to advise such a student. The student therefore will need to plan their own educational program with counsel from those in the field already and the Lord's guidance. The following outline gives a general indication of some of the areas of concentration and the different academic levels at which each can be found.

I. Undergraduate

A. Degree concentrations:

1. Communication

2. Cultural anthropology

3. Biblical languages

4. Missions

B. Specific areas or courses:

1. Bible and theology, with emphasis on exegesis/hermeneutics

2. Communication, both verbal and written. Include cross-cultural communication

3. Foreign language

4. Linguistics

5. Cultural anthropology

6. Psychology, especially educational psychology

7. Translation theory, focus on Bible translation

Please note that on the graduate level schools are clearly divided in what they teach. Seminaries offer Bible courses, but their biblical language courses are not geared to the translator. Secular graduate schools offer linguistics and biblical languages from a strong academic standpoint, but do not offer well-balanced and doctrinally sound translation and interpretation techniques. Adequate training as a translator requires both, as well as either training or experience in crosscultural work.

II. Graduate Seminary

A. Degree concentrations:

1. Exegesis and hermeneutics

2. Biblical languages

III. Graduate University

A. Degree concentrations:

1. Linguistics

2. Biblical languages