As of april 2018, 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. Although it is now out of print in the deseret alphabet, welsh, hawaiian, turkish, czech, and armenian, it is still available in english, danish. Litster, administrator for established languages, church distribution and translation services since the publication of the first five thousand copies in. Many typical hebrew language patterns have been identified in the book of mormon, though several are also characteristic of other near eastern languages. This claim, as well as all claims to historical authenticity of the book of mormon, are rejected by nonlatter day saint historians and scientists. 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. With a sixfigure price tag, most people might be surprised to learn that on a list of the ten most expensive mormon books, a first edition book of mormon does not rank at the top. Book of mormonlanguagereformed egyptian fairmormon.
One of the ways this has been brought to pass is through the translation of the book of mormon into numerous foreign languages. He had translated about a third of the book of mormon into afrikaans, but it had been a long, tedious effort, and it was imperative that the translation be completed without further delay so that the building up of the church in south africa could progress. For instance, over 50% of the book is couched in chiastic structures. With an english translation that is close the original writ, translations into other languages are based on the current english revision. Translation for book of mormon in the free englishswahili dictionary and many other swahili translations.
These tables show all the versions of the book of mormon that have been translated. How long did it take joseph smith to translate the bom. About 3 million people speak aymara in peru, bolivia, argentina, and chile. Mormon scriptures to be translated into 34 additional languages. The book of mormon has been translated in its entirety into 97 languages.
He was born on august 2, 1897, at preston, franklin county, idaho to matthias foss cowley and abbie hyde cowley. In 1822, joseph smith found a brown, eggcolored stone while digging a well for willard chase. How many versions of the book of mormon are there answers. The translation of the book of mormon from english into ukrainian is one such small. Linguistically based assertions are frequently cited and discussed in the context of the subject of. Often, when we think about the translation of the book of mormon, we immediately think of how joseph smith miraculously translated its reformed egyptian characters into english. It was the first edition of the book of mormon to be translated from english into another language. For this reason, they are translated into many languages. Matthew cowley was a general authority of the church of jesus christ of latterday saints, sometimes mistakenly called the mormon church. According to most adherents of the latter day saint movement, the book of mormon is a 19thcentury translation of a record of ancient inhabitants of the american continent, which was written in a script which the book refers to as reformed egyptian.
Unless otherwise indicated, the translation was financed and the resulting text published by the church of jesus christ of latterday saints. The first nonenglish edition of the book of mormon was published in denmark in 1851, having been translated by elder erastus snow of the quorum of the twelve apostles and peter olsen hansen. By 1968, the book of mormon was translated in only 18 languages. Today, all or part of the book of mormon has been translated into 112 languages. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated. Book of mormon written in modernday english grace for grace. In the fall of 1840 the first branch of the church was established in the little town of overton in north wales, very near the border with england.
Therefore, book of mormon scholars look for evidence of the book of mormon s ancient hebrew origins by identifying phrases or expressions which are not typical for an english speaker of joseph smiths day which may reflect a direct translation of the underlying semiticstyle language of the book of mormon. Why did joseph smith translate the book of mormon into jacobean english, not in use in 1830. There is only one version, unless you are asking how many languages it is in, in which case, the book of mormon is translated into 87 different languages, one of which is now extinct. Joseph smith translated an ancient text by the gift and power of god to produce the book of mormon. As of 2015, the book of mormon has been translated into 110 different languages spoken by over 76 percent of the worlds population, truly beginning to bring the book of mormon to, all nations, kindreds, tongues and. 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. Translations of the book of mormon into other languages have sometimes been miraculous, in their own small way. The story behind the first foreign translation of the book of mormon. The church is headquartered in salt lake city, utah, and has established congregations called wards or branches and built temples worldwide. English chinese simplified chinese edition rigby, joe on. The book of mormon contains a prophecy that the lord god shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth 2 nephi 30. 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. Are translations of the book of mormon into other languages made.
For a time, there was a product put out by the church that was called the selections from the book of mormon, and it was basically a greatest hits that would be faster and easier to translate and get out into the hands of members who spoke sma. The translations include klingon, vulcan, cityspeak, navi, huttese, ewokese, quenya, adunaic, newspeak, nadsat, atlantean, barsoomian, gungan, dothraki, and parseltongue. The mormon church is for the first time publishing photos of the stone it believes founder joseph smith used to help translate the story that became the basis of the religion. Why is the book of mormon written in king james english. There are, in fact, at least 922 chiasma in the book of mormon.
Matthew cowley, mormon apostle mormonism, the mormon. Joseph smith at the age of 16 maybe 14,15 or 17 was led to the site of the plates by the angel moroni, joseph was instructed not to remove the items until he was given permission. This book details the story of the translation of the book of mormon into the thai language. The book of mormon is available in print in various sizes, bindings, and colors. And felix mynhardt, a nonlds was indeed invlolved in the translation.
Why is the book of mormon published in certain languages. The angel charged joseph smith to translate the book from the ancient language in which it was written. All posts must be related to mormonism please keep all posts related to mormonism. Book of mormon translations the encyclopedia of mormonism. Receiving translations of the book of mormon, the churchs signature scripture, for the first time will be speakers of burmese, georgian, navajo. The church decided to translate the book of mormon into these languages to help spread interest among the millennials and generation z. Translations of the book of mormon in alphabetical order afrikaans online, gospel library mobile app, pdf. Download lds 67 language scriptures and enjoy it on your iphone, ipad, and ipod touch. A forum for exmormons and others who have been affected by mormonism to share news, commentary, and comedy about the mormon church. Language availability of latterday saint scriptures.
Translation of the book of mormon into foreign languages. As of 1990, the entire book of mormon was available in 36 languages. 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. Lds church to translate the book of mormon in 34 additional languages by moroni channel news oct 12, 2017 the church of jesus christ of latterday saints announced plans to translate the book of mormon in 34 additional languages. Book of mormon language the encyclopedia of mormonism. For example, the cognate accusative, literarily redundant in english, is used in hebrew for emphasis.
This is a very curious fact because the book of mormon was not translated from the hebrew, but from the egyptian language but i digress. South african bom translation story making the rounds. The translation of the book of mormon into afrikaans. His early work on the translation, with emma smith and martin harris serving as the main scribes, was lost in 1828. Portions of the book have been translated into another 20 languages. The presence of early modern english language likewise makes attributing authorship to. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated into. Politics, news, science, and memes are allowed if related to mormonism. The book of mormon can be bought in many different languages because it has been translated into many different languages, so in the book of mormon that was translated. Most latterday saints grew up learning that joseph smith translated the book of mormon through the use of magic spectacles known as the urim and thummim. There are many hebrew literary forms found in the book of mormon. But over the past few decades, translation has accelerated. How does god help translate the book of mormon into other. In how many languages have the book of mormon been.
The text on the ostracon is written in a combination of egyptian hieratic and hebrew characters, but can be read entirely as egyptian. By its own terms, the book of mormon is a translation of an ancient book. The church of jesus christ of latterday saints the lds church or, informally, the mormon church is a christian restorationist church that is considered by its followers to be the restoration of the original church founded by jesus christ. 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. Lds interpreter is the best multilingual scripture study tool in the world. Although the same factors that led to the re translation of the book of mormon into other modern languages are somewhat applicable to english, i dont know whether or not a translation from english into english will ever be. The young man, however, had very little formal education and was incapable of writing a book on his own, let alone translating an ancient book written from an unknown language, known in the book of mormon as reformed egyptian. Although the method used in the above story to translate the book of mormon appear absurd to many, there are some truths to the story that can be verified. The copy on display was prepared for denmarks queen caroline, but she would not accept it. The language used by the indigenous people in the andes and altiplano regions of south america.
This is certainly appropriate, but translations of the book of mormon into other languages have also been miraculous, in their own small way. Albanian online, gospel library mobile app, pdf, mobile feature phone. Thus, while it would be incorrect to minimize the divine element in the process of translation of the book of mormon, it would also be misleading and potentially hazardous to deny the human factor. Here are a few languages the book of mormon is translated into that you may not have known about. When i see the word translate, it means to me that a scribe read a manuscript written in one language e. Youre right, the golden plates were returned to the angel moroni at the conclusion of the original translation into english. English chinese simplified is a bilingual book for latterday saints in which the two languages are placed next to each other on the same page.
Whether you are preparing for, currently serving, or have just returned home from a mission, this app is for you. What translating harry potter reveals about the book of mormon. Published in 1976, the thai language was the 24th language into which the full text of the book of mormon was translated excluding translations for languages for which there is no version currently in print. For other major languages such as japanese, the book of mormon has been re translated to compensate for language drift. How many languages has the book of mormon been translated into and how many copies have been distributed in the years since it was first.
The translators of the book of mormon deseret news. Mynhardt employed in translating the book of mormon into afrikaans the translation is still in use today, were in my opinion divine gifts bestowed on him for this particular purpose. Translation questions related to the book of mormon language structure in the book of. Some latterday saints may not be aware that danish was the first foreign language into which the book of mormon was translated. Unless you are a native speaker of both languages, in most cases it is extremely difficult to render an accurate translation. The day of casual claims about the language of the book of mormon is over, especially those general statements that the language is a crude imitation of the king james style, intermixed with joseph smiths dialectal usage. Today, all or part of the book of mormon has been translated into 107 languages. Elder erastus snow of the quorum of the twelve apostles and peter olsen hansen labored with a few others to produce the first danish translation of the book of mormon for the lds churchs scandinavian mission in 1851.
The ten most expensive mormon books meridian magazine. Several important questions derive from this work on the nature of the original language of the book of mormon. This selections volume is being progressively replaced by full translations. The language of the original text of the book of mormon. Questions about the translation of the book of mormon into other languages besides 17th century old english. The book of mormon was also recently published in serbian, urdu, and yoruba, bringing the total number of available translations of the book of mormon to 107 languages. Welchs excellent article entitled the miraculous translation of the bo ok of mormon, from opening the heavens, accounts of divine manifestations 18201844, p. Questions about the translation of the book of mormon into.
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