Resources

INSIGHT

English for everyone

ANGELA RIGBY reports on a website offering access to the Bible and other Christian literature in easy-to-understand, culture-free English

Wycliffe Associates' EasyEnglish website, www.easyenglish.info is mushrooming, and the team are receiving e-mails from over 100 countries. The attraction? The Bible and other Christian literature in easy-to-understand, culture-free English.

Eighty-five per cent of the world's e-mails are in English. Apart from the 377 million who speak English as their mother-tongue, it is an official language for an estimated 300 million people, and up to 750 million more learn it as a foreign language.

A typical e-mail reads: "I work for Africa Inland Mission. Presently I am in Toronto with students mostly from China, Japan and Korea ..." A Christian convert in Central Asia writes: "More and more people learn English in our country, and I would love to teach biblical English ..."

The person overseeing all this is a retired teacher, Martin Lloyd. "I woke up on my 57th birthday with chest pains, drove down to hospital because I didn't want to worry anyone, and the hospital wouldn't let me go for four days," he says. "When they told me I'd got angina I packed in my teaching job."

Martin, who is also a trained Baptist minister, started keyboarding for Wycliffe Associates. Here he heard about EasyEnglish and became a theological checker. Not long afterwards he was appointed overall co-ordinator.

In the three years since, the EasyEnglish team has grown from a handful to nearly 60 in the UK, and more overseas, aged from 25 to 85. Hilda, an RE teacher in her 70s, was turned down by the previous organiser because she doesn't use a computer. Fortunately Martin saw her potential, as she has become his most prolific writer, with EasyEnglish versions of 2 Peter, Titus, Jude, Philippians, and the synoptic gospels under her belt - all written in biro.

"Martin's a visionary, a salesman, a motivator," says another volunteer, also turned down initially. "I'd have given up if it weren't for him."

Martin shrugs it off. "I phone people - because I'm illiterate really - and start them off, maybe ten verses, then a chapter. I let them choose what they want to do. Some people are retired and can work very fast, others have young children or a job and they might still be on their first book a year later. I'm not a great one for nagging people - everyone is unpaid, so it's their goodwill."

The writers' job is to re-word texts according to specific restrictions of vocabulary and grammar. Their drafts are then rigorously reviewed by linguistic and theological checkers. Some are eminent in their field: Norman Hillyer, for instance, now in his 80s, was revision editor of IVP's New Bible Dictionary.

Once a book is ready, it goes onto the website and is copied onto CDs. Martin rarely sends out printed materials nowadays. "A CD costs 38p, plus maybe £1.20 postage, and it can hold the whole Bible and all the commentaries," he explains. "And I can make one in less than two minutes."

CDs are practical for areas where unreliable phone connections make downloading from the internet difficult. The material can then be printed locally and translated if need be. "We aren't stuffy about copyright because Easy English for Ethiopia won't fit Paraguay," says Martin. "We don't want them to change the theology though, and we ask them to use local artists.

"We'll have EasyEnglish materials for evangelists on the website in the next few months, and we have a man in Australia writing simple English services. There can be hymns, aids to worship, Bible studies. We've got Old and New Testament overviews coming through, and I'd like to have some EasyEnglish church history on the internet to tell people what happened between the New Testament and their life today in Africa or Asia. HarperCollins have given us permission to 'translate' their Little Gem Bible Guide, provided it's only for the Third World.

"My whole approach is to find somebody who know more than I do and network together." Martin reels off a list: WEC, AIM, Scripture Union, CMS, Global Connections, SIM, the Baptist Union ... "I'm a pygmy among giants." More recently he has been in touch with Causeway Prospects for advice on the learning-disabled, a group especially close to his heart.

Last year Martin visited Ghana with Wycliffe Associates Childcare to help at a mission conference, and used the opportunity to visit other Christian missions and hand out EasyEnglish CDs. He will be doing the same this year in Nairobi with his youngest daughter Esther.

"Sometimes I just pop in and see who's available. In the UK I visit missionary training colleges like Moorlands and Crowther Hall. God opens doors and I just go through," says Martin. "I'm not easily frightened - I went from a council house to Cambridge, and I wasn't particularly bothered by either. Also, angina reminds you that your days aren't infinite on this earth - you come out the other end a bit happy-go-lucky!"

Martin runs the EasyEnglish project on an annual budget of £2,000. He does most of his work before 6am at the family computer on the landing of his North Wales home.
"I've got the time, it's a wonderful situation to be in," he says. "It's been the best three years of my life!"

For more information about the EasyEnglish project contact: Martin and Jenny Lloyd, tel: 01492 878130, e-mail: martin@easyenglish.info

Angela Rigby is a freelance writer based in London. her new poetry collection The Deep Darkness of Love is available from SU Press. Tel 0870 444 9703

EasyEnglish
Wycliffe Associates (UK) have been working on EasyEnglish for nine years, though the idea of simplifying English is much older.

* Level B, Leaders' EasyEnglish, has a 2,800-word vocabulary
* Level A has a 1,200-word vocabulary
* Accessible EasyEnglish is Level A, but structurally simpler. It is designed for native-speakers once called 'mentally handicapped'. AEE is also being used with the deaf, prisoners, and asylum seekers.
* Translators EasyEnglish is for those translating from English versions of the Bible into their own minority language. It makes implicit information explicit and clarifies culture-specific expressions (snow, sheep, vines ...)

Psalm 36
Verses 7-11 in Accessible EasyEnglish

Your love is wonderful.
Your love has no end to it.
Everybody is safe with God.
When we are with God
we have all we need.
People who stay with you
have all they need.
They are happy because you are there.
You made all life.
You gave us light.
Keep on loving the people who know you.
Keep on looking after good people.
Keep me safe.

This article was first published in Christian Herald newspaper

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		INSIGHT English for everyone ANGELA RIGBY reports on a website offering access to the Bible and other Christian literature in easy-to-understand, culture-free English Wycliffe Associates' EasyEnglish website, www.easyenglish.info is mushrooming, and the team are receiving e-mails from over 100 countries. The attraction? The Bible and other Christian literature in easy-to-understand, culture-free English. Eighty-five per cent of the world's e-mails are in English. Apart from the 377 million who speak English as their mother-tongue, it is an official language for an estimated 300 million people, and up to 750 million more learn it as a foreign language. A typical e-mail reads: "I work for Africa Inland Mission. Presently I am in Toronto with students mostly from China, Japan and Korea ..." A Christian convert in Central Asia writes: "More and more people learn English in our country, and I would love to teach biblical English ..." The person overseeing all this is a retired teacher, Martin Lloyd. "I woke up on my 57th birthday with chest pains, drove down to hospital because I didn't want to worry anyone, and the hospital wouldn't let me go for four days," he says. "When they told me I'd got angina I packed in my teaching job." Martin, who is also a trained Baptist minister, started keyboarding for Wycliffe Associates. Here he heard about EasyEnglish and became a theological checker. Not long afterwards he was appointed overall co-ordinator. In the three years since, the EasyEnglish team has grown from a handful to nearly 60 in the UK, and more overseas, aged from 25 to 85. Hilda, an RE teacher in her 70s, was turned down by the previous organiser because she doesn't use a computer. Fortunately Martin saw her potential, as she has become his most prolific writer, with EasyEnglish versions of 2 Peter, Titus, Jude, Philippians, and the synoptic gospels under her belt - all written in biro. "Martin's a visionary, a salesman, a motivator," says another volunteer, also turned down initially. "I'd have given up if it weren't for him." Martin shrugs it off. "I phone people - because I'm illiterate really - and start them off, maybe ten verses, then a chapter. I let them choose what they want to do. Some people are retired and can work very fast, others have young children or a job and they might still be on their first book a year later. I'm not a great one for nagging people - everyone is unpaid, so it's their goodwill." The writers' job is to re-word texts according to specific restrictions of vocabulary and grammar. Their drafts are then rigorously reviewed by linguistic and theological checkers. Some are eminent in their field: Norman Hillyer, for instance, now in his 80s, was revision editor of IVP's New Bible Dictionary. Once a book is ready, it goes onto the website and is copied onto CDs. Martin rarely sends out printed materials nowadays. "A CD costs 38p, plus maybe £1.20 postage, and it can hold the whole Bible and all the commentaries," he explains. "And I can make one in less than two minutes." CDs are practical for areas where unreliable phone connections make downloading from the internet difficult. The material can then be printed locally and translated if need be. "We aren't stuffy about copyright because Easy English for Ethiopia won't fit Paraguay," says Martin. "We don't want them to change the theology though, and we ask them to use local artists. "We'll have EasyEnglish materials for evangelists on the website in the next few months, and we have a man in Australia writing simple English services. There can be hymns, aids to worship, Bible studies. We've got Old and New Testament overviews coming through, and I'd like to have some EasyEnglish church history on the internet to tell people what happened between the New Testament and their life today in Africa or Asia. HarperCollins have given us permission to 'translate' their Little Gem Bible Guide, provided it's only for the Third World. "My whole approach is to find somebody who know more than I do and network together." Martin reels off a list: WEC, AIM, Scripture Union, CMS, Global Connections, SIM, the Baptist Union ... "I'm a pygmy among giants." More recently he has been in touch with Causeway Prospects for advice on the learning-disabled, a group especially close to his heart. Last year Martin visited Ghana with Wycliffe Associates Childcare to help at a mission conference, and used the opportunity to visit other Christian missions and hand out EasyEnglish CDs. He will be doing the same this year in Nairobi with his youngest daughter Esther. "Sometimes I just pop in and see who's available. In the UK I visit missionary training colleges like Moorlands and Crowther Hall. God opens doors and I just go through," says Martin. "I'm not easily frightened - I went from a council house to Cambridge, and I wasn't particularly bothered by either. Also, angina reminds you that your days aren't infinite on this earth - you come out the other end a bit happy-go-lucky!" Martin runs the EasyEnglish project on an annual budget of £2,000. He does most of his work before 6am at the family computer on the landing of his North Wales home. "I've got the time, it's a wonderful situation to be in," he says. "It's been the best three years of my life!" For more information about the EasyEnglish project contact: Martin and Jenny Lloyd, tel: 01492 878130, e-mail: martin@easyenglish.info Angela Rigby is a freelance writer based in London. her new poetry collection The Deep Darkness of Love is available from SU Press. Tel 0870 444 9703 EasyEnglish Wycliffe Associates (UK) have been working on EasyEnglish for nine years, though the idea of simplifying English is much older. * Level B, Leaders' EasyEnglish, has a 2,800-word vocabulary * Level A has a 1,200-word vocabulary * Accessible EasyEnglish is Level A, but structurally simpler. It is designed for native-speakers once called 'mentally handicapped'. AEE is also being used with the deaf, prisoners, and asylum seekers. * Translators EasyEnglish is for those translating from English versions of the Bible into their own minority language. It makes implicit information explicit and clarifies culture-specific expressions (snow, sheep, vines ...) Psalm 36 Verses 7-11 in Accessible EasyEnglish Your love is wonderful. Your love has no end to it. Everybody is safe with God. When we are with God we have all we need. People who stay with you have all they need. They are happy because you are there. You made all life. You gave us light. Keep on loving the people who know you. Keep on looking after good people. Keep me safe. This article was first published in Christian Herald newspaper © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.