SIL and the Diaspora – Why?

In 1919, William Cameron Townsend began to work with the Kaqchikel people of Guatemala to translate the Christian Scriptures into their language. Today, most of the Christian world is aware of Townsend’s reformation philosophy: everyone should be able to read the Christian Scripture in their heart language. 

During the last 100 years, the work Townsend started,  translation, language development, and scripture engagement, has been organized into one of the world’s larger minority language development efforts, SIL International (formerly Summer Institute of Linguistics). SIL is committed to developing written language components such as alphabets, dictionaries, and literacy materials, and, like the founder, translating the Christian Scriptures.

Historically, SIL personnel would travel with their families to a site where the language to be translated was spoken. They would live in villages and cities, make friends, learn the local context, write alphabets and dictionaries, conduct literacy programs, and finally translate the Scripture and develop ways for language speakers to interact with it. SIL workers continue to be committed to doing this for every world language. But, sometimes, this has proven to be an impossible task.

Certain areas of the world are so restricted that it is illegal to live among the people, learn their language, or translate scripture. In a completely closed country, no work is possible in the homeland. However, the worldwide diaspora phenomena may provide some new answers to this problem.

For example, recently a language belonging to an entirely unreached people group has become accessible for the very first time. It is not because a SIL language translation team is present in the homeland. It is because they are NOT! The development of this language and the beginnings of scripture translation have begun because members of this language group have left their homeland and emigrated to a country where it is possible for SIL workers to form relationships with them, and begin the process of language development and scripture translation. This particular people group is traumatized, yet their hearts are open to the love of believers who are cautiously reaching out to them. 

This is not an isolated incident. 

Doors are opening to other heretofore “impossible to translate” languages in various places of the world where refugees and immigrants flee to begin new lives. According to Tom and Elizabeth Brewster*, doors especially open where people feel their language and cultural identity are at risk. These refugee people want help to preserve their language, and their different environment appears to make them receptive to Christian Scripture in a new way. 

In addition to translation, SIL is able to help diaspora people with language learning, orthography, dictionary development, their identity journey, and scripture engagement. SIL personnel begin a project with the hope they can lower resistance to the Good News by providing a loving presence that will augment any spiritual hunger felt by community members within the diaspora. SIL staff are beginning to understand that “God is moving people to us!”

So, how will SIL respond to this exploding trend of global migration?

In the past, translation and language work almost always took place in the homeland where the language was spoken. Now we know it can also happen successfully within the communities of diaspora such as refugee camps, and ethnic neighborhoods. The vision is that the diaspora will also send the Scriptures back to their families in the homeland. As Townsend often said, “The greatest missionary in the Bible is the mother tongue.” We still believe that and diaspora ministry is a new approach to this mandate.

*Thomas Bretoster and Elizabeth S. Bracoster are professors of Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics at the School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary,

Pasadena California.