Wednesday, July 2, 2008

26 Ways to Say "To Carry"?

The WordSpring Discovery Center was totally fascinating. If you're planning to visit Orlando anytime soon, you should definitely consider this tourist attraction, as an interactive cultural adventure. It's parent organization, Wycliffe, is all about getting God's Word into the hands of people everywhere in the language they know and understand best.

The receptionist told me that some people bring their school-aged children and stay for hours. I could only spend 45 minutes. Hubby wants to go back on Saturday on our way back to the airport. WordSpring is only 15 minutes from the airport and literally next door to Campus Crusade for Christ's headquarters.

Below, this wall display shows that there are 26 ways to say "to carry" in a South American language (I think it was in Mexico, but I don't relly remember.) The word used would depend upon HOW one was carrying something, or what was being carried. Click on the picture to enlarge it. This tree is representative of all the world's languages. Each of the 3,400 leaves is hand cut to symbolize the uniqeness of each language. There are about 6,800 living languages in the world today. Those that have the complete Bible in their "heart" language is 429. There are 1,997 languages that only have parts and 4,486 languages have no Scriptures at all.
Mr. Intensity will certainly enjoy all the hands-on things WordSpring has to offer but I can't wait to bring him back in a few more years when he will understand more about language and culture. Especially since Hubby's triple-great uncle was a missionary to Kenya and translated the New Testament into a tribal language.

Again, I HIGHLY recommend a visit to WordSpring - even if you're not interested in Bible translations. It's a unique look at culture and language.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds awesome. We just had a couple friend leave to join Wycliff. Their presentation was fascinating (like what you described) They were going to go to Papua New Guinea but then had to switch to Asia b/c of their son's medical conditions. I am really thankful for Wycliff and would love to visit where you were!

John and Pam Majors said...

That was fascinating! I do hope you get to return, Saturday, and in a few years. I'd love to see it!

Bob Creson said...

Thank you for visiting Wycliffe Bible Translators' WordSpring Discovery Center, and for this review of your experience. I am so glad you enjoyed it. As you know, the experience is meant to highlight the needs of those still waiting for Scriptures in a language and medium they related to best.

Bob Creson
President/CEO
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA

missy said...

Hope you are having a great visit. It sure is quiet around here. Thanks for the "leftovers". I've already eaten all the humus.

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