William Cameron Townsend

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William Cameron Townsend; Bible translator, founder of the Wycliff Bible translators and the SIL

William Cameron Townsend (born July 9, 1896 in Eastvale , California , † April 23, 1982 in Waxhaw , North Carolina ) was a well-known American missionary who began his activity in the early 20th century. He founded two organizations that to this day are mainly dedicated to Bible translation for language minorities: the Summer Institute of Linguistics (today: SIL International) and the Wycliff Bible Translators . They also support literacy and education among members of minority languages .

Few independent sources provide specific information on William “Cam” Townsend prior to serving as a missionary abroad. He was born in 1896 into a lower-middle-class family in Southern California . He attended Compton High School in Southern California and Occidental College in Los Angeles , but left to work as a salesman for the Los Angeles Bible House for several years .

Townsend was married to Elvira Malmstrom (* 1919, † 1944), with whom he had four children. In 1946 he married Elaine Mielke (* 1915; † 2007).

The work in Guatemala

William C. Townsend at Occidental College , California, 1917

Townsend went to Guatemala in 1917 on behalf of and under the care of the Los Angeles Bible House to sell Bibles in Spanish not far from Antigua . After two years he joined the Central American Mission (CAM), a conglomerate committed to the fundamentalist movement and a child of the most respected Protestant revival preachers of the 19th century. The CAM had divided Central America into regions for evangelism. It was believed that the 1,000-year Kingdom would not come until after the second coming of Christ and that the mission abroad was necessary to bring the Word of God to all peoples before the dawn of the 1,000 years. Unlike his predecessors, Townsend did not see social reform as a waste of strength in a world ruled by the devil. He also noticed that the CAM message did not reach the majority of the local population because it was only spread in Spanish and the local people did not speak any foreign languages.

With the Cakchiquel Indians

Townsend settled on the coast in a cakchiquel-speaking community called Santa Catarina. Over the next 14 years he learned their language so well that he was able to translate the Bible. He also founded the “Robinson Bible Foundation”, which, with generous financial support from the USA, set up a center with a school, guest beds, a medical station (equipped with effective means against parasites such as the hookworm), an electricity generator, included a coffee processing plant and an agricultural produce shop. During these years, Townsend's concern about the impoverishment and marginalization of the Latin American Indians grew. He was also preoccupied with the earlier missionary practices, which the natives and their culture could not or only insufficiently address.

The Plight of the Natives: Townsend's Problem Analysis

When Townsend was looking for the roots of the indigenous misery, he first found them with the Spanish-speaking “ Ladinos ”, the middlemen who functioned as the sole economic and social hub for the monolingual indigenous communities and were closely linked to the sluggish Catholic religion. These elites pursued their own interests in maintaining the economic and social status quo and therefore had no desire to promote the upbringing, education or bilingualism of the Indians. Nor did they want to encourage them to continue their education, to perfect themselves or to discover capitalism for themselves. On the other hand, Townsend rebuked the Central American indigenous society itself. In syncretistic culture he found the same forms of oppression that European cultures imposed on it, albeit from within. The numerous saints demanded many feast days, combined with compulsory shopping and excessive eating habits and alcohol consumption. Modern health care seldom made its way to those communities that preferred to entrust themselves to spiritual healers, which in Townsend's eyes was costly with no real help or care. Accordingly, he saw the Maya around him as trapped inside and out and looked for an exit strategy, a completely new solution.

According to Townsend's conservative understanding of the faith, converting to Protestantism represented the ultimate salvation for the indigenous peoples; but he first had to deal with the question of why the usual missions failed to attract many native converts. The first answer he came across was that the uneducated Indians, who only spoke their own language, had no access to a script and were therefore illiterate. Many could not read, and even those who could did not have a Bible in a language they could understand. Although syncretism was unrestricted in the indigenous peoples, the pastors resisted a translation of the Bible because they feared bad interpretations. At the same time, Protestant missions such as the CAM focused on the ruling Ladinos as converts instead of the native subjects. Townsend's superiors were already showing signs of discomfort at having adopted local customs, dress habits, and the language.

Townsend's answer to the plight

Unimpressed by the concerns of his superiors, Townsend gradually formulated his plan and his service philosophy, which would later shape and shape the SIL. In the end, Townsend wanted local-run, self-contained evangelical communities. However, this goal can only be achieved in the long term through a considerable reorganization of society and various additional parallel programs that provide the necessary knowledge and skills for the locals. To develop such churches, it first took a group of educated individuals with a native language Bible. Then only the removal of the above-mentioned cultural shackles and the inoculation of a thoroughly Protestant mindset in broad strata of the population would ensure long-term survival or, in a better case, enable the communities to expand. After all, Townsend, a skilled upper-class and in this regard a political amateur, knew that many of the Latin American Roman Catholic statesmen and, more recently, many liberal governments would demand convincing justification as to why they should allow Protestant missionaries to operate within their national territory at all - especially when it came to long-established tribes, which was always politically sensitive. Townsend knew that whatever organization he would create, it would have to deal with all of these problems.

The solution Townsend finally found was so simple it could be summed up in a single word: language research, or linguistics . This emerging science - reinvigorated by the first widespread publications by the German Edward Sapir (1921) and the American Leonard Bloomfield (1933), could give Townsend the scientific credibility and prestige he needed to convince government officials of the legitimacy of his religious goals Convince organization. Having already applied some of Sapir's less Eurocentric beliefs in deciphering the Cakchiquel language , he could use linguistic theory to train evangelicals in the United States to translate the scriptures into many indigenous languages. As soon as they were given access to the ethnic groups, they would set up literacy programs, procure and provide modern health care resources, and subtly begin to enlist Evangelical converts as language informants to begin the work of translating the Bible. In this way, conversion and Bible translation would only happen as part of a broader transformation of society, which would garner praise both within the ethnic group and at the government level. Townsend hoped to put the missionaries / linguists in place of the old Ladino middlemen by introducing a capitalist-individualist ideology, western technology, and modern medicine. There they should serve as the preferred mediator of goods and services for the society around them. From this strong position, the evangelicals could reform indigenous societies and create communities of entrepreneurial, bilingual and, moreover, Protestant individuals who would be able to develop themselves within their civil society.

Even when Townsend was still developing this worldview, he had begun to imagine where he would send his linguists first. The huge and unexplored Amazon basin played a prominent role. To his colleagues in the Central American Mission, his plan seemed exaggerated, cocky, and unrealistic. For centuries the Jesuits , the slavers, the rubber collectors and even some military operations had targeted the tribes of the Amazon. But these remained difficult to reach by relying on the expanse and inhospitableness of their home territory, disappearing into it and sealing themselves off forever.

Steps to Realize the Strategy

Townsend (left) with one of his first JAARS pilots

Townsend suggested using planes and setting up a radio network to contact tribes and gather at one point. But the complexity and cost of such an approach was a source of irritation among less technologically minded missionaries. Some suggested that an unbelievable amount of work would be invested in individual Bible translations and that this would only reach a small population. In addition, the concept of locally run communities using their mother tongues ran counter to the general paternalistic customs of fundamentalists in Guatemala.

Sometime between 1931 and 1933 Townsend decided to make Mexico the starting point of the ventures instead of the Amazon . In Panajachel , Guatemala, he happened upon Moisés Sáenz, the Mexican vice minister for education, who was on vacation and attending schools in the country. Both got along very well, were missionarily trained Presbyterians with common ideas and became friends. Sáenz gave him a letter expressing his appreciation for Townsend's work in Guatemala and welcoming him to Mexico. Sick of tuberculosis and burdened by the ongoing and massive lack of support for his plans in Guatemala, Townsend returned to the States in 1932. He asked for help from LL Legters, the responsible secretary of the Pioneer Mission Agency and trusted friend. At a prayer meeting in August 1933, Townsend had received the impression that it was God's will to go to Mexico City to obtain government permission to send men to the Indian tribes to learn their languages ​​and the Bible translated into those languages. Two months later I received a letter from Sáenz urging Townsend and Legters to come to Mexico.

Mexico and the creation of SIL

The first foray

With the Mexican Revolution in full swing, subsequent liberal governments systematically and sometimes violently targeted the Catholic Church as one of the many social evils that brought Mexico to its knees and brought the country to the will of the United States. When Townsend and Legters saw this, they devised a plan to enter Mexico without letters of recommendation for missionaries. After they officially separated from all formal relationships (including the Central American Mission ), they used Sáenz's letter to cross the border and make their way to Mexico City. This case represents the first example of what critics would later see as deceits by which the two men hid their real goal behind a veil of state legitimation. In this case, the anti-clerical constitution of 1917 was intended to weaken the “muscles” of the Catholic hierarchy in state affairs, rather than suppressing popular worship. Hence, Townsend and Legters acted de facto in accordance with the law and its purpose when they downgraded their religious profile without giving up their beliefs.

The second key to success in Mexico was Townsend's understanding of the importance of personal connections. His charm and bold demeanor opened the doors to many important people. During the first trip to Mexico, Townsend and Legters went after a number of names, including some well-meaning Americans and other Mexican officials. Their journey led from dinner parties and embassy rooms to visits to country schools. A key role was played by Rafael Ramírez, Director of Education in Rural Areas within the Ministry of Education . Because he still feared rejection, Townsend only referred indirectly and cautiously to the subject of religion and the translation of the Bible. He always gave the authorities enough leeway for credible deniability.

The third key to establishing the organization was the alignment of Townsend's plan with the concept of “indigenism” that was already circulating among the Mexican educated. Many of them had begun to believe in a gradual integration of indigenous cultures into national culture - thanks to a greater understanding of anthropology and linguistics. It was believed that advances in these areas would lead to more effective forms of cultural and linguistic integration (particularly bilingual education) and that indigenous cultures would eventually be absorbed into national culture. The great similarity between indigenismo and Townsend's ideology was evident in what SIL members call the 'Miracle of Tetelcingo'.

The meeting with Mexico's president

President Lázaro Cárdenas and Townsend (right)

On January 21, 1936, President Lázaro Cárdenas , who was known for his extensive sightseeing tours of the countryside, visited a small town just south of Mexico City where Townsend had started a project. The reasons for this visit and for the friendship that developed between the two men are varied and complex. Most importantly, they both had an exceptional cause for the indigenous peoples of Mexico. Townsend's program, which combined "language research, practical assistance, and spiritual instruction (or guidance)," went well with Cárdenas' overall primary goal of halting the influence of the Catholic Church on rural and indigenous education. At the same time, Cárdenas likely understood that, as such, Townsend, being American, had interesting qualities and relationships and could help alleviate the chronic distrust in the United States of his government, in part stemming from harmful Catholic propaganda. Whatever the reason for the visit, the result was solid support from the President. The events of the previous 20 years in Townsend's life came to a climax at this encounter that cemented the welcome of his linguists in Mexico for several years.

Camp Wycliffe

Townsend and Legters opened Camp Wycliffe in Arkansas in the summer of 1934. It was named after John Wycliff , the first translator of the entire New Testament into English. The training camp was designed to train young people in the basics of linguistics and translation methods. Two students signed up. The next year there were five men, including Kenneth L. Pike . Townsend took his students to Mexico after a training session to start working in the field.

Although the translators were warmly received in Mexico, Townsend did not want to take any additional risks; and he continued to dream of expanding his venture into the Amazon and beyond. He knew that such an overtly religious name would put a strain on negotiating with most governments and negotiating what he still wanted to present as a purely linguistic and anthropological enterprise.

From this humble beginning the global service of the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), the Wycliff Bible translators and the technical and logistic partner of the SIL, the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service (JAARS) emerged. The guiding principle of these organizations is that by making the Bible accessible to a culture, native Christians can become much more independent and lead their own churches . The locals should be freed from their dependence on other organizations and cultures.

Peru

William and Elaine Townsend

Kenneth L. Pike was the first SIL representative to visit Peru in late 1943. SIL signed a contract with the Peruvian Ministry of Education on June 28, 1945. In Peru and during subsequent expansions, Townsend found his “mission tailored to the needs of US politicians. ... American missionaries had always accompanied American companies abroad, but in the political climate in Latin America after World War II, Townsend's new crop of missionary translators and educators particularly appealed to the US ambassadors who were tasked with providing markets and natural resources for the US economy to back up." 1942 also marked Peru's victory over Ecuador in the conflict over the border line in the oil-rich Amazon region. President Manuel Odría , Prado's successor in office, endorsed Townsend's aircraft-based plan as a means of bringing military expertise and equipment into the country from the United States. As staunch nationalists, both presidents firmly believed in the value of the Amazon as a natural resource and a potential settlement area. Stoll claims that both also agreed that SIL is the most important organization for introducing the indigenous peoples to the new reality of western expansion, while providing infrastructure.

The 'Jungle Aviation And Radio Service' (JAARS)

A Helio Courier with the ability to take off and land quickly ; JAARS hangar, 2005

In 1948 Townsend created the third major company associated with SIL: the "Jungle Flight and Radio Service". Up until this point, the SIL operations were held together in a shaky way by just a jeep and several radios provided by the American embassy. In 1946, Larry Montgomery, an Air Corps pilot , contacted Townsend and offered him a Grumman Duck , an amphibious aircraft, at a very affordable price . The machine proved its worth; in fact, it served as the sole rescue van for a crashed Peruvian military plane in 1947, but it required excessive investment to cover the possibilities Townsend envisioned. Also, a small fleet of aircraft would need a hangar, runway, mechanics, more pilots, fuel, and spare parts. There was a lack of funds. Townsend successfully raised money by soliciting support from several wealthy evangelicals.

Adjustment of corporate governance

Townsend stayed with SIL for many years as founder and organizational director. His strength was gradually weakening. SIL remained under the influence of two general trends:

  1. Linguistics slowly became a popular field of study. The requirements for obtaining academic prestige have been gradually increased. Townsend's Bible in Spanish cakchiquel was never circulated on a large scale, even in Guatemala. Despite his enthusiasm for linguistics, it will only remember him as “a dedicated but linguistically naive missionary”. In Townsend's opinion, the objectives of the SIL required a scientific understanding. Hence, he endeavored to train really knowledgeable linguists with trustworthy qualifications. In the early years, academic ability was less of a priority than strategic expansion, which implied rapid training of a large number of applicants. Townsend had envisioned the organization primarily as a large-scale instrument of Bible translation. His skill as a salesman and his keen sense of political affairs had made this vision a success. Meanwhile, a minority, with Kenneth L. Pike as the leading figure, devoted themselves to linguistics with a deeper interest than merely for the purpose of translating the Bible. These people occupied the top ranks of the SIL academic hierarchy, but initially had very little influence on the organization's operations. As linguistics as a discipline developed steadily in the 1960s and 1970s, academic prestige became a more sought-after commodity in the fields of application and was accordingly more difficult to obtain.
  2. SIL was almost engulfed in heated controversy between about 1971 and 1981. The conflict was composed of two separate but related components. On the one hand, the increasingly prominent and distinguished organization came into the international limelight, both in the USA and outside, but especially in the halls of US universities, where the name “SIL” alone was surrounded by a hint of bad reputation. Covered by new perspectives in anthropology and the concept of human beings, SIL critics left only a few pages of the institute intact.
On the other hand, many governments argued internally over the same period whether they should continue to support SIL through international treaties and even whether they should continue to tolerate SIL on their national territory. Several states cut cooperation with SIL for a number of reasons, with some kicking SIL straight out of the country, others terminating contracts and still others letting them expire. As a result, SIL was no longer in the comfortable position of being able to work without significant competition; henceforth new actors offered the governments and the indigenous peoples similar services with comparable reciprocal conditions.

The time of these disputes forced employees and the management of the SIL to rethink their strategies and methods. Some of them, especially Kenneth Pike, had recognized the dangers and downsides of Townsend's approach years earlier. External pressure coincided with internal stress due to logistical problems in maintaining the JAARS network, v. a. in the Amazon. This double pressure finally allowed some within the SIL to push through the necessary reform against a heavy opposition, or in the words of David Stoll: "the nerds 'vote finally won out over the flyboys'." As a result of these power shifts, Townsend's strategy was adjusted; after the controversy, he himself played a more passive, more fatherly role.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Eunice Victoria Pike, in: A William Cameron Townsend, in: El Vigesimoquinto Aniversario Del Instituto Linguistico de Verano, La Tipografica Indigena Cuernavaca, Mexico 1961, pp. 3-4.
  2. ↑ Gerard Colby, Charlotte Dennett: Thy Will Be Done: The Conquest of the Amazon: Nelson Rockefeller and Evangelism in the Age of Oil, Harper Collins: New York 1996, pp. 42-43.
  3. ↑ David Stoll: Fishers of Men or Founders of Empire ?. The Wycliffe Bible Translators in Latin America, London 1983, p. 38.
  4. ↑ David Stoll: Fishers of Men or Founders of Empire ?. The Wycliffe Bible Translators in Latin America, London 1983, pp. 30-35.
  5. ↑ David Stoll: Fishers of Men or Founders of Empire ?. The Wycliffe Bible Translators in Latin America, London 1983, p. 31f.
  6. ↑ David Stoll: Fishers of Men or Founders of Empire ?. The Wycliffe Bible Translators in Latin America, London 1983, p. 36.
  7. ^ Colby and Dennet, p. 43.
  8. ^ EFK Koerner, RE Asher: A Concise History of the Language Sciences, Pergamon-Verlag: Oxford 1995, p. 297.
  9. ↑ Pieter AM süren: Western Linguistics, Blackwell Publishers: Oxford 1998, p 193rd
  10. ↑ Colby and Dennet, p. 44.
  11. ^ Stoll: "Fishers or Founders," p. 37.
  12. ↑ Colby and Dennet, p. 49.
  13. ^ William T. Vickers, in: Søren Hvalkof, Peter Aaby : Is God an American? An Anthropological Perspective on the Missionary Work of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, Copenhagen 1982, pp. 51-55.
  14. ↑ Colby and Dennet, pp. 46-48.
  15. ^ Jan Rus, Robert Wasserstrom, in: Hvalkof / Aaby, p. 164.
  16. ↑ Todd Hartch: Missionaries of the State, The Summer Institute of Linguistics, State Formation, and Indigenous Mexico, 1935-1985. University Alabama Press: Tuscaloosa 2006, pp. 1-3.
  17. ^ Stoll, "Fishers or Founders," pp. 62-65.
  18. ↑ Hartch, p. 4.
  19. ↑ Hartch, p. 7.
  20. ↑ Hartch, p. 9.
  21. ^ Cerebro Palomino: El Instituto Linguistico de Verano: Un Fraude, Ediciones Rupa Rupa: Lima 1980, p. 9.
  22. ↑ Colby and Dennet, p. 199.
  23. ^ Colby and Dennet, p. 198.
  24. ^ Stoll, "Fishers or Founders," pp. 102-109.
  25. ↑ Colby and Dennet, p. 199.
  26. ^ Stoll: "Fishers or Founders," p. 104.
  27. ↑ Colby and Dennet, p. 202.
  28. ^ Stoll: "SIL and Indigenous Movements," p. 85.
personal data
SURNAME Townsend, William Cameron
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Uncle Cam
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Bible translator
DATE OF BIRTH July 9, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Eastvale , California
DATE OF DEATH April 23, 1982
Place of death Waxhaw , North Carolina