A HUGE TASK.

Auckland Star, Volume XLII, Issue 216, 11 September 1911, Page 6

A HUGE TASK.

BIBLE IN 2,000 LANGUAGES. BRUISE AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY. Some interesting details concerning the works of the British and Foreign Bible Society were given to a "Star" representative this morning by the . Bev. A. Taylor, one of the London secretaries, who arrived from Sydney yesterday by the Maheno. Mr. Taylor left weeks ngo, and first crossed over to Canada to study some of the conditions of living in the country, and also to consider the problem of distributing the Scriptures amongst the polyglot peoples that are pouring into the Dominion. From Vancouver lie went to Brisbane and went "through Queensland and New South Wales, visiting the main centres. He is now passing through the larger towns of New Zealand, and leaves for Tasmania on September 25. "My main object," said the Itev. 1 aylor, "is to link all the auxiliaries and branches of the Society more closely together in Australasia. The Society has one simple object, the translation and circulation of the Scriptures throughout the world. We have already the whole of the Bible printed in 107 different languages, whilst in addition there arc over 100 "more into which the New Testament has been translated, and these, together with the places only recently occupied by missionaries, and where only parts of the Scripture have been put into the native tongue, amount altogether to 4<S2. It is roughly estimated there may be 2000 distinct languages and dialects spoken in the world, so you see there remains plenty c r work for the Society before the Bible has been given to all mankind. The Australian States furnish one of the most interesting illustrations of the diversity of dialects, for which the Society has about 50 versions.