Ken Pike Honored for New Methods of Translation
Pike (right) receives another honorary degree at the Sorbonne.
ON THIS DAY, 26 October 1973, the University of Chicago awarded linguist Ken Pike an honorary doctorate. The degree was well-deserved. Pike had developed techniques that enabled hundreds of non-experts to learn foreign languages, making the task of missions and Bible translation easier for many. His journey to the podium began with a vow made forty years before his big night.
Pike was born in Woodstock, Connecticut. When he was sixteen, his father caught an infection and nearly died. Pike promised God he would become a minister if only he would heal his dad. When his dad recovered, Pike knew he had to keep his promise. At the time he was so unsure of himself he did not even have the courage to write to Christian colleges, so his mother wrote for him.
Gordon College accepted Pike and granted him a job in the kitchen to pay his way. Eventually Pike gained enough confidence and social skills that the school put him in charge of the kitchen crew. Three years after entering Gordon, Pike applied to the China Inland Mission but was turned down. Not only had he flunked the mission’s linguistic test, the board felt he was too nervous to be a missionary.
But, Pike still had a promise to keep. Determined to strengthen his weak body, he took a summer job spraying trees against gypsy moths. Although terrified of heights, he stayed on the job, praying as he inched his way up tree trunks.
In 1935, Pike hitchhiked from Connecticut to Arkansas to attend a phonetics class offered by Wycliffe Mission. He was so fascinated by the subject that Wycliffe’s founder, Cameron Townsend, told him to prepare to teach it next year. Ken wanted to study Mexican languages instead so that he could share the gospel in Mexico. However, he suffered so badly from flea bites that he had to leave his work. During his time off, he stumbled upon a copy of Language by Edward Sapir, a famous anthropologist. This book prepared Pike to teach at Wycliffe’s Summer Institute of Linguistics the following summer. The SIL worked on producing translations of the Bible into new languages.
Townsend next asked Pike to prepare a book on phonetics. Reluctantly Pike agreed. However, he did not keep his word. At that point a bout of malaria and a broken leg thwarted all his plans. He recognized that God was trying to show him something. Examining his conscience, he realized he had broken his promise to Townsend. Immediately he buckled down to the task. The manual he prepared on phonetics was another step toward that honorary degree in Chicago—and other degrees like it. Ken Pike had kept his vow to God and honor followed.
—Dan Graves
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Bible translators have sacrificed much to bring the gospel in the language of common people. One instance is told in God's Outlaw: The Story Of William Tyndale. Watch at RedeemTV.
(God's Outlaw can be purchased at Vision Video)
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