tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post4147601754986599468..comments2023-10-20T07:28:50.948-07:00Comments on Better Bibles Blog: Reading Levels revistedWayne Lemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18024771201561767893noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-66531496823327652282007-11-09T16:55:00.000-08:002007-11-09T16:55:00.000-08:00Isn't it odd to think of ONE reading level for the...Isn't it odd to think of ONE reading level for the Bible? Each book and some of the chapters within each might well be at different reading levels. <BR/><BR/>Even if we only think of reading level as an English thing, shouldn't any particular English translation of the scriptures be varied, book by book, chapter by chapter? John F. Hobbins at <A HREF="http://ancienthebrewpoetry.typepad.com/ancient_hebrew_poetry/" REL="nofollow">Ancient Hebrew Poetry</A> has blogged on this a good bit, the unevenness of the Bible and the need for that in translation.J. K. Gaylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07600312868663460988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-37177870038015470632007-11-09T10:29:00.000-08:002007-11-09T10:29:00.000-08:00Gary,I wonder what the sentence length is in the N...Gary,<BR/><BR/>I wonder what the sentence length is in the NASB. Actually I am just groping for something explicit in reading level assessment - maybe something that says, "hypotaxis over parataxis," as well as sentence length. <BR/><BR/>However, vocabulary frequency must also play into this. If vocabulary is not in frequent use in contemporary English then that would shift the reading level. There must be vocab. levels based on frequency. It wouldn't be that difficult now for computers to establish how frequently words occur in lterature and then analyse a text for how current its vocabulary is. <BR/><BR/>I guess I am looking for the type of grammatical construction and vocab. frequency. <BR/><BR/>James,<BR/><BR/>It's funny - I was not familiar with the term "periodic" as a synonym for hypotaxis. I learn something new every day. :-)Suzanne McCarthyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07033350578895908993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-30125688935272578692007-11-09T06:09:00.000-08:002007-11-09T06:09:00.000-08:00Suzanne,We were just discussing the reading level ...Suzanne,<BR/><BR/>We were just discussing the reading level thing yesterday afternoon here at Eisenbrauns. I suspect that writing style affects reading level. The KJV tends toward the periodic style, whereas most modern English translations will break up subordinate clauses into independent sentences. <BR/><BR/>HTH,<BR/>Jamesjpshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06017353888045816159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11875966.post-54980572147210143422007-11-09T05:20:00.000-08:002007-11-09T05:20:00.000-08:00And the link is?Suzanne, the link is that I assume...<I>And the link is?<BR/></I><BR/><BR/>Suzanne, the link is that I assumed reading and studying Paul's letters with their complex sentences and voacbulary as translated in the NASB had influenced my own style of writing and thinking. I noticed that I do have a tendency to write on more complex sentences than most people, and I thought maybe that was taken into consideration. ;-)GZimmyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00343987749136219839noreply@blogger.com