Why an Easy-to-Read Version?

The Easy-to-Read Version of the Bible was initially prepared to meet the special needs of the deaf and was first published as The English Version for the Deaf. Most people who can hear are not familiar with the difficulty that many deaf people experience in reading standard English, which is mainly due to their lack of exposure to spoken language early in life. Unlike their hearing peers, most deaf children have not acquired a large spoken vocabulary by the time they reach school age. This makes learning to read a much more difficult task for them. It is not easy for them to relate the written symbols they see with the spoken language those symbols represent. In addition, for many the knowledge of sign language influences their acquisition and use of spoken language.

With the help of consultants familiar with deaf communication patterns, the translators of The English Version for the Deaf attempted to match those patterns in English as closely as possible. They also benefited from testing done in different regions of the United States to determine a vocabulary familiar to most deaf readers. But the deaf are not the only ones with limited language experience. Children, people who learn English as a foreign language, and many others face similar difficulties in reading. For that reason, it was recognized early on that The English Version for the Deaf  would help many such people overcome or avoid the most common obstacles to reading with understanding. That's why it was also published as The Easy-to-Read Version. But it is the fact that this version was aimed at the deaf that explains its unique characteristics, which include short sentences, restricted vocabulary, and a high level of redundancy.

The Easy-to-Read Version has also recently undergone a major revision precipitated by a number of factors. First of all, the target audience has changed. Although The English Version for the Deaf still meets the needs of the deaf community (and for that reason will still be published as is), most of the distribution of The Easy-to-Read Version is now geared toward evangelistic outreach to the hearing, whether domestic (such as ministries to prisons, the homeless, or children) or foreign. Most are used where English is spoken as a second language and where many are just learning or want to learn English. Although the deaf version makes the Word easily accessible to a foreign audience, it is not "standard" English, which makes it less than ideal for those who are already familiar with contemporary English style or who are seeking to learn or improve their English.

An additional need was to have a text suitable for oral reading, since many who understand spoken English are not literate. Obviously, that was not a consideration for the deaf version, but it has been a major concern for the revision. The style needs to have a natural "flow," so that the person reading it will not stumble over cumbersome phrasing or awkward syntax.

Besides improving the English style, the revised Easy-to-Read Version reflects a better understanding of many passages. This has been made possible, in part, by the greatly expanded resources now available to our translators. Also, these translators have benefited from their involvement in over 30 different language projects. As they compared the drafts of these translations with the original texts, they often noted how the same passages were translated in the Easy-to-Read Version, resulting in many improvements. In addition, the Easy-to-Read Version has benefited from input from numerous outside scholars who have served as consultants in the process of evaluating WBTC's translations.