Readability Tests: The Facts

What to make of the shocking (shocking to most people who have actually compared the KJV to any of the current translations, that is) KJVO claims that the KJV is more readable? Or perhaps "claims" is too weak a word, given the "23 pages of irrefutable evidence proving the King James Bible is far easier to understand and read," that literacy scholar, reading specialist, language researcher misguided crusader, Gail Riplinger, provides in her infamous New Age Bible Versions.

In her own, pseudo-grammatical, words, the KJV is scientifically or statistically more readable, due to the following:

• less [sic] syllables per word
• less [sic] letters per word
• less [sic] words per sentence

Here we see the gaping hole in the logic: Readability tests do a lot of counting. Fewer words, shorter syllables, easier to read -- or so the argument goes. Therefore, 1) this phrase 2) would be considered more readable than this phrase. There is some obvious merit to this on the surface, and even some support for it when analysis of actual texts is performed -- analysis that necessarily compares the results of the readability formulae with other criteria. Criteria like ... whether people actually find the texts more or less difficult to read. However, consider the following two sentences:

1. I want you to bring me all of the books that are over there.
   
2. Fetch the sum of yon tomes.

The first sentence has a calculated readability lower than the second -- because it contains more words -- though most people would say that it is easier to read. Another pair:

1. Complicated decisions require patience and consideration.
2. Slow think and wait to choose the right but not smooth path.
   

At read-able.com (comparing scores from several readability tests), the first sentence receives a grade level of "about 20," versus the 4th-grade level of the second sentence! A final example:

1. Don't forget to write! (Eight- or nine-year-old level)
   
2. Hoy tay gu po ni! (Supposedly appropriate reading for four- or five-year-old children)
   

Reading, in these tests, is defined in terms of factors such as time needed to utter the words and sentences, and number of different vocabulary words used, regardless of whether the reader knows the vocabulary or can make sense of the grammar. These are not the only factors, but these are what help cherry-picked sections of the KJV achieve ridiculously low grade-level recommendations. By contrast, and in addition to factors such as ease of pronunciation or time needed to finish moving your eyes over all the letters of the text, a realistic decision of readability should include analysis of comprehension, including whether the vocabulary is actually known to the reader.

Let's consider some examples from different translations, and compare the readability score with how readable the King James actually is:

1. "He shutteth his eyes to devise froward things: moving his lips he bringeth evil to pass" (Proverbs 16:30, KJV). "He whose eyes are shut is a man of twisted purposes, and he who keeps his lips shut tight makes evil come about" (Proverbs 16:30, Bible in Basic English, supposedly one grade level higher than the KJV -- though easier for actual English-speakers to understand).
2. "But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead" (Romans 7:8, KJV). "But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power" (Romans 7:8, New Living Translation, two to three grade levels easier than the KJV). 
3. "Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her" (Judges 16:1, KJV, fourth grade). "One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her" (Judges 16:1, NIV, also grade four, although it follows normal a/an/the grammar rules and lacks the Yoda sentence patterns that are so common in the KJV).
   
4. Jude (King James, grade 12). Jude (NIV, grade 11).
   

There may be shorter sentences in the KJV, but that doesn't necessarily make it easier to read. Longer sentences might actually serve to make the translation of the grammar more clear. There may be fewer unique words overall in the KJV, but that doesn't help if a relatively high percentage of them are archaic. Readability is not merely a matter of "words and syllables." 

Is the King James version historically significant? Of course. Does it contain examples of beautiful and poetic language? Of course. Is it really more readable, more understandable, for children or for anyone? Perhaps, but ask an elementary school teacher or someone else who teaches reading. 

(The formulae for the Flesch-Kincaid readability tests, for example, are available here. Test your own text or website samples here.)

Translation Error

I've been thinking recently about the language we use -- just to discuss and describe "the Bible." To be accurate, I should really say that the book in my hands is, "an English translation of the Bible," rather than saying that it is, "the Bible." This would be a useful exercise in reminding everyone in earshot that what we read, discuss, and squabble over is not the original words of the Bible, but words 1) not even in the same language, 2) filtered through translation, and 3) filtered through the inevitable interpretation that translation requires.

Relevant to this topic, here's a brief post from Scot McKnight about the fundamental issue in discussing translated works: You need to know the original language to have an opinion about the translation.

Here's my point: the authority is the original text, not the translation. The original texts are in Hebrew and Aramaic (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). The authoritative text is not in English, regardless of how accurate the translation. No matter which translation you prefer, it is not the authoritative text for determining which translation is best. Yes, we need more [sic] to devote more time to study of the original languages.

Now, the KJVO dodge would be that the original text of the Bible no longer exists, so it and knowledge of the original languages are unnecessary.... Lucky for them, their favorite translation, miraculously based on an apparently nonexistent source, is already available for them to read.

If it really were the case that the real Bible is gone, and all we have is a bunch of translations of different quality levels and debatable accuracy, then we're in trouble.

The "Authorized" Bible

What does it mean for a Bible to be "authorized"? Based on usage by many in the KJVO camp, authorization refers to the beneficent King James' commissioning of an updated Bible. I am loathe to call it a "new translation," given the instructions they were given.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, authorization actually means

• Legally or duly sanctioned or appointed. Authorized Version of the Bible: a popular appellation of the version of 1611. (The Great Bible 1540, and Bishops' Bible (after 1572), actually bore on their titles ‘authorized and appointed,’ but that of 1611 has never claimed to be ‘authorized.’)
  

The Cambridge History of English and American Literature confirms that authorization was not given for the "Jacobean revision" (see Note 1).

The Bishops' Bible continued to be in official use for the Church of England for decades after the 1611 was published, and the Geneva Bible continued its dominance in Scotland. A strange practice if the king had actually "authorized" a replacement Bible for the church that he was supposed to be the head of.

So, the KJV may be the only proper Bible, but all of the King James "authorization" rhetoric is not a historical reason for believing so. Think of it as more of a red herring in the real Bible translation debate.

The Ancient Fathers

Here's an interesting chapter on translation issues, before any of the more recent textual discoveries (Sinaiticus, Westcott & Hort, Vaticanus, etc.) were made.

"This goes to show that in general the conclusions of recent editors do not depend upon a small number of recently-discovered manuscripts, nor upon any theory of recensions as developed by Westcott and Hort. Indeed, as Tregelles shows, these conclusions were anciently held by fathers of the church."

All the differences in the Greek

Wow! Here is a verse by verse analysis of all the KJV/other differences based on the underlying Greek texts used to translate the NT into English. Start with the Preface.

Tyndale on Understanding the Scriptures

Here's a great quote from the martyred William Tyndale, found in a brief history of the Bible in English, a history marked by the desire to have a Bible in the common language of the people:

"William Tyndale fought and died for the right to print the Bible in the common, spoken, modern English tongue of his day… as he boldly told one official who criticized his efforts, 'If God spare my life, I will see to it that the boy who drives the plowshare knows more of the scripture than you, Sir!'"

Given the reading ability of today's schoolchildren, the KJV, however....

Fundamentalist / Baptist History

Some interesting quotes from Fundamentalist and/or Baptist leaders over the years in this article, along with some basic criticisms of KJVO and some thought-provoking warnings about dividing the church.

Ruckman and Foreign Language Bibles

A compilation of quotes from that amazing Mr. Ruckman, and their obvious implication for Bible translation in other languages.

The Point of Translation

A concise reminder of what Bible translation is FOR, and a few examples of the KJV's failings in that regard.

Baptists and Bible Translation

Interesting analysis of Baptists, their historical participation in world missions, and their priority of accurate, relevant Bible translation.

Note the "immerse" / "baptize" translation issue.