Learning language through the Good Book?
Posted by I saw mention in a language learning blog post about using a bilingual bible to help study English. To be honest, as a non-believer, this had never crossed my mind, but it makes a lot of sense. If you read content that is both important to you and familiar to you in your own language, mastering the translation should work pretty well. Provided the translation is done well, of course. I guess the main problem I can think of is that some of the vocabulary and phrasing might not exactly be what you will use in real life, but at the same time, meaningful content will stick better in your mind, and any language practice is a good thing!
On the flip side, if you are interested in other faiths, using a translation in your own language might be a good introduction to reading, say, the Koran (or Qur’an) in its original Arabic, or traditional texts in their original languages.
Have you tried reading the bible or other traditional material in a different language?