One question that often comes up when I talk with people about Wycliffe Bible Translators is, “How do you say the word Wycliffe?” A good number of people I talk with say WAHY-klif, while others say WIK-lif. My typical response is, “I speak both dialects!”
The English dictionaries have weighed in on the question. The Random House dictionary, the American Heritage dictionary, and the Webster’s dictionary all favor the latter pronunciation, i.e. WIK-lif.
You can hear a pronunciation of the name at the following URLs:
- http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/wycliffe
- http://www.yourdictionary.com/wycliffe
- http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wycliffe
Oh, yes, John Wycliffe (c. 1328-1384) was an English religious reformer and theologian who is often credited with being the first to translate the Bible into English.
The Olson Family 