Editing SIL Global (section)

== History ==

=== Early History ===
[[William Cameron Townsend]], a Presbyterian minister, founded the organization in 1934, after undertaking a [[Christian mission]] with the [[Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)|Disciples of Christ]] among the [[Kaqchikel people|Kaqchikel Maya people]] in Guatemala in the early 1930s.<ref name="George Thomas Kurian 2016, p. 255">{{Cite book |first1=George Thomas |last1=Kurian |author-link=George Thomas Kurian |first2=Mark A. |last2=Lamport |author-link2=Mark A. Lamport |title=Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5 |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |location=US |year=2016 |page=255}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first=Michael C. |last=Howard |title=Transnationalism and Society: An Introduction |publisher=McFarland |location=US |year=2014 |page=196 |isbn=9780786486250}}</ref> In 1933, he turned to Mexico with the purpose of translating the Bible into indigenous languages there, as he had done for Kaqchikel. Townsend established a working relationship with the Mexican [[Secretariat of Public Education (Mexico)|Secretariat of Public Education]] under the government of President [[Lázaro Cárdenas]] (in office 1934–1940) and founded SIL to educate linguist-[[missionary|missionaries]] to work in Mexico. Because the Mexican government did not allow missionary work through its educational system, Townsend founded [[Wycliffe Bible Translators]] in 1942 as a separate organization from SIL. Wycliffe Bible Translators focused on Bible translation and missionary activities, whereas SIL focused on linguistic documentation and literacy education.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hartch |first=Todd |title=Missionaries of the State: The Summer Institute of Linguistics, State Formation, and Indigenous Mexico, 1935–1985 |publisher=University of Alabama Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780817315153 |location=Tuscaloosa, [[Alabama|AL]]}}</ref>

Having initiated collaboration with the Mexican education authorities, Townsend started the institute as a small summer training-session in [[Sulphur Springs, Benton County, Arkansas|Sulphur Springs, Arkansas]], in 1934 to train missionaries in basic [[Linguistics|linguistic]], [[Anthropology|anthropological]], and translation principles. Through the following decades the SIL linguists worked at providing literacy education to indigenous people of Mexico, while simultaneously working with the Wycliffe Bible Translators on Bible translation. One of the students at the first summer institute in its second year, 1935, [[Kenneth Lee Pike]] (1912–2000), would become the foremost figure in the history of SIL.<ref name="George Thomas Kurian 2016, p. 255"/>  He served as SIL's president from 1942 to 1979, then as president emeritus until his death in 2000.

=== Instituto Lingüístico de Verano ===
The Mexican branch, {{lang|es-MX|[[Instituto Lingüístico de Verano (Mexico)|Instituto Lingüístico de Verano]]}}, was established in 1948.

=== Kidnapping and murder of Chester A. Bitterman in Columbia ===
{{Main article|Chet Bitterman}}
On January 19, 1981, SIL field worker Chester "Chet" A. Bitterman was was taken hostage by the left-wing guerilla group [[M-19]] in Columbia who believed SIL was a [[Covert operation|cover operation]] for the [[Central Intelligence Agency|Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)]]. SIL denied involvement with any government intelligence agency stating that it was against their policy.<ref>{{Cite news |year=May 4, 1981 |title=THE NEW MISSIONARIES/Part 2 |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP99-00498R000200020098-4.pdf |work=Philadelphia Bulletin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bachrach |first=Judy |date=June 3, 1981 |title=Troubled Translators |url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00806R000201050010-2.pdf |work=The Washington Star}}</ref>

M-19 demanded SIL withdraw all 209 of its people from Colombia, otherwise they would kill Bitterman. After 48 days of SIL refusing to yield to the demands, Bitterman was found murdered.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chandler |first=Russell |date=1981-07-25 |title=Bible Translators: The Word for the World |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1981/07/25/bible-translators-the-word-for-the-world/8bfdfe9e-cbab-4f01-8533-b6e307fca95e/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/web/20170827161604/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1981/07/25/bible-translators-the-word-for-the-world/8bfdfe9e-cbab-4f01-8533-b6e307fca95e/?utm_term=.d5dd635e46fe |archive-date=2017-08-27 |access-date=2025-05-31 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

=== 2000 - Present Day ===
In 2016, Michel Kenmogne from Cameroon became Executive Director. In 2025, Johnstone Ndunde became Executive Director.<ref>{{cite web |title=A New Season for SIL Global |url=https://www.sil.org/about/news/new-season-sil-global |website=SIL Global |access-date=14 May 2025}}</ref>

{{As of | 2023 | alt = In 2023}} SIL said it had 1,350 language projects in 98 countries and 4,200 staff from 84 countries.<ref>SIL, [https://www.sil.org/about About SIL], sil.org, USA, retrieved February 4, 2023.</ref>