XVII-XVIII (Dec 2023)
Linguistic Colonization through Print and Translation: John Eliot’s Algonquin Bible and Writings on the Algonquin Language
Abstract
Puritan missionary John Eliot, translator of the Bible into Algonquin and author of several texts related to the Algonquin language, also wrote texts that reveal a very politically minded seventeenth-century colonialist. In recent years, critics have characterized Eliot’s translations and writings on the Algonquin language as colonial and linguistic imperialism but have not adequately addressed the extent to which Eliot’s translation projects and his conscious use of the print trade inform this cultural and linguistic imperialism. Close examination of the printings and paratexts of Eliot’s “Indian Library” reveals colonial agendas, and placing Eliot’s translation projects in the context of early modern translation theories underscores Eliot’s single-minded purpose for learning Algonquin: to indoctrinate the Native Americans into Christianity. Once known as the “Apostle to the Indians,” Eliot thus becomes a colonizer subjugating the colonized with religion. Although Eliot’s missionary work likely stemmed from a sincere Christian concern for the state of Native Americans’ souls, the presentation of his texts reveals an unconscious agenda of biopolitical theology that unintentionally undermines Eliot’s genuine project as a man of God.
