This is the 1826 edition of the Burmese-English dictionary compiled from a grammar and other manuscripts written by the American Baptist missionary Adoniram Judson (1788-1850), with additional content by fellow missionaries Felix Carey and James Coleman. Prepared by the Baptist Mission Press while Judson was imprisoned on suspicion of spying in Ava, it is the fruit of his work towards making the written word an evangelistic tool. He was convinced from the first that the translation and publication of Christian scriptures and a familiarity with indigenous languages and customs was the most effective and enduring form of evangelism, and to this end he published a Burmese New Testament in 1832. Judson finished compiling his groundbreaking and comprehensive bilingual dictionary in 1849, shortly before his death. This earlier work, with headwords in Burmese script followed by English definitions, remains relevant in historical linguistics.
Adoniram Judson, Jr. was a Baptist missionary from the United States who labored for almost forty years in Burma. At the age of 25, Adoniram Judson was the first Protestant missionary sent from North America to preach in Burma. His mission and work led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America, inspired many Americans to become or support missionaries, translated the Bible into Burmese, and established a number of Baptist churches in Burma.
He is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the "first missionary to Burma", but he was actually preceded by James Chater and Richard Mardon who arrived in 1807. They were followed by Felix Carey. However, since those who came earlier did not remain very long, Judson is remembered as the first significant missionary there, as well as one of the group of the very first missionaries from America to travel overseas.
... Show more