What Was the Vocabulary of Joseph Smith?

Title

What Was the Vocabulary of Joseph Smith?

Magazine

Improvement Era

Publication Type

Magazine Article

Year of Publication

1951

Authors

Widtsoe, John A. (Primary)

Number of Pages

399, 476

Date Published

June 1951

Volume

54

Issue Number

6

Abstract

This article argues that any translation will reflect the vocabulary of the translator, and such was the case with Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. An average “fairly well-educated” person possesses an 8,000 word vocabulary. Joseph Smith as a youth would have had a substantially smaller vocabulary. Interestingly, the Book of Mormon has a total vocabulary (including person and place names) of 3,307 words.

Table of Contents

Subject Keywords

Authorship
Authenticity
Book of Mormon Authorship
Book of Mormon Translation
Book of Mormon Names

Bibliographic Citation

Terms of use

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