CHAPMAN, D’Arcy

D’Arcy is originally from Vancouver Island, B.C., having grown up primarily in Chemainus. He was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome before his 20th birthday; although this presents some challenges, it has not stopped God using him in the work of the Bible translation movement.

A pastor noticed D’Arcy’s aptitude and passion for language analysis during his undergraduate years and suggested he join the Bible translation movement, a path which was further made clear by Bible translation workers and encouraging professors. He finished his bachelor’s degree at the University of Victoria and moved to his current home base of Langley, B.C., when he started his master’s, with both degrees being in linguistics.

D’Arcy joined Wycliffe’s staff in the spring of 2015, originally wanting to work in Russia, but the Lord redirected him to West Africa in 2019. Working primarily from Canada, he makes yearly trips to Abidjan, the biggest city of Côte d’Ivoire. In both places, he uses his linguistic skills to help translation teams make more accurate, clear, and natural-sounding translations. In Canada, he is able to do background research, linguistic analysis and linguistic documentation, which is foundational for a good translation. In Côte d’Ivoire he aids in linguistic workshops with national translation teams, building capacity by teaching them linguistic principles and helping them with more complicated linguistic issues.