What pointless pursuits were you referring to?
The one of many pointless pursuits that consume the minds of some and propels them to cause division among the body of Christ. Bible translation is but one of those.
Everyone has their personal preferences in a Bible translation . I , for instance , am not totally dismissive of the ESV as a translation . I consult it perhaps more than those who claim it is their primary translation . It is a matter of "likes" for a certain translation to be chosen as a primary one . Of course the criteria for the choice varies widely among Bible readers.
I guess I am at a bit of a loss with the italicised portion of your statement. You are not totally dismissive of the ESV, but you consult it more than those who use it as a primary? Unless you are being insulting, you may want to clarify.
That said, I am all about personal preferences. I don't care what translation people use. I am only intense against those translations that distort the original language or obviously mistranslate the intention or meaning of a given text.
Yes , the ESV lacks "Americanisms" . I do not think the NIV is that American as such in their translation . However , there is a British version of the NIV . I do not think it is very different than the NIV.
The NIV is actually very american in its style, hence its popularity in the States. I appreciate your service in S. Korea but I can say from experience that when teaching an ESL course the ESV as a text is preferred over others. I will agree with your position that the NIrV, NLT, and CEV would actually be more beneficial.
I personally believe that Bibles are tools and if the tool isn't working, find one that does.