Are languages born in Babel?
“So Jhvh scattered them from there over the entire face of the earth, and they gradually left off building the city. That is why it was named Ba′bel, because there Jehovah confused the language of all the earth.” (Genesis 11: 8-9. This event recorded in the Bible does it really happen? Idea ridiculous and naive attempt the absurd fable 'in the words of Voltaire or credible explanation for the origin of language? Reflection on this issue from the painting of the Babel Tower from Lucas van Valckenborch.
Babel
La Tour de Babel RF 2427 Valckenborch Richelieu 2è ét salle 13
Le singe peintre MI 1033
Sully 2ème Chardin salle 39
The Bible says that the confusion of language took place "in the land of Shinar," later called Babylonia, and it is from there that humans dispersed (Genesis 11: 2) At what time? The biblical account states that the land was divided in the days of Peleg, who was born 250 years before Abraham (Genesis 10:25; 11: 18-26). These events date back according to the internal chronology of the Bible than 4 500 years. It is difficult to trace the evolution of extinct languages.
This question can be received for answer that "unverifiable speculation because our knowledge of the history of human languages do not extend beyond about 5000 years av.n.è, although in truth thin slice of the long prehistory of language. " A113, AA236
What does
the "fossil
linguistic "
reveal
on the origin
of the languages?
Extrapolate to the past going beyond
the field of historical linguistics?
We are therefore obliged "to extrapolate to the past" in the words of Ruhlen, going beyond the field of historical linguistics. According to him, all the languages spoken on earth descended from a "mother tongue," he reconstitutes. And the question of the origins of language as a mode of communication is still far from clear. AA237, AA241, AA239
In reality all theories of language often assume that man descended from monkeys. But then enters the domain assumptions. These theories are sometimes contradictory; and there is no fully convincing explanation. AA238, AA240
As yet reveal the "language fossils" of the origin of languages? The oldest written language remains the only linguistic fossils man can hope to find back up to 4000 or 5000 years. And regarding the place from which ancient languages could spread, a specialist in oriental languages made the remark: "If we were to be guided by the mere intersection of linguistic paths, and independently of any reference to the text of Scripture we would still have to choose the plains of Shinar as the center from which the various trails radiated. A116
Or let speak the "language fossils"
Contrat écriture cunéiforme AO 2753
Écriture cunéiforme AO 29562
Époque de Shuruppak (vers 2600 avant J.-C.),
peut-être plus ancien
Époque d'Uruk III,
fin du IVe millénaire avant J.-C.
Archaeologists also uncovered several temples in the form pyramid tiered tower or ziggurat, the surrounding of Shinar. The Bible also says that the builders of the Tower of Babel used bricks, not stone, and they have used bitumen as mortar (Genesis 11: 3,4). Details confirmed by recent discoveries. Thus, the material evidence available accord with the facts stated in the Bible.
Material evidence available in accord
with the facts stated in the Bible
Linguists estimate that approximately 6,000 languages are spoken in the world and it was established nearly 300 language families. Why such diversity? According to the Bible, God "confused their language so they do not listen (or understand) the language of each other. "They stopped building the city and were scattered over the entire surface of the earth (Genesis 11:7-9). So the Bible does not say that today's languages all come from a single parent language. According to the Bible several languages, apparently well developed and distinct from each other, appeared suddenly. They allowed to express the full range of human thoughts and feelings.
What about the families of languages today? Are they fundamentally different or similar? Linguists have discovered countless differences that they did not expect. If the languages and dialects of the same family AA244 have similarities, there are fundamental differences with those of another family.
"Languages, however, differ not only in respect to grammar and roots, but also [...] by the way ideas are arranged to form sentences. Different races do not think in the same way; so the forms of the sentence is not the same in different languages. AA242
Societies of the age of the stone,
Different languages, Different ways of thinking New mental patterns
All current theories
language often go
the principle that man
descended from monkeys
But not language from the age of the stone
So it seems that when God confused the language of men in Babel, first erased from their minds all memory of their previous common language, then not only are introduced new vocabularies but also changed their thought patterns, forming new grammars . The biblical account does not say that all languages drifted Hebrew. In what is commonly called the Sons of Noah (Genesis 10) are appointed descendants of the son of Noah (Shem, Ham and Japheth), and they are systematically classified into groups "according to their families, after their tongues, in their countries, according to their nations. " (Gen 10: 5, 20, 31, 32.) It therefore appears that miraculously confusing human language God did not produce dialects of Hebrew, but a number of absolutely new language, each to express the full range of human thoughts and feelings. AA243 AA247
Complex human language
or Simple primitive grunts
There are societies
of the age of the stone,
but nothing is like
a language from the age
of the stone.
What kind of language was spoken at the origin? The Bible records that the first man Adam was formed new words to name the animals. He also composed a poem expressing his feelings for his wife. The first language so allow humans to communicate fully and to be creative (Genesis 2:20, 23). According to the Bible the original language and languages appeared in Babel were, not primitive grunts, but complex languages. Recent research confirms this idea.
Only functions poetic, narrative and argumentative seem not proven in species other than humans. The universality of complex language is a discovery that impresses the linguists. There are companies in the Stone Age, but nothing like a language of the Stone Age. AA245
Many so-called primitive languages, often very complex
Thinking and words go together
No words, no thought
It is interesting to note that the Hebrew
and Greek words translated "tongue" means the body but also the language as a means
of expression. The Hebrew word translated "lip"
is used in a similar way (Genesis 11: 1)
Thinking and words go together. To be clear thinking must be based on names and their various combinations. An impressive number of facts support the statement: no words, no thought. AA246
Many so-called primitive languages are often more complex and more scholarly than the alleged superior civilizations. For example Sumerian verb, with its many prefixes, infixes and suffixes, demonstrates a very complex language. Sumerian is the oldest known written language.
Code Hammurabi
Stèle Teima
Stèle Mesha
Stèle funéraire
The Hebrew language is also cleverly designed with terms that relate to the traditional five senses. Hebrew is very expressive and very concise; it can give a vivid description of events in a minimum of words. For example, the first verse of Psalm 23, which is well known: "Yahweh is my Shepherd. I shall not want. "We have a sentence of nine words including thirty-eight letters, while in four Hebrew words and thirteen letters enough. A117
The biblical account
of Tower of Babel A very credible explanation
on the Origin of languages
Age fossils Discovery Place Fundamental differences Complexity
Given the age of the "linguistic fossils", from where they were found, are fundamental differences between language families, and the complexity of ancient languages, the biblical story of the Tower of Babel is a very credible explanation for the origin of languages. The Bible tells us God confused the language of the builders because they had rebelled against him. However, he promised to "change the language the people a pure language (lit: a pure lip), that they may all call upon the name of JHVH. "(Zephaniah 3: 9). These truths of God's Word certainly have a unifying effect. When is a common language? The future will tell us.
