Research On Speaking In Tongues?

Kahalachan

Illuminator
Kahalachan
Joined
May 21, 2007
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I think it's called glossolalia?

Anyways, one of the things I'm interested along with studying the brain is language.

What I'd be interesting in is how people speaking in tongues is studied across cultures.

I noticed when I was younger and attended a Pentacostal church and seeing Jesus Camp and other times where people spoke in tongues, people seem to alternate between consonant and vowel in what tries to sound Aramaic.

"Hagarabashiba" or something along these lines.

What about Japanese people who are Christians that speak in tongues? I think they would avoid the "L" and "R" sound and vowels that deviate from their native language. I haven't heard anything from English speaking people of sounds that deviate from their own language.

I would like to read about or hear about studies with tongue speaking across cultures. It would beg the question of why people don't speak with sounds outside of their native language if this is a divine language.

I'm curious about the neurology and how people feel this euphoria from babbling.
 
From personal experience whilst under the influence of a Anglican then Catholic up bringing, schooling and going on Catholic charasmatic youth retreats:

IMHO it's babbling.
 
An ex-charismatic christian friend of mine described it as people getting their "God fix". She says it gives them an emotional high which they become addicted to.
 
IIRC studies that have been done in this area with recordings of people "speaking in tongues" is that it is gibberish. As far as I know there have been no documented cases of someone spontaneously speaking a language they have never been exposed to.




Boo
 
Not really glossolalia, but ... I remember a story from an old Irish woman I knew when I was young. I think I fell for it at the time, but I don't believe a word of it now. She claimed that, after she had had some operation or other, the doctors congratulated her on the French she was speaking while she was coming round. She protested that she couldn't speak a word of French, and they told her that she had carried on a conversation with a French student nurse for several minutes.

Now, I'm with Hume on this one. Which would be more likely: that she spoke a language she didn't know a word of, or that she was ********ting with her story, or the doctors were ********ting her? Hmmm ....
 
"Speaking In Tongues" is fake.

"Iamagonnahoppinonnamahondatamaakittaomaha" is my favorite line when someone says that they believe that Speaking in tongues is real. It gets them all worked up into believing that they're in the presence of their favorite sky fairy.

Then I translate: "I'm a-going to hop onto my Honda to make it to Omaha." Then they get miffed off and call me nasty names like "fool," "blasphemer," and "heretic," and then they tell me that I'm going to burn in Hell for it.

Waah, freekin waah.
:v:
 
Fnord said:
"Speaking In Tongues" is fake.

Then they get miffed off and call me nasty names like "fool," "blasphemer," and "heretic," and then they tell me that I'm going to burn in Hell for it.

:v:
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I love it when Christians curse, and use bible-speak like "thou" and "blasphemer".

I once accused a Christian friend of intolerance towards others. "Nonsense," she told me "some of my BEST FRIENDS are adulterers, sodomites and false idolaters..."!
 
You could also just repeat the Thai name for Bangkok:

"Krungthepmahanakonbowornratanakosinmahintarayudyayamahadiloponoparatanarajthaniburiromudomrajniwesmahasatarnamornpimarnavatarsatitsakattiyavisanukamphrasit"
 
Different churches have different approaches to tongues. Some claim that you can only speak in tongues if there is somebody in your presence who understands what you are saying. Others claim that dead languages are often used, or that it is a language used only in heaven. Personally, I think it's gibberish.
 
ksbluesfan said:
Different churches have different approaches to tongues. Some claim that you can only speak in tongues if there is somebody in your presence who understands what you are saying. Others claim that dead languages are often used, or that it is a language used only in heaven. Personally, I think it's gibberish.
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These are the ones I get a kick out of. Even within the Xian mythos, this doesn't work.

The whole speaking in tongues thing comes from the miracle described in Acts. What actually happened there (in mythos) was that the apostles spoke their own language, and each listener heard them in their own language(s).

Think about it. You're a diety. You want to a)show your power and b)spread your message in order to c) attract more followers and collect enough God Points to order that neat-looking set of X-ray specs in the back of your Rulers of the Universe comic. So, which is more effective to accomplish these goals:

A) Have a lot of people gibber like gibbons in a bunch of unknown languages that no one can understand, which you either have to give someone else the ability to translate and/or run the risk of some oppurtunistic proto-Hitler creatively translating for his own benefit

or

B) Have someone speak the words you want said and let everyone hear them, thus showing off your awesomeness, understanding, spreading your message, and getting not only a bunch of new followers (allowing you to get the Sea Monkey Super Castle Habitat) but also a couple virgins for the night (Who's your Messiah! WHO'S YOUR MESSIAH, BABY!!!)



Yes, I know, if there's ahell, I'm headed there express :D
 
According to linguistic analyses of the phenomenon, the actual syllables that
are spoken apparently all appear to be similar to the speakers' native
languages but the utterances lack any other attributes of real language.
Which would all tend to make it rather pointless and divergent from its
original purpose (as described in scriptural sources). In short - total gibberish.
 
I go to a pentecostal church, no comments on my beliefs however, and the pastor said that it wasn't so much a language per se as your own personal way of communicating with God. The first time I heard him, I realized it was a pentecostal church, and to be honest, it did sound rather foolish. Something like "shabalabamala". I thought to myself "What the #$%k is this?" But it's a nice place to go, and they teach us to basically do the right things. If it weren't for my wife, who was born a catholic, I doubt bvery much if i would be attending any church. Will I burn in h e double hockey sticks for that?
 
If you haven't seen the film 'Marjoe,' that's a good one to watch. He explains how he fakes speaking in tongues at tent revivals. It's also an awesome film.
 
My personal take on it is that it is a little like walking and chewing gum at the same time. You need to engage the linguistic brain that knows about things like phonemes and syntax and syllables and rhythm and at the same time engaging the emotive and social brain that thinks about concepts like "love" and "prophecy" but not let them talk to each other. Normally we don't think much about the linguistic aspects of ideas like "I love you dearly." We just let the thoughts drive the vocal cords. To speak in tongues you need to think and drive and vocal cords with something else.

It's very engaging, just as are many distracting tasks.
 
sinclairmcevoy said:
...it did sound rather foolish. Something like "shabalabamala". I thought to myself "What the #$%k is this?"
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That's probably what God thinks too when someone says "shabalabalama" to him.
"What the #$%k is this!?"
 
TX50 said:
That's probably what God thinks too when someone says "shabalabalama" to him.
"What the #$%k is this!?"
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Hee hee hee. That's what I thought. How the hell do you know what you're saying yourself if it's not in a language you understand?
 
TX50 said:
According to linguistic analyses of the phenomenon, the actual syllables that are spoken apparently all appear to be similar to the speakers' native languages but the utterances lack any other attributes of real language.
....
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That's rather what you'd expect: The phoneme-like sounds produced are unlikely to be any that don't occur in the babbler's native tongue. You can't expect an English-speaking person (especially one who's out of his wits, deliberately or otherwise) to come up with clicks or laryngeal fricatives or glottal stops or voiceless nasals.

Not that the faithful would notice.
 
Okay, here's my plan.

The next time subject of The Gift Of Speaking In Tongues comes up, I'm gonna start twitching and then say in my best doomsday voice, "Krungthepmahanakonbowornratanakosinmahintarayudya yamahadiloponoparatanarajthaniburiromudomrajniwesm ahasatarnamornpimarnavatarsatitsakattiyavisanukamp hrasit!"

When they ask me what that means, I'll just give them the old "If you have to ask, then you are obviously not filled with the HOW-WELL-LEE-SPEE-RUTT; and since that's the case, then you must not be a real KA-RISS-CHEE-INN, and you've been faking it all along, SPA-RED-DING your own brand of BLAS-FEE-MEE upon the INN-OH-SEE-INT-CHEE-ILL-DER-INN like so much SOO-ERR-AGE on a fertile field."

I oughta get a few miles out of that one. Whaddaya think?
 
Abble-gobble, or gibberish, is used by some psychologists. I did it once, I does something like meditaion, or self hypnosis. It does some kind of relaxation- a mental massage? Silliest thing I ever did, but it was somehow relaxing. Who ever relaxes their language center? er sumthin... Anyway, I suppose you can experience a good feeling 'speaking in tongues', and give credit to some holy ghost, rather than to a psychological phenomenon. I suppose that gibberish 'tongues' is a differnet thing than speaking a language you don't.
 
I remember my grandmother doing this once in church. I was baffled. I don't remember if I asked her about it, but I did ask my mom. She said it was bulls hit (and she's a xian). I was really young when this happened. I find the practice bizarre.
 
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