Glossolalia

Glossolalia or speaking in tongues, according to linguists, is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables that lack any readily comprehended meaning, in some cases as part of religious practice in which it is believed to be a divine language unknown to the speaker. The term derives from glōssais lalō, a Greek phrase used in the New Testament meaning “speak in, with, or by tongues [i.e., other languages]” (1 Corinthians 14:18). The related term “xenolalia” or “xenoglossy” is used to describe the phenomenon when the language being spoken is a natural language previously unknown to the speaker. Glossolalia is practiced in Pentecostal and Charismatic Christianity as well as in other religions.

“Glossolalia” is constructed from the Greek word γλωσσολαλία, itself a compound of the words γλῶσσα (glossa), meaning “tongue” or “language” and λαλέω (laleō), “to speak, talk, chat, prattle, or to make a sound”. The Greek expression (in various forms) appears in the New Testament in the books of Acts and First Corinthians.

The exact phrase “speaking in tongues” has been used at least since the translation of the New Testament into Middle English in the Wycliffe Bible in the 14th century. Frederic Farrar first used the word “glossolalia” in 1879.

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Author: Wikipedia

Keywords: Tongues, Foreign tongues, New tongues, Foreign languages, Pentecost, Filled with the Spirit, Speaking in tongues, Glossolalia, tongue speaking, unknown tongue, cessationism, language of angels, tongues of angels, Pentecostal, Pentecostalism, Charismatic, Charismatic movement

Bible reference(s): Isaiah 28:11, Mark 16:17, Acts 2:3, Acts 2:4, Acts 2:11, Acts 10:46, Acts 19:6, Romans 8:26, 1 Corinthians 12:9-10, 1 Corinthians 12:28, 1 Corinthians 12:30, 1 Corinthians 13:1, 1 Corinthians 13:8, 1 Corinthians 14:2, 1 Corinthians 14:4, 1 Corinthians 14:5, 1 Corinthians 14:6, 1 Corinthians 14:9, 1 Corinthians 14:13, 1 Corinthians 14:14, 1 Corinthians 14:18, 1 Corinthians 14:19, 1 Corinthians 14:21, 1 Corinthians 14:22, 1 Corinthians 14:23, 1 Corinthians 14:26, 1 Corinthians 14:27, 1 Corinthians 14:39

Source: This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Glossolalia,” which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

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