Glossolalia or speaking in tongues is the vocalizing of fluent speech-like syllables, often as part of religious practice. Some consider these utterances to be meaningless, others consider them to be a holy language. Its use (including use in this article) also embraces Xenoglossy - speaking in a natural language that was previously unknown to the speaker.

Etymology

'Glossolalia' is constructed from the Greek γλωσσολαλιά and that from γλῶσσα - glossa "tongue, language" and λαλεῖν (lalein) "to talk". 'Speaking in tongues' is the result of translating into English the two components of the same Greek word. Speaking in tongues is often considered a "holy miracle."

The Greek expression (in various forms) appears in the New Testament in the books of Acts and 1 Corinthians. '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 William Farrar first used the word glossolalia in 1879.

Material explanation

The material explanation of the ability to produce glossolalic speech has long been disputed. Pentecostals believe that it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Glossolalia is a material phenomenon which has physical and psychological patterns and can be studied; unfortunately, research in this area is questionable and reproducible experimentation almost nonexistent. A modern Pentecostal publication called Pneuma The Journal of the Society of Pentecostal Studies does attempt, among other things, an intellectual and academic perspective on the tongues phenomena in the Christian, Pentecostal context. .

Christian views of the practice

There are three broad opinions on the Christian practice of speaking in tongues.

• Glossolalists believe that the Pentecostal/Charismatic glossolalia practiced today is the 'speaking in tongues' described in the New Testament. They believe that it is a miraculous gift of the Spirit. While some Charismatics claim that these tongues are a real, unlearned language (i.e., xenoglossia), others - Pentecostals in particular, explain the activity as a 'language of the spirit', or a 'heavenly language', perhaps the language of angels. These views are both drawn from the writings of St. Paul. Some believe that individuals speak different languages at different times, some may be human languages and others are often believed to be angelic or "heavenly languages.".
• Cessationists believe that the speaking in tongues practised today is simply the utterance of meaningless syllables, and that it is neither xenoglossia nor miraculous, but rather learned behavior, possibly self-induced. However, they believe that what the New Testament describes is xenoglossia, a miraculous gift of the Spirit through which the speaker could communicate in languages not previously studied.
• Skeptics agree with cessationists that the speaking in tongues practised today is learned and meaningless. In contrast, however, they reject New Testament descriptions of xenoglossia (speaking real, unlearned human languages) and miraculous glossolalia (speaking unlearned languages of the spirit as inspired by the Spirit of God) entirely as either fallacious or misinterpreted.