The "Encyclopaedia Britannica" says there are anywhere from 2,500 to
5,000 languages in the world.
The truth is, nobody really knows how many languages and dialects there
are in the world. All are agreed, however, there are at least a few thousand
languages spoken by the earth's
inhabitants.
Scores of languages (dialects) are spoken in CHINA. INDIA has "845
distinct languages and dialects." The USSR, 112 different languages. And in
West Africa approximately 60 million
natives speak over 400 languages. Perhaps that explains why Ghana has made
English its official tongue.
Each of these nations whose peoples speak different languages or
dialects are seriously handicapped -- even greatly weakened -- by their
multi-language culture.
One of the chief reasons for Britain's and America's strength is found
in their one language. They have been united in a common tongue -- the
English language!
Each year, countless billions of dollars are spent in studying foreign
languages, in translating millions of books, articles, periodicals and other
reading material, and in
overcoming innumerable misunderstandings -- all brought about through
language barriers!
Inventors have tried to construct TRANSLATING MACHINES to overcome the
language-barrier difficulties -- but all to no avail! The idea is to make a
machine which will automatically translate material (fed into it in the form
of the spoken or written word) from one language to another!
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PHOTO CAPTION: Part of a Syro-Chinese text of a Nestorian Inscription. The
Chinese language is a problem even for the Chinese.
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PHOTO CAPTION: A song in Kalmuck, one of the 112 languages in the USSR. The
Mongol Kalmucks live in the grasslands around the Volga River.
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One such machine is reported to have translated the English proverb,
"Out of sight, out of mind" from English into the German equivalent of
"Invisible idiot!"
Needed
-- a World Language!
Anyone who has traveled extensively in the world has experienced the
utter frustration caused by being unable to communicate with other
nationalities because of a language
barrier! Just last summer, while traveling through ten countries on the
Continent of Europe, I experienced the language barrier. The language
barrier can be embarrassing at times. It can also be very exasperating!
My wife and I and two of our friends stopped to eat breakfast in a
small cafe in Northern Italy. It so happened that none of us spoke Italian,
and the Italians at this cafe spoke not
a word of English.
Did you ever try ordering breakfast from a foreigner who didn't
understand a word you said? Well, just try it some time and see how
difficult it is!
We tried to convey to these Italians that we wanted toast, eggs,
butter, honey, milk and coffee.
Believe me, it was a most difficult task to get those Italians to
understand just good, plain English! We resorted to the international
language of gestures, and I think we even drew
pictures to try to get across our meaning. Repeatedly, the Italian waiter
would disappear into the kitchen and bring out another item of food -- only
to have us shake our heads, thereby
showing him that it wasn't what we had "asked" for.
If I recall correctly, it was not too difficult to get across to him
that we wanted eggs, milk and some of the other items. But the sticky one
was the honey! It was only with a great
deal of perseverance, and a certain amount of ingenuity, that we were at
last able to convey to this Italian what we really wanted -- honey! I think
we finally drew a picture of a bee and a piece of honeycomb. He finally got
the point, but had to inform us that he didn't have any honey. We left him a
generous tip in appreciation for his patient efforts in helping us overcome
our language difficulty.
Yes, it can be difficult -- time consuming and very exasperating --
trying to communicate with another when neither of you understands the
other's language.
Why So
Many Tongues?
WHY is the world so hopelessly divided into thousands of languages?
WHEN did the world become this way? And what prevents the world from
devising a world language which could be adopted by all nations? Or, has
this already been tried -- unsuccessfully?
Before we answer these questions, we must go back over 4,000 years in
history. The time -- soon after the Flood. The races and families of men
began to multiply. One man became especially ambitious! This despot Nimrod
began to rise above his fellow men and organize them into city states (Gen.
10:8-11).
How many languages were there at that time? "AND THE WHOLE EARTH WAS OF
ONE LANGUAGE, AND ONE SPEECH" (Gen. 11:1) is the answer.
At that point in the history of mankind, the various branches of the
human family rebelled against the government of God. They wanted one world
of their own. "And they said to one
another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had
brick for stone, and slime [bitumen] had they for morter.
"And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top
may reach unto heaven; and LET US MAKE US A NAME [let us become famous],
lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth" (verses 3, 4).
But -- their Creator, the Almighty God of heaven, saw what man was
about to do. He acted. He confounded or divided their speech.
Why
God Confused Man's Speech
But why? The answer is revealed in verses 6-9: "And the Lord said,
Behold, THE PEOPLE IS ONE [that is, they are UNITED], and they have all ONE
language; and this they BEGIN to do: and NOW NOTHING WILL BE RESTRAINED FROM
THEM, WHICH THEY HAVE IMAGINED TO DO.
"Go to," said God, "let us go down, and there confound their language,
that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered
them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to
build the city."
"Therefore is the name of it called BABEL; because THE LORD DID THERE
CONFOUND THE LANGUAGE OF ALL THE EARTH: and from thence did the Lord SCATTER
them abroad upon the face of all the earth."
Many have read over this account. Few, however, have really understood
its terrible import!
Why did God object to the people having one language? And why did He
not want them to be "one" -- that is, united?
The Eternal God well understood the almost unlimited capacity of the
human mind which He himself had created! God in heaven knew that, if these
rebellious human beings remained
united, speaking ONE LANGUAGE, they would pool their mental and physical
resources -- FOR DESTRUCTIVE PURPOSES!
It was not that God objects to man's having one language. He knew,
however, that MAN WOULD, by his accumulated knowledge, utterly destroy the
whole world and all life -- if He did not intervene -- and quickly!
So, mercifully, Almighty God in heaven divinely intervened in the
affairs of mankind on this earth! It became necessary for God to step in and
CONFOUND or CONFUSE man's language so that the different families (which
were later to become tribes and nations) would become hopelessly CONFUSED
and DIVIDED among themselves. They would not, then, be able to combine their
scientific and technological knowledge. Had the Creator not intervened and
confounded man's language at the Tower of Babel, men would have raced along
in the acquisition of scientific knowledge. Mankind would undoubtedly have
advanced in scientific
and technological knowledge to such a degree that the nations would have
discovered how to use the atom even before the time of Christ.
God Almighty, however, ordained that He would let man follow his own
codes of ethics, devise his own human politics and governments, establish
his own forms of religion, and in general, go his own way FOR 6,000 years.
After which, God would send Jesus Christ to this earth to rescue mankind
from the brink of world suicide, and show many how to live a life of
happiness, of accomplishment, of peace and prosperity.
That divine act put an end to mankind's "ONE" language. Man's unified
efforts to build the Tower of Babel was the signal for Almighty God to
intervene and separate races and families by giving each race and family the
language which the Creator wanted that particular people to speak. THE RACES
AND NATIONS HAVE REMAINED DIVIDED LINGUISTICALLY EVER SINCE!
Now let us see HOW mankind began, in the latter part of the 19th
Century, to try to undo God's work of confounding the language at Babel.
ESPERANTO and Other World Languages
Johann Martin Schleyer, a German Roman Catholic clergyman and
linguistic scholar, invented a universal language, called "Volapük". He
published "Volapük" in 1880. This world language was based "partly on
English," but alas, it had many inconsistencies and weaknesses and so its
adherents gave it up as a bad language. It was rejected!
In 1887, a Russian Jew, Lazarus Ludwig Zamenhof ("Dr. Esperanto")
published his now-famous work, "Esperanto". This artificially created
language was a mixture of Continental
European languages -- included strong elements of Latin, Italian, French,
German, English, Slavic; it has been referred to as "bad Italian."
Many will be surprised to learn that "Esperanto" is spoken or read by
about one and one-half million people!
"By 1950, the Esperantists could point to 5,000 published books and a
number of journals. Short-wave news broadcasts in "Esperanto" averaged 150 a
month. Theirs was the only constructed language which had a worldwide body
of living speakers (about 1,500,000), was being taught in more than 600
schools by 7,000 teachers and was being used widely in international
gatherings" ("Ency. Britannica", 1960 ed., art. "Universal Language").
The Third Assembly of the League of Nations, in 1922, even went so far
as to endorse "Esperanto".
During World Wars I and II, "Esperanto" was used for political
propaganda and underground activities. It was employed by the Red Cross and
in the prisoner-of-war camps.
Many radio stations in Europe and America have broadcast in
"Esperanto".
But "Esperanto", too, was weighed in the balance and found wanting. It
has not proven to be the language which the world was looking for. Others
too have been devised and failed --
"Interlingua", "Gloria", "Ido", "Langue Bleue", "Novial", "Udiom Neutral".
Some have advocated taking a "living" language such as English, French,
Spanish, German or Russian and making that into an international language.
This would never work! Nationalistic jealousies and rivalries would
doom such an attempt to utter failure.
But, believe it or not, a world language -- a universal tongue -- is
coming, and soon!
God
Uses Different Languages
It is common knowledge that the Old Testament Scriptures were inspired
in the HEBREW language, with a few fragmentary portions being written in
ARAMAIC.
Though the Hebrew language is expressive in many respects, yet it has
its limitations. It was not the tongue which Almighty God wanted to use as
the tool through which He would reveal to mankind the mystery of the Kingdom
of God, the Gospel or Good News of His soon-coming Kingdom!
GREEK became the New Testament language God chose through which He
revealed the Good News of His Kingdom to the world.
God had allowed Alexander the Great to spread the Greek LANGUAGE and
culture over much of the known world in the centuries immediately preceding
the birth of Jesus Christ. The Greek language had taken deep root by the
time Christ and the apostles began their ministry. The New Testament was not
only written in Greek, but much of the preaching of the apostles was done in
that language.
But, even the Greek language had its shortcomings.
Then
God Chose English!
Strange as it may seem, Almighty God raised up the ENGLISH language as
His chief instrument through which He would publish and proclaim the Good
News of His soon-coming Kingdom to most of the world -- at the close of this
age!
But why English?
English is today the world's number one language.
"English is currently the world's most irresistible language circling
the planet at a phenomenal rate.
"SPOKEN AS FIRST LANGUAGE BY 250 MILLION PEOPLE and as a SECOND
LANGUAGE BY HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS MORE, widely dispersed English is becoming
the UNIVERSAL TONGUE OF TRADE, DIPLOMACY, SCIENCE and SCHOLARSHIP. Pilots of
all nations use it for airways communication .... In emerging Asia and
Africa, polyglot people take up English as the only way to comprehend their
neighbours. The Chinese Communists speak English in propaganda broadcasts to
East Africa. The Russians use it in broadcasts to the Far East.
Over 60% of all the world's radio programmes are broadcast in English,
and over 70% of the world's mail is written and addressed in the English
language.
One can travel into any part of the world and nearly always find
someone who can speak English. English is being taught in many schools,
colleges and universities throughout virtually every nation on earth.
India's Lesson
India received her independence from Britain in 1947. In 1950, Nehru's
Central Government proclaimed that HINDI would be the official language of
India from that time forward. This transition from English to Hindi was to
have been completed by 1965. But innumerable snags were encountered by the
Indian Government in its drive to make Hindi the official language of India.
English has been the common language of the educated Indians for over a
century. About 13 million upper-class Indians (3%) speak English fluently.
If English were to be completely
abolished in India, chaos would certainly follow!
"Finally the so-called 'Save Hindi' Campaign was called off. The
announcement, significantly, was published in English. In Parliament, Prime
Minister Nehru declared that for an indefinite period English would continue
as an 'associate official language.' While Hindus listened in silence and
non-Hindi-speaking legislators cheered, Nehru termed ENGLISH 'THE
MAJOR WINDOW FOR US TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD.
"'We dare not close that window,' he said. 'And if we do, it will spell
peril to our future.'" ("Life", Feb. 12, 1962.)
The FRENCH language used to be the international language of diplomacy,
but English has now generally replaced it. English is the number one
language used in the United Nations. About 53 member states receive regular
transcripts of speeches and proceedings in English as compared with
twenty-seven which request drafts in the French language.
Only 65 million people now speak French as a first language; "less than
one-fourth of the U.N.'s 111 member nations still use it in debates"
("Time", Nov. 29, 1963).
It is interesting to note that multi-dialect Chinese is spoken by more
people (about 600 million) as a PRIMARY language than any other tongue. But
the myriads of Chinese dialects make it impossible for many of the Chinese
to clearly understand one another's speech.
In all, ABOUT 850,000,000 to 900,000,000 (nearly a BILLION) PEOPLE
EITHER READ, SPEAK OR UNDERSTAND ENGLISH! Those who speak English cover
about one-quarter of the globe.
Not only is English written, broadcast, spoken and understood on every
continent, but it has come to be the "lingua franca", the international
language of diplomacy, scholarship,
science, commerce and sport. Despite the political ferment in Arab lands of
the Middle East, English continues to be the number one language. In spite
of Egyptian animosity toward America and Britain, Cairo's "Egyptian Gazette"
recently declared: "English is not the property of capitalist Americans, but
of all the world."
The
Gospel in English
Now one can clearly see WHY God has chosen the English language as the
number one language through which He would reach the inhabitants of the
earth with His Good News in this end-time age!
Through The WORLD TOMORROW broadcast and The PLAIN TRUTH magazine,
NEARLY 30 MILLION PEOPLE (nearly 1 out of 10 of all the English-speaking
peoples) ARE NOW BEING REACHED EACH WEEK WITH THE TRUE GOSPEL OF JESUS
CHRIST! (This very Work of God is also proclaiming the Good News of God's
Kingdom in German, French and Spanish!)
English is a fairly easy language to learn. Its grammar is simple; it
is a very versatile tongue.
It is the most expressive language in the world. The Romance languages
-- Latin, French, Spanish and Italian -- are very good for expressing human
emotions and feelings. The German language is good for science -- and giving
commands! But the English language is an all-purpose language.
One of the reasons for this is the simple fact that the English
language contains words from many languages. It is derived from Hebrew,
Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, German, French,
Italian, as well as miscellaneous elements of Russian, Spanish, Portuguese,
Arabic and American Indian and other tongues. This gives English a somewhat
international flavour and appeal. It has been called "a concentration of
many languages."
Though English is easy to learn, is versatile and expressive -- yet it,
too, has its weaknesses, inconsistencies and limitations! IT IS ONE OF THE
WORLD'S MOST DIFFICULT LANGUAGES TO SPELL CORRECTLY.
A
World Language Coming -- Soon!
A world language is coming soon! The whole earth will soon be united in
one common tongue -- in peace and harmony.
Many Bible prophecies show that God will send His Son, Jesus Christ,
back to this earth before the close of this 20th Century -- this time to
prevent mankind from annihilating himself (see Mat. 24:21-22; Dan. 12:1 and
Jer. 30:7).
Micah 4 and Isaiah 11 vividly picture the time when the Kingdom of God
will be established on this earth. This will be an era of unparalleled
peace, happiness and prosperity! Jesus Christ will rule the earth for 1,000
years -- one full Millennium of worldwide, Utopian blessings on this earth.
One of the great blessings which Almighty God will again grant to all
nations during this l,000-year rule of Christ will be a universal, worldwide
language! This is clearly revealed in
the third chapter of Zephaniah.
Notice this prophecy. God will "gather the nations" and "assemble the
kingdoms," to pour out upon them His "fierce anger" -- because of their sins
(Zeph. 3:8)! This prophecy is
unmistakably clear. It refers to the same time as is portrayed in Zechariah
14 and Revelation 19 -- the time when all nations will gather to fight
against Jesus Christ -- at His second coming! They do not want any divine
authority over them. What does the victorious Christ do? Here is the answer,
in Zephaniah 3.
The time setting for Zephaniah 3:9 is millennial! God solemnly
promises, "FOR THEN WILL I TURN TO THE PEOPLE A PURE LANGUAGE, THAT THEY MAY
ALL CALL UPON THE NAME OF THE LORD, TO SERVE HIM WITH ONE CONSENT." Yes, God
Almighty is going to give all nations "a pure language" so that they may
"all" call upon
His name and serve Him in unity of purpose.
At that time, the earth shall no longer be in a state of confusion. The
world will not continue to be divided by thousands of languages. It will not
be hampered by a Babylon of tongues. God will establish a pure, simple to
learn, and effective language over the whole earth.
What language will God establish during the l,000-year rule of the
Kingdom of God upon the earth? The Scriptures do not directly reveal which
tongue will become the universal, "pure
language"! We'll have to wait and see! But it may well be based on English.
For after all, God used Hebrew and Greek when each was an international
tongue. Today it is English. But that will not mean that a knowledge of
Greek and Hebrew will disappear!
But this we do know -- it will be a "pure" language -- not one filled
with names of pagan gods and goddesses, and foolish superstitions -- nor
vulgar expressions. The names of the days of the week, the months of the
year, and of the pagan holidays, which masquerade as "Christian," will
disappear. No more goddess of LUCK -- no more THOR'S day (Thursday) -- no
more GEMINI space shots, etc. etc.
Through the instrumentality of a pure language -- a universal, world
language -- God will at last unite all nations under His Utopian rule! But
not until the nations first repent of
their sins!
Thank God, the veritable babble of thousands of languages is destined
to vanish from the earth -- in the very near future!
