'Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.' - Genesis 11:7
It’s amazing that out of something so wicked as humanity’s pride and evil desires can come something as beautiful as the rich tapestry of over 7,000 different languages spoken worldwide.
It is a huge privilege to be able to dip our toes into the ocean of global languages by studying one or two of them. I lose count of the number of times I felt the joy of discovering a beautiful word or phrase in another tongue that has no direct equivalent in English.
Not only that, but the study of languages exists at the intersection of arts and sciences. One day you may be drilling Russian verb endings (an exercise that most definitely has right and wrong answers!) and the next discussing the metaphors used for death in German post-war literature. It is a magnificent, varied, enriching subject.
Working for the wellbeing of creation
As those made in His image, all human beings are precious and valuable to God and one hugely important task for us as Christians is to care for them when they are in need. One way the study of languages contributes to this is that it enables us to communicate with those who’ve moved to the UK from other countries in their mother tongue. This could be a casual conversation in Russian with a Lithuanian guy on the street, or translating from Spanish for a South American couple at church who don’t speak English (both things that have happened to me, though my GCSE Spanish wasn’t very successful!).
You could argue that in the modern world where almost everyone has easy access to machine translation, this skill is meaningless, but it’s undeniable that real human connection does so much more than communication via a smartphone in terms of caring for a person who may be feeling lonely or isolated.
The artistic side of languages is also something we can use for the good of our world. Spending hours with our noses in books, reading scholarship on 18th century French poetry or post-war Italian cinema is not just for our enjoyment or to impress our lecturers. Embracing and engaging with art, particularly art from other cultures, can help us grow in our understanding of humanity, and care better for others. Furthermore, Christian voices are vital in the field of academic scholarship to either uphold or challenge views about God, the world, and people that are held by the artists we study. Perhaps developing our skills in writing will also lead us to create our own art, working for the wellbeing of creation after the pattern of our creative God.
Studying languages also opens doors for travel, via the year abroad, in university holidays, or after graduation. Being able to communicate in foreign languages, or to translate for others, means we can be a great help to NGOs, churches and other organisations. For example, one of my coursemates spent some of her year abroad volunteering in a crisis centre for vulnerable women. Foreign languages also open the door to jobs in the diplomatic sector, an area where a lot of good can be done in terms of international relations and care for the oppressed. There is a huge amount of suffering and pain in our world and those who speak foreign languages are vital in the work of social justice and creation care – looking after God’s world and those made in His image.
Worshipping the God we work for
God is not a native English speaker. Our Western minds may think He is, but He isn’t. Of course, God does not speak broken English and He has complete mastery of the language, but His character and the truth of the gospel are not expressed perfectly or exclusively by the English language. He accommodates himself to us by giving us translations of His word in our native language, just as much as He accommodates to those in Spain, Korea or Azerbaijan.
What this means is as we study foreign languages, our understanding of the richness of God’s character and His work in salvation will be deepened. Studying the Bible in another language can bring new aspects of His eternal word to light, not in the least because we might be overly familiar with the English and are forced to look at a verse with fresh eyes. Therefore, learning foreign languages can be a path to knowing, loving, and worshipping our God more richly.
Admittedly the Bible is unlikely to be one of our set texts for our degree, but in understanding the complexities of other languages we also gain a greater understanding for the complexity of the human mind, and subsequently a sense of awe for the God who created us by His word.
Furthermore, studying languages can be a huge challenge to our godliness. We start learning a new language and have to return to being children, learning phrases like “The car is yellow” and “I like to play football”. We cannot study languages without gaining a vivid sense of how small and weak we are. This is all the more true when we meet a native speaker of our target language, either in the UK or abroad. We’re forced to leave our pride at the door and to engage with them humbly as a student of their language and culture, expecting to make mistakes, to be confused, and to learn from them. This attitude of humility is pleasing to God: 'God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble' (James 4:6). As we study, we can praise God for teaching us humility, and conforming our character to that of Christ Jesus.
Witnessing to the world
The obvious answer when it comes to the question of how languages may enable us to witness to the world is that speaking foreign languages is useful in cross-cultural mission. However it really is worth mentioning! The harvest is indeed plentiful and the workers are few. Even in many countries on our doorstep, in mainland Europe, it is far harder to find a faithful gospel-preaching church than it is in the UK. There is a huge need for gospel workers, whether short term as part of a year abroad, or longer-term. Granted, there is a need in the UK as well, but as those who love studying foreign languages and are (at least to an extent) able to speak them, we have a great opportunity - arguably even a responsibility - to go and serve the church in another part of the world.
In a world where English is becoming so much an international language, we may question whether knowing the mother tongue of our hearers makes any difference. Andy McCullough of The Unreached Network writes: ‘Sharing the gospel poorly in someone else's language is more powerful than sharing the gospel articulately in your own language.’[1] I have personally spent time with Christians who have come to Moldova for short-term trips with minimal knowledge of the local language, and you can sense the barrier between them and their audience when they speak. That’s not to say that it’s not worth sharing the gospel in your own language, but that it is far more worthwhile to do so in the local language, even with varied grammatical mistakes!
Lastly, the languages we study are not the only languages we can ever use, but they are also a stepping stone to learning other languages if the opportunity arises. If you are studying multiple languages you may have experienced that learning your second foreign language was easier than learning your first. When we exercise that part of our brains, we get better not just at speaking French or Spanish for example, but also at the process of learning and understanding language as a whole. For example, I now work in Moldova, mostly speaking Romanian, which is not one of my degree languages. As modern language graduates we’re well placed to learn new, slightly less common languages and serve in areas such as mission to unreached people groups, or Bible translation. We have such great opportunities!
Joining the great multitude
'After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the lamb'. - Revelation 7:9
History is moving towards a multilingual gathering of God’s people, standing before His throne and worshipping Him. As we study we engage with those who speak languages other than our own. We read the works of those who have gone before and seek to understand their worldviews. We can share fellowship with Christians in churches across the world and join them in praising God in their native language. And we can seek ways to share the good news of Jesus across cultural and linguistic boundaries.
Studying languages is a huge joy, challenge, and opportunity all at the same time. I hope it is all those things to you too, and that God is glorified through your studies.
Reflect and discuss
Think: Think back over what you have studied so far in your degree. Where have you seen God's fingerprints? Where have ideas presented to you challenged what you believed to be true?
Live: What do you think your coursemates would know about what is important to you from the way you live? Is there anything you want to change here?
Speak: Are there topics in your subject that are closer to talking about your outlook on life, God or the gospel? Pray for people on your course and for opportunities to share about Jesus with them this term.
Taking it further
- Blog: The Unexpected Beauty of Babel
- Blog: 6 Ways Language Learning Communicates the Gospel – A Life Overseas
- In the Beginning Was the Word: Language - A God-Centered Approach, Vern Poythress
- Plugged In, Daniel Strange
[1] https://x.com/andmcc/status/1839605199788192219?refsrc=twsrc%5Etfw
