Adamic language: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Language spoken by Adam in the Garden of Eden}}

{{redirect|Adamic}}

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

[[File:Adam naming the animals. Etching. Wellcome V0034186.jpg|thumb|Adam naming the animals as described in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]]. In some interpretations, he uses the “Adamic language” to do so.]]

The '''Adamic language,''', according to [[Jews|Jewish]] tradition (as recorded in the ''[[midrash]]im'') and some [[Christians]], is the language spoken by [[Adam]] (and possibly [[Eve]]) in the [[Garden of Eden]]. It is variously interpreted as either the language used by [[God]] to address Adam (the [[divine language]]), or the language invented by Adam with which he named all things (including Eve), as in the [[Genesis creation narrative|second Genesis creation narrative]] ({{biblerefbibleverse|Genesis|2:19|KJV}}).

In the [[Middle Ages]], various Jewish commentators held that Adam spoke [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], a view also addressed in various ways by the late medieval Italian poet [[Dante Alighieri]]. In the [[early modern period]], some authors continued to discuss the possibility of an Adamic language, some continuing to hold to the idea that it was Hebrew, while others such as [[John Locke]] were more skeptical. According to [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian]] and [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Eritrean]] traditions, the ancient [[Semitic languages|Semitic language]] of [[Geʽez]] is the language of Adam, the first and original language.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is 'Ge'ez' the original language of humanity? {{!}} Ethiopia The Kingdom of God |url=https://ethiopiathekingdomofgod.org/content/%E2%80%98geez%E2%80%99-original-language-humanity |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=ethiopiathekingdomofgod.org}}</ref> More recently, a variety of [[Mormon]] authors have expressed various opinions about the nature of the Adamic language.

==Patristic Periodperiod==

According to Ethiopian and Eritrean traditions, the ancient Semitic language of Ge'ez is the language of Adam.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Is 'Ge'ez' the original language of humanity? {{!}} Ethiopia The Kingdom of God |url=https://ethiopiathekingdomofgod.org/content/%E2%80%98geez%E2%80%99-original-language-humanity |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=ethiopiathekingdomofgod.org}}</ref> Southern Semitic languages spoken in Ethiopia and Eritrea are older than Northern Semitic languages, such as Hebrew.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Adugna |first=Gabe |title=Research: Language Learning – Amharic: Home |url=https://library.bu.edu/amharic/Home |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=library.bu.edu |language=en}}</ref> Semitic languages were spoken in Eritrea from approximately 2000 BC.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Munro-Hay |first=Stuart |date=1991 |title=Aksum: An African Civilisation of Late Antiquity |url=https://www.livingston.org/cms/lib4/NJ01000562/Centricity/Domain/602/aksum.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=January 3, 2023 |website=www.livingston.org}}</ref>

[[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] addresses the issue in ''[[The City of God]]''.<ref>Book XVI, chs. 10 – 12.</ref> While not explicit, the implication of there being but one human language prior to the [[Tower of Babel]]'s collapse is that the language, which was preserved by [[Eber|Heber]] and his son [[Peleg]], and which is recognized as the language passed down to [[Abraham]] and his descendants, is the language that would have been used by Adam.

==Patristic Period==

[[Augustine]] addresses the issue in [[The City of God]].<ref>Book XVI, chs. 10 – 12.</ref> While not explicit, the implication of there being but one human language prior to the Tower's collapse is that the language, which was preserved by Heber and his son Peleg, and which is recognized as the language passed down to Abraham and his descendants, is the language that would have been used by Adam.

== Middle Ages ==

{{further|Confusion of tongues|Lingua ignota}}

Traditional Jewish exegesis such as [[Midrash]]<ref>[[Genesis Rabbah]] 38</ref> says that Adam spoke the [[Hebrew language]] because the names he gives Eve – ''Isha''<ref>[[Book of Genesis]] 2:23</ref> and ''Chava''<ref>Genesis 3:20</ref> – only make sense in Hebrew. By contrast, [[KabbalismKabbalah]] assumed an "[[eternal Torah]]" which was not identical to the [[Torah]] written in Hebrew. Thus, [[Abraham Abulafia]] in the 13th century assumed that the language spoken in [[Paradise]] had been different from Hebrew, and rejected the claim then-current also among Christian authors, that [[language developmentdeprivation experiments|a child left unexposed to linguistic stimulus]] would automatically begin to speak in Hebrew.<ref>Umberto Eco, ''The Search for the Perfect Language'' (1993), p. 32 f.</ref> Both Muslim and Christian Arabs, such as [[Sulayman al-Ghazzi]], considered [[Syriac language|Syriac]] the language spoken by Adam and Eve.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Noble |first1=Samuel |last2=Treiger |first2=Alexander |title=The Orthodox Church in the Arab World, 700–1700: An Anthology of Sources |date=15 March 2014 |publisher=Cornell University Press |isbn=978-1-5017-5130-1 |page=164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q6rMDwAAQBAJ |access-date=17 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>

[[Umberto Eco]] (1993) notes that [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] is ambiguous on whether the language of Adam was preserved by Adam's descendants until the [[confusion of tongues]],<ref>Genesis 11:1–9</ref> or if it began to evolve naturally even before Babel.<ref>Genesis 10:5</ref><ref>Umberto Eco, ''The Search for the Perfect Language'' (1993), 7–10.</ref>

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[[Dante Alighieri]] addresses the topic in his ''[[De vulgari eloquentia]]'' (1302–1305). He argues that the Adamic language is of divine origin and therefore unchangeable.<ref>Mazzocco, p. 159</ref> He also notes that according to Genesis, the first speech act is due to Eve, addressing [[Serpents in the Bible|the serpent]], and not to Adam.<ref>''mulierem invenitur ante omnes fuisse locutam''. Umberto Eco, ''The Search for the Perfect Language'' (1993), p. 50.</ref>

In his ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' (c. 1308–1320), however, Dante changes his view to another that treats the Adamic language as the product of Adam.<ref>Mazzocco, p. 170</ref> This had the consequence that it could no longer be regarded as immutable, and hence Hebrew could not be regarded as identical with the language of Paradise. Dante concludes (''Paradiso'' XXVI) that Hebrew is a derivative of the language of Adam. In particular, the chief Hebrew name for God in scholastic tradition, ''[[El (god)|El]]'', must be derived of a different Adamic name for God, which Dante gives as ''[[Close front unrounded vowel|I]]''.<ref>''Paradiso''Pria 26.133f.;ch’i’ Mazzocco,scendessi p.a 178f.l’infernale ambascia,</refbr>

''I'' s’appellava in terra il sommo bene<br>

onde vien la letizia che mi fascia<br>

<br>

Before I was sent down to Hell’s torments,<br>

on earth, the Highest Good—from which derives<br>

the joy that now enfolds me—was called ''I''.<br>

''Paradiso'' 26.133f.; Mazzocco, p. 178f.</ref>

== Early modern period ==

=== Proponents ===

{{more citations needed section|date=January 2018}}

Elizabethan scholar [[John Dee]] makes references to ana language he called "[[occultEnochian|Angelical]]", orwhich angelic languagehe recorded in his private journals and those of [[spirit mediumscryer]] [[Edward Kelley]]. Dee's journals did not describe the language as "[[Enochian]]", instead preferring "Angelical", the "Celestial Speech", the "Language of Angels", the "First Language of God-Christ", the "Holy Language", or "Adamical" because, according to Dee's Angels, it was used by Adam in Paradise to name all things. The language was later dubbed Enochian, due to Dee's assertion that the [[Patriarchs (Bible)|Biblical Patriarch]] [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Enoch]] had been the last human (before Dee and Kelley) to know the language.

Dutch physician, linguist, and humanist [[Johannes Goropius Becanus]] (1519–1572) theorized in ''Origines Antwerpianae'' (1569) that [[Antwerp]]ian [[BrabanticBrabantian Dutch|Babrantic]], spoken in the region between the [[Scheldt]] and [[Meuse]] Rivers, was the original language spoken in Paradise. Goropius believed that the most ancient language on Earth would be the simplest language, and that the simplest language would contain mostly short words. Since Brabantic has a higher number of short words than do Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, Goropius reasoned that it was the older language.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gorporius Becanus |first=Johannes |date=2014 |title=Van Adam tot Antwerpen: Een bloemlezing uit de Origines Antwerpianae en de Opera van Johannes Goropius Becanus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bgWyCAAAQBAJ&pg=265 |___location=Hilversum |publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren |pages=265–77 |isbn=9789087044312}}</ref> His work influenced that of [[Simon Stevin]] (1548–1620), who espoused similar ideas in "Uytspraeck van de weerdicheyt der Duytse tael", a chapter in ''[[De Beghinselen Der Weeghconst]]'' (1586).

=== Opponents ===

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=== Latter Day Saint movement ===

[[Joseph Smith]], founder of the [[Latter Day Saint movement]], in his [[Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible|revision of the Bible]], declared the Adamic language to have been "pure and undefiled".<ref>[[Book of Moses]] [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/moses/6.6?lang=eng 6:6].</ref> Some [[Latter Day SaintsMormons]] believe it to be the language of [[God]].<ref>{{citation |first= John S. |last= Robertson |contribution-url= http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/EoM/id/5449 |contribution= Adamic Language |pages= 18–19 |editor-last= Ludlow |editor-first= Daniel H |editor-link= Daniel H. Ludlow |year= 1992 |title= [[Encyclopedia of Mormonism]] |___location= New York |publisher= [[Macmillan Publishing]] |isbn= 0-02-879602-0 |oclc= 24502140 }}</ref> [[Glossolalia]], or speaking in tongues, was commonplace in the early years of the movement, and it was commonly believed that the incomprehensible language spoken during these incidents was the language of Adam. However, this belief seems to have never been formally or officially adopted.<ref>Copeland, Lee. "Speaking in Tongues in the Restoration Churches", ''Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought'', Vol 24, No. 1</ref>

Some other early Latter Day Saint leaders, including [[Brigham Young]],<ref>Brigham Young, [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/MStar&CISOPTR=7661&filename=7662.pdf "History of Brigham Young"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612023524/http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=%2FMStar&CISOPTR=7661&filename=7662.pdf |date=12 June 2011 }}, ''[[Millennial Star]]'', vol. 25, no. 28, p. 439 (1863-07-11), cited in ''[[History of the Church (Joseph Smith)|History of the Church]]'' '''1''':297, footnote (Young prays in the Adamic tongue).</ref> [[Orson Pratt]],<ref name="Pratt">''[[Journal of Discourses]]'' [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/JournalOfDiscourses3&CISOPTR=1953&filename=100504_170857_cp342_Va_M230_J82_v02.pdf '''2''':342] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025133000/http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=%2FJournalOfDiscourses3&CISOPTR=1953&filename=100504_170857_cp342_Va_M230_J82_v02.pdf |date=25 October 2007 }} (God = "Ahman"; Son of God = "Son Ahman"; Men = "Sons Ahman"; Angel = "Anglo-man").</ref> and [[Elizabeth Ann Whitney]],<ref>''[[Woman's Exponent]]'' [http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/WomansExp&CISOPTR=6638&filename=6639.pdf '''7''':83] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025132953/http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=%2FWomansExp&CISOPTR=6638&filename=6639.pdf |date=25 October 2007 }} (1 November 1878) (Whitney sings a hymn in the Adamic tongue).</ref> claimed to have received several words in the Adamic language by [[revelation (Latter Day Saints)|revelation]]. Some Latter Day Saints believe that the Adamic language is the "pure language" spoken of by [[Zephaniah]]<ref>[[Book of Zephaniah|Zephaniah]] {{bibleverse-nb||Zephaniah|3:9}}</ref> and that it will be restored as the [[universal language]] of humankind at the end of the world.<ref>[[Oliver Cowdery]], [http://patriot.lib.byu.edu/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/NCMP1820-1846&CISOPTR=10065&filename=5298.pdf "The Prophecy of Zephaniah"]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, ''[[Evening and Morning Star]]'', vol. 2, no. 18, p. 142 (March 1834).</ref><ref>[[Bruce R. McConkie]] (1966, 2d ed.). ''[[Mormon Doctrine]]'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) p. 19.</ref><ref>[[Ezra Taft Benson]] (1988). ''Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft) p. 93.</ref>

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===Goidelic languages===

Nicholas Wolf writes that 19th-century [[Irish language]] speakers and publications claim that Irish (or some [[Goidelic language]]) is a language of Biblical primacy comparable to Hebrew, with some claiming it was the language of Adam.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wolf |first1=Nicholas M. |title=When Irish was still the greatest little language in the world |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/when-irish-was-still-the-greatest-little-language-in-the-world-1.2082623 |access-date=9 February 2019 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en |postscript=,}} citing {{cite book| last=Wolf |first=Nicholas M. |title=An Irish-Speaking Island: State, Religion, Community, and the Linguistic Landscape in Ireland, 1770–1870 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |date=November 2014 |isbn=978-0-299-30274-0 |pages=36–37}} See also an overview at {{cite web |last1=McEwan |first1=Emily |title=Gaelic design for the 21st century: A laptop decal |url=https://gaelic.co/gaelic-laptop-decal/ |access-date=9 February 2019 |website=Gaelic.co |date=27 February 2015 |language=en}}</ref>

{{see also|Goidelic languages}}

It has also been claimed that [[Scottish Gaelic]] or [[Irish language|Irish]] was the language spoken in the Garden of Eden. One book that promoted this theory was ''Adhamh agus Eubh, no Craobh Sheanachais nan Gàël'' (1837; "Adam and Eve; or, the Gaelic Family Tree").<ref>{{cite news |last1=McEwan |first1=Emily |title=Gaelic design for the 21st century: A laptop decal |url=https://gaelic.co/gaelic-laptop-decal/ |access-date=9 February 2019 |work=Gaelic.co |date=27 February 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wolf |first1=Nicholas |title=When Irish was still the greatest little language in the world |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/when-irish-was-still-the-greatest-little-language-in-the-world-1.2082623 |access-date=9 February 2019 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==

In the videogame ''[[Indiana Jones and the Great Circle]]'', the language Adamic is discovered by the protagonist as an early human language spoken by [[nephilim|giants]], which was adapted into [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] and [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] in ancient times. It is also represented on stone tablets, resembling [[List of writing systems#Logographic systems|logographic]] writing systems of the early Bronze Age.

==See also==

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* [[Proto-Human language]]

* [[Universal language]]

* [[Enochian]]

* [[Sacred language]]

==References==

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{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamic Language}}

[[Category:Dante Alighieri]]

[[Category:Garden of Eden]]

[[Category:Hebrew language]]

[[Category:Kabbalah]]

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[[Category:Religious language]]

[[Category:Spurious languages]]

[[Category:Religious concepts related with Adam and Eve]]