Adamic language: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:33, 28 November 2023

Revision as of 14:35, 28 November 2023

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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. More recently, a variety of [[Mormon]] authors have expressed various opinions about the nature of the Adamic language.

According to [[Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Ethiopian]] and [[Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church|Eritrean]] traditions, the ancient [[Semitic languages|Semitic language]] of [[Ge'ezGeʽez]] 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>

==Patristic Period==

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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>Pria ch’i’ch'i' scendessi a l’infernalel'infernale ambascia,<br>

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

onde vien la letizia che mi fascia<br>

<br>

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

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

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