The tower of babel: just a myth?

Melissa Fernanda Arroyave Ostos
Professor: Díaz
Reading and Writing II
May 10th, 2010

The Tower of Babel: just a Myth?

For several years, the topic of the beginning of language diversity has been discussed for many people included Scientifics, professors and theologians. This term can be defined as the ability to speak more than one language. In the past, for the scientific field,language diversity was considered to be an evolutional process made from an ape that learned to speak through noises, grunts and sounds. However, nowadays, it has gained much controversy because those people do not have strong arguments to support their hypothesis; they have not good evidence to support that. On one hand, advocates argue that fossils discoveries show that there are similarities inWernickes’ area’s brain and Brocca’s area’s brain between humans and homo-sapiens. On the other hand, critics states that the origin of language was through a miraculous intervention of Jehovah God in the Tower of Babel. By studying both sides in the controversy, we can be sure that languages were created in ancient times in Babel’s tower.

Advocates state that there is only one logicalexplanation to language diversification today described at the first book of the Bible, Genesis. Jeff A. Benner, a writer and founder of the ancient Hebrew research center, says: “The Genesis account identifies the land of "Shinar" as the location of the Tower of Babel. This is the land of "Sumer" where many ancient documents of the Sumerians have been discovered. Within these documents are storiesparalleling many of the Genesis accounts including creation, Noah and the flood as well as the confounding of the languages”.(1 page of internet doc). So I dare to assert that the real origin of the languages diversity is the one described at the Bible .Going through the story, before the confusing of languages, there was one language (Gen 11:1), the Hebrew, and people start to build a building with“its tops in heavens” ( Gen 11:4)for religious purposes against God’s will. Then, God Saw those evils plans and confuse their language in order to thwarting their hurtful and dangerous plans. What another thing God could do, if those people disobeyed Him?

Advocates believe that confusing languages was a positive thing God did because it refrained people to make evils plans in the future.The original language was the Hebrew but that does not mean that all the languages result from it. Jehovah God created completely new languages with new grammar and content for interfering such plans. The professor S.R Driver, in the dictionary of the Bible, J. hasting edition, 1905, vol 4, wrote: “languages not only differ from grammar and roots, but also in how to build the ideas in thesentence. Different races do not think the same way, and, consequently, the forms of the sentence in different languages are not the same”. (791). Hence, the confuting of language force people to migrate to others places and frustrated them to develop their layout. It is obvious that doing that, God made a very positive thing for humanity. We just have to think: if in that time mankind wanted to makethis tower taking advantage of its same language, what would have been the achievements today, if humanity had the same language?

However, on the other hand, critics suggest that languages came from the homo-erectus and homo-habilis. Opponents like Deacon T.W States: “human vocal skills first exceeded the capabilities of any living nonhuman primate at
least 2 million years ago, in thehominid fossil species Homo habilis, since this species marks the first significant upward shift in relative brain size” (Deacon 251).Nevertheless, I think that those fossils discoveries are not enough evidence to affirm that language came from there, because those discoveries belonged to 2 millions years ago and they could be confusing. Antonio Cruz, professor of biology says: “Every discussion...