Do You Speak English?

“Once upon a time, all the world spoke a single language and all used the same words.” Genesis 11:1

“Do you speak English?” This was a question which I found myself asking often as I traveled with a tour group in England and France in the summer 2006. To my amazement, most people to whom I spoke did speak English even though they had emigrated from many countries.  

Did we always understand each other? Probably not. I often heard unfamiliar words. I feel quite sure that I have never used the word, “whilst” in my entire life. Each time I heard it, I kept wondering what had happened to the word, “while.” A truck was called a “lorry, and an English policeman was called a “Bobby” because Sir Robert Peel was the founder of Scotland Yard. I still found myself doing mental gymnastics each time I heard that word. 

When I returned to the U.S., I thought it would be so wonderful to speak to people and understand them without carefully listening or translating the meaning of unusual words. This was not to be. Working with a group of young people, I found myself wanting to ask that same question all over again. “Do you speak English?” What caused my concern? On the chalkboard was written the following description of the Biblical character, Sampson. “He was the dude who got his hair cut.” 

That evening, I read Chapter 11 of the Book of Genesis. “Come let us go down there and confuse their speech so that they will not understand what they say to one another.” Genesis 11:7 (NEB) I felt so much better after I read that verse! Maybe now I could relax, smile and see the humor of it all. It wasn’t just me being inept. This language barrier problem, it’s by divine design. “Go figure!” (Am I speaking English now?)

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for the gift of speech. Thank you for giving us different languages and different words. Help us smile and really listen when we converse that we might understand the meaning of one another’s words then go about the work that You planned for us to do. In Jesus’ holy name we pray. Amen.

Judy Welch (reprinted from 2006)