this is a fairly well known story wither in the old or new testament. i would like to see how many educated people actually beleive in fairy tales.
2007-09-29 16:39:40 · 9 answers · asked by nietzsches_right 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Mythology & Folklore
Only really stupid people would believe that one! Since all of todays languages have evolved since the Bible was written.
From ancient German we now have English, Dutch, German, Danish, Swedish, etc.
Latin has mutated into Italian, French, Romanian, Spanish, etc.
If you read Shakespeare you can see how much English has changed in just the last five hundred years.
Its just the natural course of things that the languages of separate communities develop differently.
As for the Biblical story, just take it as a parable. It is a book about religion after all, not a history essay.
2007-10-02 03:31:09 · answer #1 · answered by Thalia 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Distance and environment and most importantly the small but quick failing of communication over distance as population grows larger is what divides a spoken language into two or more languages..
The opposite is happening in our lifetime. The modern Tower of Babel is the Internet. I'll take the chance of predicting that in a century--if the wars don't destroy the urge to communicate--their will a language used on the internet the is a composite language all user can understand.
2007-09-30 01:12:32 · answer #2 · answered by Terry 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anyone who's ever picked up a linguistics book ought to know that this story isn't literally true. It IS a compelling piece of fiction though, and perhaps, as most myths are, rooted in some kind of fact (read: a very tall building fell at some point and a writer took some liberties).
2007-09-30 00:54:04 · answer #3 · answered by bionicRod 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's partly a story of the origins of languages, and partly a story about hubris.
And quite a lot of educated people believe it was literal history, especially in the US. Which is unfortunate. Such a view not only debases history and linguistics but also misses the point of mythology.
2007-09-29 23:46:40 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It isn't a fairy tale. If you think about it. There had to be one language in the begining. Then there had to be some cataclysmic event or some such happening that would seperate them all and force them to get another language. Why would you just want to randomly invent a new language? Besides, if you look at languages, they ALL have similarities. Especially European ones.
2007-09-30 02:20:44 · answer #5 · answered by agarwaen_neithan 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Many people do actually believe it, which is strange as it seems to imply that heaven isn't very high up, only a few hundred feet. You'd think that God would feel more threatened by airplanes and skyscrapers if the story was true.
2007-09-30 00:22:44 · answer #6 · answered by JavaGirl ~AM~ 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is no archaeological find of a tower of babel anywhere on earth. Yes, it's a myth.
2007-09-30 05:04:40 · answer #7 · answered by Pustic 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The premise behind it is not that hard to believe if you understand the real reason why we are here.
2007-09-30 08:59:05 · answer #8 · answered by Sal D 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just So that you know...God was angry at the sin of pride not how high the tower is.
2007-09-30 01:36:10 · answer #9 · answered by DanD 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋