Zeal For Truth

In recent years, a lot has been said about dying languages. The Ethnologue, a comprehensive source of basic information about all the world’s languages, states that there are 516 “nearly extinct” languages spoken in the world today (the definition of “nearly extinct” is when “only a few elderly speakers are still living”). To the man on the street, this is likely a non-issue, especially for those of us who live in monolingual cultures. Most people have no idea that there are 6,912 known languages in the world today.

However, if no one else cares, linguists (and their academic brothers, anthropologists) are very interested in the fact that languages are disappearing rather rapidly. A number of university departments and other stand-alone organizations are dedicated to learning why languages are dying, documenting nearly extinct languages and trying to stop them from dying (some examples: Foundation for Endangered Languages, Endangered Language Initiative, The Endangered Languages Project, and the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages). Further, the US government has grant money available to study endangered languages. There are also efforts underway to revitalize and revive dying languages.

Why People Care
Here are some reasons people care that languages are dying:

• When a language dies, a wealth of cultural knowledge (history, art, native religion, ethnomedicine, etc.) tends to die with it.
• Since language is the identifying feature for a people group, when the language disappears, that group’s distinctive identity is diminished and it is therefore less able to access political or material things it used to own.
• The scientific quest for universal grammar, or information about a theoretical “original” language, is hindered by fewer samples to study if a language dies.

Does God Care?
Yes, some people care if languages die, but does God? According to the book of Revelation, God expects there to be representatives of all language groups in heaven to praise him (Rev 7:9-10):

9 After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

I was recently telling someone about my job as a missionary Bible translator, and mentioned the fact that many languages are dying. She replied, “Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Maybe it is a good thing since there would be fewer languages that need to have the Bible translated into them. More people can understand the gospel message already available in another language.”

I wasn’t sure how to reply. So my question is: In view of this verse, does it matter to God if languages die?