Xenoglossia or xenoglossy is a miracle (Acts 2). It means the power to speak fluently a language one never learned or heard. On the other hand, anybody can speak in tongues —if what you mean by "speaking in tongues" or "the gift of tongues" is not xenoglossia (xenoglossy) but glossolalia.

Folk in persuasions commonly called Charismatic or Pentecostal commonly practise glossolia. They don't demonstrate the miracle xenoglossia (xenoglossy). In this lesson we are going to describe the two phenomena. Then we will compare xenoglossia and glossolalia with the Biblical account of speaking in tongues, to see which phenomena matches the Biblical miracle.

The Gift of Tongues (Xenoglossia or Xenoglossy)

 xenoglossia  Speaking in a language which one has never learned.

A phenomena which may well be called the gift of tongues (technically called xenoglossia) is the ability to speak fluently a language one has never learned. That is to say, one has never studied the language or had any natural exposure to it. One does not "know" the language in any natural sense, yet one can speak it fluently. Although this phenomena has a name, xenoglossia, there appears to be no proven case of it in the world today.

The fact that xenoglossia (xenoglossy) is not seen or heard today, does not mean that it has never occurred in the past. If it has occurred, however, then it was a miraculous event, because, unlike glossolalia, xenoglossia is not a natual or innate ability in man.

The question we must ask, is whether the phenomenon xenoglossia is the Biblical gift of speaking in tongues. We will examine the Biblical account later, in order to answer that question. But first let us note another phenomena which we also later compare with the Biblical account.

Ecstatic Utterance (Glossolalia)

 glossolalia  uttering language-like but unintelligible sounds usually in a state of ecstasy.

The first phenomena we will consider is "ecstatic utterance" which is technically called glossolalia. This is a real phenomenon. There is nothing imaginary about it. In Australia, as in just about any part of the world, you can hear and observe glossolalia without having to walk very far. The phenomenon is common to many religions, pagan as well as "Christian". You can make recordings of it, examine it, write histories and case studies about it. You can even practice it yourself if you so choose.

There are two components to this phenomena...

• Utterance of language-like sounds. There is nothing extraordinary about this. Even children, before they speak a real language, chatter away in imitation of language, yet unintelligibly. Anybody can do this.
• Ecstasy, trance-like elation. There is nothing extraordinary about this either. It is harder to do on purpose than the first component, however anybody can do it without using drugs, doing extreme sports, or undergoing hypnosis. Mind you, ecstasy should not be induced for its own sake, because it gives you a high that is followed by depression, and that can spell addiction.

Now let us examine the Biblical description of "speaking in tongues" to see which, if any, of these two phenomena match that description. (See Part 2)