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glossolalia

glossolalia

1 9.9
Making sounds like speech that are not real words during prayer or trance
  • noun
  • /ˌɡlɑːsəˈleɪliə/
  • Specialized
: glosolalia
  • Indeed, Nature's metaleptic moments resemble the glossolalia of Jesus's early followers.

Examples

  • She was especially puzzled by the parts that were not English; they were too structured to be random babbling or glossolalia.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Glossolalia sounds like a hyperventilating warble, with joyous sounds in a frenzied fencing match.

    Blog text (24)
  • There are several ways in which this may happen: glossolalia as a language of praise is one clear instance.

    Academic text (1995)
  • (That was glossolalia, for all you heathens out there.)

    Blog text (14)
  • The final means by which this could be a plain textbook is if it was written by a mentally ill person suffering from glossolalia or speaking in tongues.

  • The glossolalia-like ethereal vocals give their songs an emotional, mysterious quality that just seems to vibe with her.

    Blog text (9)
  • The other challenge here is to push the metaphor of glossolalia, as Mbembe has done, to convey something of the scholarly insights that are emerging from postcolonial Africa.

    Academic text (2010)
  • A sense of eternality is therefore present, and this is also echoed in the glossolalia-like vocalizations that do not use grammar or the concomitant notion of tenses.

    Academic text (2015)
  • They believed in the "gifts of the Spirit" accompanying the glossolalia—the power of interpretation, divine revelation, prophetic vision, and divine healing through prayer and the "laying on of hands."

    Academic text (2000)
  • During the religious ceremony, she entered a trance and began to practice glossolalia, speaking in a language that what she felt was divinely inspired.

Synonyms

lallation
vsglossolalia
  • Specialized
1 9.9

Speech made of baby-like, unclear sounds that do not make sense

occurs during trance or religious enthusiasm rather than childish babble

Surface Forms

glossolalia singular
glossolalias plural

Etymology

Glossolalia comes from Greek parts gloss- meaning 'tongue' or 'language' (you can see the same idea in glossary) and -lalia meaning 'speech' or 'talking'. So it literally means 'speaking in tongues' and is used for the unusual, often religious, repetitive speech that does not form normal words.