A non-rational form of prayer in which one individual, a group within a congregation or an entire congregation use the technique of ‘speaking in tongues’ as the basis for improvised singing. Speaking in tongues (i.e. praying in languages foreign both to the listener and to the person praying) was known in biblical times: as a type of meditation it was highly valued by the apostle Paul for private prayer (1 Corinthians xiv.4, 39), but was regulated for liturgical use (1 Corinthians xiv.27). The languages or ‘tongues’ used need not be actual languages, but may merely be syllables strung together. In a linguistic analysis Samarin described speaking in tongues as a normal phenomenon which has nothing to do with schizophrenia or other pathological states, but can be seen as a form of communication and is regarded as a ‘symbol of the sacred’.
Although singing in tongues has received less attention from scholars than has its spoken counterpart, it has been used for some time in the ritual of various Christian sects. In the USA during the first part of the 19th century many members of Shaker groups improvised (or received in visions) songs in tongues, which were then learnt by other members of the sect and eventually written down. Since the early 20th century singing in tongues has become an accepted form of prayer in a number of Pentecostal churches, particularly among black congregations in many parts of Europe, North and Latin America. It can occur as an unaccompanied solo (male or female); as an accompanied solo, duet or trio (the accompaniment can include both instruments and congregational part-singing); as a three- and four-part chorale; or (rarely) as contrapuntal improvisation by the whole congregation. Some congregations seem more prone to singing in tongues than others, but reasons for this have not yet been advanced. A preference for the minor mode is shown in some groups; harmony, when used, often consists of simple triads and 7ths.
M.T. Kelsey: Tongue Speaking: an Experiment in Spiritual Experience (New York, 1964)
W.J. Hollenweger: Enthusiastisches Christentum (Wuppertal and Zürich, 1969; Eng. trans., 1972, as The Pentecostals)
W.J. Samarin: Tongues of Men and Angels: the Religious Language of Pentecostalism (New York, 1972)
H.E. Cook: Shaker Music: a Manifestation of American Folk Culture (Lewisburg, PA, 1973)
N.G. Holm: Tungotal och andedop: en religionspsykologisk undersökning av glossolali hos finlandsvenska pingstvänner (diss., U. of Uppsala, 1976)
WALTER J. HOLLENWEGER