Language Politics and the Constitution of Racialized Subjects in the Corinthian Church

This study examines the phenomenon of speaking in tongue(s) in the Corinthian church from the point of view of the politics of language. Instead of seeing tongue(s) as a problem of unintelligible-ecstatic speech, it reconsiders this phenomenon as a linguistic struggle. Tongue(s), in this sense, is a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Tupamahu, Ekaputra (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage [2018]
In: Journal for the study of the New Testament
Year: 2018, Volume: 41, Issue: 2, Pages: 223-245
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Bible. Corinthians 1. 14 / Glossolaly / Multilingualism / Ethnicity / Control
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
CD Christianity and Culture
HC New Testament
Further subjects:B Ethnicity
B Multilingualism
B Race
B Tongues
B Paul
B politics of language
B First Corinthians
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This study examines the phenomenon of speaking in tongue(s) in the Corinthian church from the point of view of the politics of language. Instead of seeing tongue(s) as a problem of unintelligible-ecstatic speech, it reconsiders this phenomenon as a linguistic struggle. Tongue(s), in this sense, is a multilingual social dynamic that Paul perceives as chaotic. Special attention is given to the role of language as one of the crucial markers of the ancient Greeks' collective identity. The barbarians are their imaginative and discursive 'others' who do not share their language. It is within this sociopolitical context that the employment of the term barbaros in 1 Cor. 14:11 can be understood as a performative act of constituting racialized subjects. Such discourse is Paul's political strategy of bringing a monolingual order into the Corinthian church.
ISSN:1745-5294
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the New Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0142064X18804438