252: The Tower of Babel

Is there anything to the story of the Tower of Babel?

It’s a legend about why human languages are so different. So was there really only one human language a long time ago? Maybe — but how does this match up with the biblical account of the confounding of tongues?

Linguist Daniel Midgley puts an end to the confusion on this episode of Talk the Talk.


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Promo

Promo with Kylie Sturgess, 2016-07-12: Babel

Cutting Room Floor

Cutting Room Floor 252: Babel

We talk coffee. Then it gets real, as we confront the feels we have about religious people. (Ben even has to leave the room. But it’s for more coffee.)

Then we ask: If we tell the truth about myths, does this kill Santa Claus? Kylie explains the research.


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Show notes

All 72 New Unicode 9 Emoji, Definitively Ranked From Most Exciting To Most Meh
http://www.bustle.com/articles/168770-all-72-new-unicode-9-emoji-definitively-ranked-from-most-exciting-to-most-meh

Apple releases animated emoji sticker packs for iOS 10 Messages
http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/07/02/apple-releases-animated-emoji-sticker-packs-for-ios-10-messages

Apple, Facebook and Google ban rifle emoji from Olympics update
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/06/20/apple-facebook-and-google-ban-rifle-emoji-from-olympics-update/

Rifle emoji blocked from phones ‘after pressure from Apple’
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/jun/20/apple-rifle-emoji-phones-unicode

Here’s The Reason Why There Will Be No Rifle Emoji
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/165709/20160618/here-s-reason-why-will-rifle-emoji.htm

What happened to the rifle emoji?
http://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2016/06/what-happened-rifle-emoji

Could an emoji death threat land you in jail?
http://www.cbc.ca/newsblogs/yourcommunity/2014/01/could-an-emoji-death-threat-land-you-in-jail.html

RationalWiki: Tower of Babel
http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Tower_of_Babel

Skeptics Annotated Bible: Genesis 11
http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/gen/11.html

Focus On Tower of Babel
https://global.oup.com/obso/focus/focus_on_towerbabel/

The Wrathful Dispersion Controversy: A Canadian Perspective
http://specgram.com/CLI.1/06.pheevr.dispersion.html

Yes, people do believe this.
Gallup: “Twenty-eight percent of Americans believe the Bible is the actual word of God and that it should be taken literally.”
http://www.gallup.com/poll/170834/three-four-bible-word-god.aspx


Grain of salt alert for the next two articles!

The Tower of Babel Account: A Linguistic Consideration
http://smithandfranklin.com/current-issues/The-Tower-of-Babel-Account-A-Linguistic-Consideration/9/5/98/html

Answers in Genesis: Was the Dispersion at Babel a Real Event?
https://answersingenesis.org/tower-of-babel/was-the-dispersion-at-babel-a-real-event/


The Canterbury Tales (in Middle English)
http://www.librarius.com/cantales.htm

There are more things in prehistory than are dreamt of in our urheimat
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2012/08/there-are-more-things-in-prehistory-than-are-dreamt-of-in-our-urheimat/

Ussher Chronology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ussher_chronology

Can the Ussher Chronology Be Trusted?
http://www.icr.org/article/can-ussher-chronology-be-trusted/

Cuneiform
http://www.ancient.eu/cuneiform/

Makapansgat pebble
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makapansgat_pebble

paleo_pebble-1-400x500

I’m all ears: fossils reveal human ancestors’ hearing abilities
http://www.reuters.com/article/science-hearing-idUSL1N11U03020150925

2-million-year-old fossils reveal hearing abilities of early humans
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-09/bu-2fr092415.php

babel moon landings

Recovery Connection: Drunkorexia
https://www.recoveryconnection.com/addiction-resources/common-eating-disorders/drunkorexia/

‘Drunkorexia’ phenomena prominent in young Australian women, research finds
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-30/drunkorexia-phenomena-prominent-in-young-australian-women/7556476

The scary trend sweeping across Australian universities
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/the-scary-trend-sweeping-across-australian-universities/news-story/7b8959b65655d798253c161ae66e2816

The Butterfly Foundation — Support for Australians experiencing eating disorders
http://thebutterflyfoundation.org.au

Government of Western Australia — Drug and Alcohol Office
http://www.dao.health.wa.gov.au/Home.aspx

Bill Nye visited a Noah’s Ark he doesn’t believe should exist
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/07/10/bill-nye-visited-a-noahs-ark-he-doesnt-believe-should-exist/

Kan Ham’s Blog: Bill Nye Visits the Ark Encounter
https://answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2016/07/08/bill-nye-visits-ark-encounter/


Image credit: https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/dore/gustave/bible/plates/006.jpg


Transcript

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1 Comment

  1. With regards to (ice age) floods http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/did-a-comet-hit-earth-12900-years-ago/ and the raising sea levels and cataclysms appear to also be in (oral) record here http://research.usc.edu.au/vital/access/manager/Repository/usc:14264?queryType=vitalDismax&query=indigenous+australian+stories

    There is also scientific data pointing to two cataclysmic events pointing to the start and end of the younger dryas.

    So while the Tower of Babel may or may not have existed, it may be that it existed in a different form to that described in the bible, or may have been a metaphor for something that did happen only ways to describe it were changed over time.

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