Confusion of Languages After Tower of Babel
Question
When G-d made people speak different languages following Babel, did the people have sudden amnesia in which they were instantly talking differently? Or was it just a decree in which over time, people would move to different parts of the world, where their single language would be corrupted in different ways to the point in which over the years, they would speaking in different unrecognizable dialects?
Answers
There are two approaches that the Rabbis take to explain the language barrier after the Tower of Babel.
One approach is that before the Tower was built each nation spoke its own language, see Genesis 10:5. In order to communicate with people outside of their nation everyone spoke one common language, ibid. 11:1. That is the language that God took away from so that they were unable to understand each other.
The second opinion is that God took away the common language that they all spoke and gave each nation their own language so that they could communicate among themselves but not with those outside of their own nation.
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