Tongues-Speech and Speech Act Theory

“Speaking in tongues” is a phenomenon that evokes various reactions among evangelicals. Although there has been a growing scholarly effort to address exegetical, theological, psychological, and historical issues related to speaking in tongues, very little has been done to address philosophical issues. In this article I analyze speaking in tongues using speech act theory to account for how an utterance that is nonintelligible to the utterer can be responsibility-bearing in the sense developed by William Alston. Adopting Nicholas Wolterstorff’s use of superintended agency discourse, I argue that speaking in tongues meets the appropriate conditions to do so.