This linguistic unity is not linguistic conformity, but it is unity in diversity. The Revelation song (Rev. 7:9-12) depicts worship before the throne. There are two layers of identities: one identity is those who are saved by the Lamb of God (Rev. 7:14); the other group is made up of various nations, tribes, peoples, and languages (Rev. 7:9). (305)
There is another reading that reads “one speech” as a metonym describing an imperial power that attempted to rule the whole world instead of letting the God of the universe be the king (Green 2008, 209). (306)
Green, Joel B. “‘In Our Own Languages’: Pentecost, Babel, and the Shaping of Chrisitan Community in Acts 2:1-13.” In The Word Leaps the Gap: Essays on Scripture and Theology in Honor of Richard B. Hays, edited by J. R. Wagner, C. K. Rowe, and A. K. Grieb. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. 2008: 198–213.
But the interpretation that the unification of language is the act of an imperial power is possible. For instance, in the Assyrian King Ashubautnipal’s account of conquering the world, there is a statement that King Ashubautnipal required people (the whole world) to speak his language (Pasquale and Bierma 2011, 11-12). (306-307)
Pasquale, Michael, and Nathan L. K. Bierma. Every Tribe and Tongue: A Biblical Vision for Language in Society. Kindle Edition. Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications. 2011.
The description of the Tower of Babel having “its head in the heavens” (Gen. 11:4, YLT) is often understood as the height of heaven, but archaeological findings provide strong evidence that it describes the idea of pointing to heaven, as the characteristic of a temple complex, a ziggurat.
With this metaphoric reading, the Babel account artistically depicts the intervention of a supreme imperial power: God, the king of the universe, intervenes so that the earthly imperial power would not end up forcibly conforming the whole world into one language and culture (ibid, 13). (307)
Linguistic diversity is not about individual languages standing separately, side by side; rather, it is the constant interaction and connection that occurs within each individual language community and between different language communities. (308)
Linguistic diversity cannot be beautiful and purposeful if each language stands on its own without meaningful interaction and connectedness with others. (308)
But diversity really is an acknowledgement of each language’s existence with appreciation for it and a willingness to take on the cost of entering a dynamic process to find a comfortable hybrid of multilingualism. (309)