A True Bilingual

Can someone truly master two languages in equal measure? Or there is one primary language which one is fully proficient to native level, but the second comes close to the first. I think Paul the apostle is a true bilingual. In Acts he seems to be equally fluent in Hebrew as well as in Greek. Sure his extant writings are all in Greek, at least those accepted in the New Testament canon.

But Paul must be equally good in Hebrew given Luke‘s testimony of Paul that Paul grew up in Jerusalem and came under the tutelage of Gamaliel the Rabbi. Paul would have to read texts in Hebrew and write or copy these texts. He must be able to speak in Hebrew well to teach the biblical text in synagogues and audiences who knew Hebrew better than Greek, though there was considerable evidence that Greek was widely used in Jerusalem in the first century AD (Martin Hengel). 

Thus, Paul became a mighty instrument in God’s hands to bring the gospel first to the Jews who spoke Hebrew but more so to the Gentiles(nations) that spoke Greek. Paul was fluent in both and he would have adapted his language as his audience demands. 

Likewise now wherever we are placed we must ask what language or languages are we fluent at? If it is just English, then we are limited to the English speaking world which is the largest audience on earth as more people understand English than any other language. 

But in certain countries knowing just English is a handicap as only small portion of the city or country’s population is proficient in  English. This is increasingly evident in Malaysia. Though perhaps 20 to 30 percent of Malaysians can understand a sermon in English, but increasing the mastery of English is in decline so much so in Sabah at most 10 percent of its population would understand English. 

We boast three or four big English speaking churches in Kota Kinabalu but I would imagine Malay speaking Christian easily outnumber English ones by 9 to 1 and smaller still are the remaining Chinese congregations dotted in major cities in the State. I foresee in the next generation, 95 percent of Christians in Sabah will only speak Malay unless there is a real change in the mindset of the indigenous peoples to be true bilinguals.