Can you say, echolalia?
I love this word. I just want to say it again and again - echolalia, echolalia, echolalia. Okay, so today’s book was all about glossolalia, but echolalia is a much cooler word. Say it out loud. It’s fun.
Anyway, when I tried to come up with books I’d read that took place in California, I found that most everything was either present day or sci-fi futuristic. It’s probably because California has such a limited period of recorded history.
Snow Crash
The protagonist’s name was, originally enough, Hiro Protagonist, a programmer turned pizza delivery guy. He finds himself on this great adventure researching some bizarre religious cults, and he can’t understand a word they’re saying because it’s pure glossolalia (you know, speaking in tongues). And it’s all because the government’s a joke, and the corporations run the country.
I’ve never actually been to a charismatic church, so I don’t know what glossalia is really like. It’s quite fascinating to me how people can be overtaken by the spirit and go all spastic like that. That’s powerful stuff, right?
On the other hand, I have been around little kids who annoyingly repeat everything I say. Let’s say this lovely word one more time - echolalia (echolalia).