What is the language of heaven? Will we all speak in a new language in heaven?

from the old testament

• The Bible has quite a bit to say about language, literally from the beginning to the end. The creation account in Genesis 1 and 2 does not indicate the creation of language, but instead highlights the use of language as the creating action: "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light" (Genesis 1:3).
• God used the confusion of language to put an end to the rebellion against His command to "fill the earth" (Genesis 1:28 and 9:1) at Babel, according to the story in Genesis 11:1–9. It was at this point in time that multiple languages were introduced to the world.

from the new testament

• God is described in terms of language. Jesus is called the literal Word of God, in that "All things were made through him" (John 1:3). God's Word is not divisible from God, for "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1).
• In the writings of Paul in the New Testament, we find the one and only reference to "tongues [languages] of angels"; there is no reference to a "heavenly language" in the Bible, although that has come to be a common phrase. First Corinthians 13:1 reads, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal." Most commonly, the controversy surrounding this passage has to do with the gift of tongues, but it has also been conjectured that it could be referring to a language spoken in heaven that, apparently, could be learned by Christians on earth. However, neither of these theories properly fit the context of the passage.
• The "tongues of men" mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13:1 likely refers to the Day of Pentecost, described in Acts 2:1–41, when the apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak in languages previously unknown to them. That Paul is referencing this makes sense in light of the Corinthian Christians' over-emphasis on this gifting, which Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14. Second, the "tongues of angels" is most likely a hyperbole intended to counter-emphasize the "tongues of men" and/or describe beautiful, eloquent speech, which was also highly valued by the Corinthians. There is no contextual reason to assume that Paul was referring to an actual language spoken by angels in this verse, nor is there any other passage which substantiates the concept that such a language could be known to an earth-bound human.

implications for today

A language will be spoken in heaven, and if we accept that the multiple languages we experience on earth are all imperfect representations of reality, none of them can be the language we will speak in that perfect place. Although the Bible does not address this directly, there are three passages that imply both the use of language and a significant improvement upon it. Isaiah 62:2 indicates that Israel will "be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give," while Revelation 3:12 indicates that Jesus himself will have a new name. Finally, Revelation 2:17 says, "To the one who conquers. . . I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it." Each of these passages indicates a "new" naming system, and a very special one at that.

What heaven will look like and feel like perhaps provides the largest blank canvas for the creative mind that can be found. The declaration that heaven is like "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined" (1 Corinthians 2:9) gives us both enormous freedom to imagine and the knowledge that we will never quite understand while here on earth. As such, we may believe that God will allow language, along with every other part of life, to be re-perfected, but we have no idea what that will actually look—or sound—like.