Somniloquy or sleep talking, refers to talking aloud while asleep. Somniloquy can range from simple mumbling sounds to loud shouts or long inarticulate speeches. This phenomenon has spread quite rapidly. According to a recent study, 5 to 8 people out of 10 have spoken at least once during their sleep. But there’s no need to worry.
When we dream our muscles are “deactivated”. So, for example, if we dreamt about diving in the pool, our muscle deactivation would prevent us from leaping off the mattress onto the floor. Our vocal cords are “disconnected” while we sleep as well so talking clearly while sleeping is rare. However, there are instances while we’re asleep when the vocal apparatus does not completely shut off. When we experience highly stressful conditions, an altered state due to drug or alcohol consumption or even a fever, the vocal apparatus may remain active. Paradoxical sleep or REM sleep as it is often called, is the time in which we are in the deepest sleep and our dreams appear to be most vivid. The REM sleep phase is another instance in which the vocal apparatus may remain active.
Although this phenomenon is not dangerous there have been several alarming cases reported of individuals that spoke an entirely different language while asleep! Most of these individuals claim that they can only speak in their native tongue however, once asleep, they appear to be fluent in an entirely different language. Some of these individuals have been recorded while rattling off their unconscious rants and several theorists believe the language to be that of some extraterrestrial society!
There is a lot of discussion on the web regarding the anomalies of xenoglossy. Xenoglossy is a phenomenon in which a person is able to speak a language that he or she could not have acquired by natural means. Cases of xenoglossy are stretching all over the globe, some claiming that these individuals have spoken such languages as Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Swedish, English, Spanish, etc. Of course, it is difficult to say whether these reports are true but as the cases continue to rise, so to does the phenomenon’s validation.
Scientists have investigated several of these cases and uncovered some interesting data however, they still haven’t received enough evidence to deem the theory legitimate. Specialized forums speculate that other elements are associated with this phenomenon such as the collective unconscious, the AAM (Active Alien Memory), psychic state, vague memories from past lives, communication of information through atoms and electrons, and even demoniac possession.
According to the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Pseudosciences (in Italian CICAP Comitato Italiano per il Controllo delle Affermazioni sulle Pseudoscienze), there is a simple explanation for these phenomenon’s, explained by top psychologists who concluded that these instances were nothing more than episodes of FAS or Foreign Accent Syndrome. Nevertheless, our doubts continue and the mystery remains.
What language do you speak in your sleep?
on Mar 2nd at 08:29
I have a form of recitative xenoglossy in which I can speak the language at will, while I’m awake.
Dont know the language, or the dialect due to my limit to the recitation of what is said, unlike those who have the other form, refered to as the “responsive”, form of xenoglossy.
on Mar 3rd at 11:03
Ciao Randall and thank you very much for sharing of your “recitative xenoglossy”.
We are really interested about it.
on Oct 27th at 16:34
My wife not only speaks what I believe is German she also sings German songs all while sleeping. Last night I almost was able to record her talking it but the dogs started acting up but did record her singing for over 2 mins. This all started after she had a unexplained seizure and went into cardiac arrest. I gave her cpr and brought her back after 10 mins of death.
on Jul 9th at 13:15
I speak German in my sleep, although I know almost nothing about it when I’m awakened. But in my sleep I say words I don’t even know. In German. When I wake up, I type what I remember saying in my dreams and I get a translation.
on Jul 14th at 12:02
Dear Lynn, thanks for your comment, Keep us informed about your sleeping-german.
Ciao from SlowSleep.
on Apr 13th at 10:31
[…] Slow Sleep on Speaking Different Languages While Asleep! […]
on May 31st at 12:23
My partner has conversations in what seems to be a native languange while asleep. I’ve recorded him and tried to compare it with languages online. It sounded closest to the language Incas spoke.He speaks very clearly. This happens almost every night. It is very scary. I had to record him because he didn’t remember anything.He can’t believe it’s him.
on Jul 12th at 03:21
My partner states that I speak in unknown languages when I am sleeping, he has recorded them and when he plays them 4 me, it seems like atleast 4 different languages and some are not even my voice. I’m trying to find out more about Xenoglossy while sleeping
on May 31st at 14:35
Thank you for your message Lisa, we all are speechless
on Jul 10th at 02:54
I’m always waking up at 3 -4am if I’ve actually fallen asleep by then, and have realised recently when I wake up I am talking in some kind of language, only for a second though before my body wakes up. I vote I’m an Alien….. It would answer some kit if questions anyway lol
on Mar 14th at 19:05
Happened to me once too. Woke me up and I had a WTF moment.
on Jul 15th at 09:44
Thank you for your message Mandy. Have you any recordings?
on Sep 3rd at 17:47
I have been speaking in a language I dont know in my sleep for years. Sometimes I wake up almost as if half asleep unable to stop myself from talking this other language. My partner has laid at the side of me listening to me and says it’s like nothing he has ever heard
on Sep 4th at 11:09
Thank you John! Are you still a sleep-talker?
on Feb 20th at 23:54
My Wife has told me that I have spoken French with French accent in my sleep, don’t know the language and do not remember this happening.
on Feb 1st at 17:48
For many years I have a visitor while I sleep, no body, not gender identifiable. I wake while I’m asleep and we have long conversations. I hear the voice in a language I don’t know but understand. I answer in the same language but can’t understand what I’m saying.
This visitor that comes to me is never threatening and has asked me specific questions on very random topics. Once it asked everything I knew about trees. Once ithe voice helped me in a dream I was having protecting me from enemy soldiers by floating me below what I thought was water under a giant hay stack in Germany. When the danger passed I floated to the surface and woke up smelling straw.
I wake my partner up almost every night speaking in what she describes as a mixture of Latin, Spanish and something else. I understand the language but she does not.
The voice coming not as a physical being but just a feeling they are there. The voice has lifted me and I wake up with arms out stretched.
I’m very interested to hear what you think.
Thank you
on Feb 10th at 10:01
Wow… it really is a very interesting story. Difficult to comment… We can only suggest you to talk about it with sleep and dream specialists.
on Feb 4th at 22:56
My boyfriend while asleep talks German and he has never learnt the language also woke up looking for a gold bar with German crest on i had to wake him as he was pulling bed apart he remembered that bit but not the talking
on Feb 20th at 07:29
My 13 yr old son will speak in his sleep a language I have never heard. It almost sounds Biblical. And he does it all the time. It literally scares me and makes me uncomfortable. He is very high strung during the day and he goes hard from the time he wakes up till bed time. If he ever Gets still he will be asleep in just a minute. Literally! He talks in his sleep all the time and he will yell out for me . He has sit up while asleep after calling for me and with his eyes open looking into my eyes speak this language. It really scares me sometimes. I’m looking for answers. Just thought I would post a comment.
on Apr 20th at 15:08
I HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR OVER 50 YEARS AND HAVE NEVER FOUND AN EXPLANTION. I SPEAK IN SEVERAL DIFFERENT LANGUAGES I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. IT IS GOOD TO KNOW I AM NOT ALONE. SOMTIMES IT IS LIKE I AM HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER PEOPLE.
on Mar 14th at 19:10
I told my husband once that I woke up speaking a different language but I didn’t know what. He just laughed at me and said no you didn’t. Well apparently last night he said I was talking in my sleep but couldn’t understand a word I was saying. I just looked at him and said I didn’t remember anything but said see I told you!!!!!
My sister said she read it’s lack of oxygen to the brain while you’re sleeping. Who knows but finding it interesting! Told my husband to record me next time.
on Apr 10th at 01:37
When I was about 10 years old, I was very ill and had a very high fever. My father states that while I was sleeping, I opened my eyes and spoke fluent German. He took German in high school, so he recognized it, but said I was speaking too fast for him to translate.It freaked him out and he still does not like to talk about it .
on Apr 23rd at 20:57
Well, the curiosity to get an answer about why I speak a language fluently when I am sleeping. I am living in a shared room. My roommate told me that in the mid of sleep I started speaking some kinda language and with my open eyes I was asking him about something. Weird! No doubt I speak multiple languages i.e English, Urdu, Arabic, and can understand Persian and Spanish.
I am so curious at the moment. Not sure if I need a psychratirist or kinda something!
Indeed this thing is now hurting me. Last night I was in a fight and was kicking someone. However, the sad moment is when I indeed kicked the glass window next to my bed really really hard. Even In my dream I felt the pain and woke up.
I am a computer programmer as well. Once my roommate informed me that I was literally sitting on the sofa doing some coding. When he tried to speak with me I didn’t answer and after 5 minutes I went back to sleep normally. The next day I didn’t believe in my roommate if I was coding in the mid of sleep.
So, what is it actually happening?
on May 26th at 20:17
It happened to me for the first time last night. My girlfriend said I was speaking a language she’s never heard before. She let me finish and then woke me up and told me about it.
on May 27th at 21:29
It happened again last night. I cannot recall what I said but awoke in the middle of it and it stopped.
on Jul 21st at 21:29
I have been woken up a couple of times by two past boyfriends saying that I have been speaking fluent french and welsh in my sleep. I have also woken up still in a sleep state and have actually remembered myself at that point speaking the language until I fully woke up and thought wtf?! I’m from wales so I can understand the welsh but french I’m a little surprised!
on Aug 1st at 21:06
I have a recording can anyone translate this
on Aug 1st at 21:08
Tell me where to send it and I’m there …it sounds like Japanese and Iranian language mixed maybe
on Aug 8th at 01:22
Hi. My husband speaks another language out loud in his sleep. I have a few recordings and I’m sure in the near future I’ll have more. The other day he said in his sleep he was part Rapa Nui. I looked it up the next morning and the dialect of his sleep talking and the Rapa Nui language are very very similar. There is no way he could have learned that language. He’s never heard the Rapa Nui language ever and to the day still has not heard the language. Very strange.
on Aug 16th at 18:40
In my sleep I sometimes speak in a language of clicks and whistles. During these dreams I’m conversing with people in English. I have many recordings.
on Aug 30th at 16:32
I have been sleep talking for quite some time now. I’m 16 and my sister has heard me talking in my sleep on numerous occasions. I sometimes even have bits of conversations in my sleep, shouting, laughing and sometimes bits of these conversations I say out loud are said with emotions. Examples include moments Id shout out loud. It scares her sometimes. We both share a room and something happened last night. This time she caught me recording. Only I were saying words in a completely different language both Spanish and French. I’d understand if I spoke Spanish since it was a second language to me. But French is a language I’ve never learnt before. I laughed it off eventually but I was just a bit curious about it.
on Jan 18th at 14:57
I’m 78 yrs. old now but at 14 I stayed the night with a school friend. In the morning her mom and dad and brother all said I was talking in my sleep and wondered if I knew a foreign language. I said no …they insisted it was fluent but didn’t recognize the any words. I am not related to anyone who speaks a foreign language so I am baffled.
on Feb 1st at 23:54
I was told that I spoke in my sleep when I was a child’. Once my roommate at Summer camp told me that I was speaking Greek, and she told me I said “almighty”.
I just remembered that today and decided to google it, as google wasn’t available back when all that was happening to me.
on Mar 24th at 17:31
My wife told me this morning that I was speaking German in my sleep. In high school I took German and when in collage I took a course in German to complete my language requirement. So, there is a basis for this , but given I took three years in Mandarin Chinese and a year in classical Chinese I’m surprised I wasn’t speaking in Mandarin. Go figure.
on Apr 27th at 00:49
I am 63 years old and I woke myself up a couple nights ago speaking some ancient sounding language. I even remember thinking to myself “what?” And then just fell back to sleep. Scared me as I don’t believe in “tongues” religions. Never has happened before that I know of. Pretty freaky
on Jun 5th at 07:30
I had a near death experience and for almost six months I could only speak gods language which is Hebrew and I Couldn’t read or write English or Spanish but after speaking Hebrew for a while I woke up one day and started speaking English like I did from my childhood and that of which I had learned I understand Hebrew but I can’t speak it anymore
on Jun 19th at 15:37
Hi! Please advise if you can!!
My partner started talking in his sleep a few months ago and I was a bit surprised but I thought it is not big deal… However, he soon started to wake me up, push, etc. thinking I am someone in his dreams and lately he started to talk like a different language. I heard him last night for the second time. He talked for just about 10 seconds, so didn’t have time to record, but it was definiitely not English or an European language… I can speak 4 languages and understand 7, but he spoke a totally different language (if it is, indeed, a real language). He can only speak Romanian and English, was never easy for him to learn languages… Tbh, I am very scared when I hear him talking and when he moves or addresses me directly in his sleep. Any advice would help. Thanks!
on Jun 20th at 16:34
Hi Miriam, you could talk to a sleep specialist about this, how about that?
on Jul 1st at 12:14
My girlfriend heard me once and when we looked it up it sounds a lot like Hebrew I only speak this language during night terrors of demonic possession