What Is Heart Language and Why Is It Significant?

Updated February 16, 2026 by Alex Rodriguez

You may be reading this blog post in English, but pay attention to your thoughts as you read. Are they also in English? Or are you translating them in your mind into Spanish, Mandarin, Portuguese, or something else? 

Heart language is the language we think in and often speak at home—the language in which we dream and pray. It’s the language we understand best, and that’s why it’s significant.

If we want someone to truly understand an idea or message, it’s most effective to share it with them in their heart language. 

At Jesus Film Project, “heart language” matters to us a lot. In fact, it’s a critical part of our vision and mission. Translating the story of Jesus into heart languages is about bringing the gospel to everyone, everywhere, so they may encounter Him. 

How Language Shapes Identity and Culture

The language we grow up speaking with family helps construct our identity. For example, in a nation like India, where there are 121 languages and many, many more regional dialects, a person’s heart language is typically what they speak in their home region, village or community. Even though many in India speak two or more languages, heart language serves as an anchor, rooting people back home. 

When we think of culture, we think of things like food, clothing and holiday celebrations, but it’s language that ties all of those elements together. It’s the means that people use to communicate their values, beliefs and customs. 

If you are blessed to speak the language of the world around you, the importance and meaning of heart language may not be something you easily recognize. Your environment— written and verbal messages, road signs, restaurant menus, media—does not need translation. But for many, that is not the case. 

For a few months, I lived in a country that did not speak English (my heart language). Things I did with ease in the United States—finding my way around the grocery store, ordering a meal, finding the street where I lived—became challenges. I survived with the help of translation apps on my phone and helpful bilingual friends who served as translators. Even as I began to pick up the language and become more familiar with it, there was nothing like coming home after a long day, picking up the phone and simply talking with someone who spoke to me in my language. When I was able to communicate in my heart language, I felt at home. 

Heart language across generations 

The concept of heart-language can become complex, especially when we consider the multi-generational experience. For many families migrating to different communities or countries, heart languages can cut across generational lines. While we often think about “heart language” as the language that someone grew up speaking at home, identifying someone’s heart language can be a little more complex than that. My story is a good example of this. 

For the first few years of my life, my parents and I lived with my grandparents. Having moved to Florida from Puerto Rico years before, my parents and grandparents spoke to one another in Spanish—their heart language. I learned to speak Spanish and English simultaneously. I like to joke that my first language was Spanglish. 

Although we spoke Spanish at home, when I stepped outside, the world around me was in English. I spoke English at school with my teachers and friends. At work, my parents spoke English with their colleagues and clients. When my parents and I moved into our own house, the language of the world outside began to seep into our conversations at home. English conversation eventually replaced our Spanish. By the time my little sister was born two years later, we had become a fully English-speaking household. If you were to ask us, my parents would still say their heart language is Spanish, but my heart language and that of my sister is English. 

Now, as an adult, I still understand Spanish fairly well, but I lost the fluency I had as a child.  When I hear a song or TV show in Spanish, I can follow along, but only through the limited understanding of a secondary language. I need to translate what I hear into English in my head, often navigating the unique idioms and turns of phrase in Spanish that don’t have the same meaning in English. Much of the meaning is lost in that translation. 

This becomes even more complicated when I hear a sermon or Bible passage in Spanish— the fact that the message is not in my heart language hinders how I receive and interpret the message. 

This is why being able to share the gospel message in someone’s heart language is so important. 

Why Heart Language is Essential for Christian Ministry

The story of Jesus presents a message that touches a person’s mind and heart. The gospel challenges people’s worldviews and reveals a new, often unfamiliar perspective of the world. 

This kind of life-changing truth is best delivered to someone in the language they know best. 

If you’re a native English speaker, consider the various versions and translations we have of the English Bible. In 1978, Zondervan published the New International Version of the Bible. For those used to reading the King James Version, this was a monumental shift. While both translations of the Bible are in English, the NIV translation presents Scripture in a language that more closely resembles how people speak in everyday life. 

This newer translation made Scripture more accessible and easier for English speakers to understand. Think about it: if you were reading the Bible for the first time, would you prefer to read it in outdated language that’s difficult to comprehend, or in words that felt more familiar to you? 

But what about those whose heart language is not English? 

Today, ministries around the world are translating the Bible into different languages. According to this article by Wycliffe Bible Translators, the full Bible is available in 776 languages, the entire New Testament is available in 1,798 languages, and portions of the Bible are available in 1,433 languages. For context, there are over 7,000 languages spoken in the world today. While Bible translators are making incredible progress in translating Scripture so that one day everyone, everywhere can have the Bible in their heart language, there are still many waiting for a Bible they can understand.

Among those are also people groups whose heart language is only spoken. According to this published article by the International Orality Network over 5.7 billion people are oral learners—meaning they do not communicate through text, but through spoken language. This includes children who have yet to learn to read, people who are visually impaired and cannot see well enough to read, or those who speak an oral language. A printed Bible is only powerful if the person holding it is able to read it. This is where film and media come in. 

Film is a powerful tool for bringing stories and truth to light, especially in cultures less reliant on the written word. 

At Jesus Film Project, our mission is to translate the JESUS film and many other films and digital ministry tools into heart languages around the world. We do this so that everyone, even those with no access to the Bible in their language, can encounter the gospel story in a way they can understand. Through film and digital media, people can see and hear the story of Jesus in their heart language. Paul Eshleman, who founded Jesus Film Project, had this to say about it: “When a person sees the JESUS film for the first time in his or her own language, something miraculous happens. Jesus is no longer a stranger. He ceases to be a foreign religious figure. He suddenly becomes relevant to them… .They hear His words and can understand firsthand what He says, who He is, why He came and how much He loves them.”

If you really want the gospel to connect with people, it makes sense to share it with them in the language that they default to with the people closest to them. 

‘Does Jesus speak the language of my enemy?’

While it is ineffective to present the gospel to someone in a language they do not understand, it is far worse to do so in a language that offends. This can happen in regions where people groups who speak similar languages are in conflict with one another. We always need to consider differences in dialects and the cultural implications of these differences when sharing the gospel in a different language. 

One of my favorite examples of why sharing the gospel in someone’s heart language is so important comes from this blog we posted in 2025. In it, Jennifer Eshleman-Huff, whose father, Paul Eshleman, founded Jesus Film Project, shares this story about one particular translation of the JESUS film and how the dialect it was recorded in made all the difference: 

“I witnessed Jesus Film Project use heart language to meet people where they are––in their trauma––firsthand in Rwanda.

After the 1994 genocide, they brought the JESUS film to communities still raw with grief, trauma and suspicion. But something unexpected happened. As people watched, many recoiled. They were visibly uncomfortable hearing Jesus speak in the national language. 

Though both survivors and perpetrators spoke the same language, subtle differences in dialect revealed deep divisions. For many, the dialect was familiar, but it chilled the room. It was the sound of voices that once murmured threats, barked orders and left families shattered.

The team quickly realized what was happening. The gospel itself had not changed, but the voice it came in stirred painful memories. One unspoken question lingered in the room: “Does Jesus speak the language of my enemy?” The dialect, instead of drawing people closer, reopened wounds. Trust was already fragile.

In response, the team re-recorded the film using a dialect that felt familiar and gentle. The change was subtle but sacred. Eyes softened. Shoulders relaxed. People leaned in. By the end, many seemed to be asking a new question: ‘Could it be that Jesus speaks my language too?’

This is why it matters that every person hears the story of Jesus in their heart language.”

When we share the gospel with someone in their heart language, it communicates essential truths above and beyond the information we want them to receive. When we share the gospel in their heart language, it lets them know that we see them and value their culture, that we value their identity. And this can makes them more open to the good news we want to share with them. 

Sharing JESUS in The World’s Heart Language 

When people have an opportunity to see and hear the gospel message in their heart language, it overcomes their defenses, which helps explain why we’ve seen more than 679 million indicated decisions to follow Jesus after sharing our films and media. 

Last year, we announced that the JESUS film had officially been translated into more than 2,200 languages (you can download that press announcement here). This is a huge accomplishment, especially considering that the film was listed by Guinness World Records in 2012 as the most translated film in history. At that time, it was available in only 817 languages. 

We keep working to overcome language barriers with the JESUS film and other media in our digital library because we believe everyone, everywhere should have the opportunity to hear Jesus’ message in their own heart language. And the work doesn’t stop with the 2,200th language. 

By God’s grace and through the help of our supporters and partners, we continue to create and translate gospel-centered media and resources to equip Christians everywhere to share Jesus in their context and heart language. 

How well do you know heart languages?

Today, there are over 2,200 translations of the JESUS film  and counting! We’ve gathered 15 of those translations into a fun quiz so you can test your own knowledge of world languages. How many do you think you can recognize? Take our World Languages Quiz to find out.