They heard...

The reading from the Acts of the apostles of this morning, as is always on the feast of the Pentecost, is that of the disciples 'hearing' the others in their own language.  It does not say, that they understood in their own respective language.  It says they heard them speak in their own language.

Other than the primary intended meaning of this being a miracle, the work of the Holy Spirit, how does one explain this?  Why is it that I feel there is something here for me, for my research?

• that there is a 'gap', a wide chasm between 'hearing' and understanding?  Or not?
• that hearing the message being spoken in their own native language did make a huge impact on their attitude and reception of the Gospel, goes without saying.  Primarily because it now 'appealed' to them at a personal level.  The message remained the same, only the channel of communication changed. Not exactly.  Because the channel, medium, language is also the message (McLuhan).
• what of those preaching? Were they aware of themselves speaking in a foreign language? And yet communicate perfectly well, without they themselves really knowing what they were speaking?  That's really doubtful.  The only (human) possibility is that they were totally oblivious of this process.  They could have only been speaking in their native Jewish Hebrew.  It was the listeners who heard it differently from the speakers.