Question:

What is the difference between tongue and tongues? Are they the same or different?  

Answer:

Thank you for your question.  There is no difference as Paul is talking about a tongue "For he that speaketh in an [unknown] tongue speaketh not to men, but to God" or tongues, "I would that ye all spake with tongues."  The difference is between the gift of tongues, the tongues of men, and the tongues of angels.  Every Christian can be filled with the Spirit and speak in the unknown tongues, the tongues of angels.  The gift of tongues, as with all gifts, is given by the laying on of hands of the presbytery and prophecy.  The gift of tongues allows a person who does not know a language to miraculously speak that language.  The gift of interpretation of tongues allows a person who does not know a language to be able to interpret that language miraculously.  These gifts don't seem to operate at the will of the person having the gift, but whenever God operates the gift in the person.  These are quite rare right now, but we can expect to see these restored just as prophecy was restored to the Church.