This same method works for us human beings and our own history. The English words for common devices and services like ‘computer,’ ‘laptop,’ ‘internet,’ ‘Wi-fi,’ or ‘to google’ are often adopted wholesale or only partially changed. Meanwhile, youth all over the world are slinging all sorts of English slang and colloquialisms, even when speaking their native languages. It’s not uncommon for activities developed in other countries and then shared internationally to keep some, if not all, of their native-language terminology (like yoga). Ethnic restaurants are everywhere and usually maintain the native names for their dishes. Consider that as English speakers, we’ve had to absorb foreign words for imported foods, clothing, décor, activities, and even concepts. Our linguistic patterns have diligently recorded all of this. All of these conclusions would be true! This is due to the rise of the internet, improved communication technologies, social media, and globalization. The nature of that interaction has shifted, a wider range of material objects and ideas are being shared, and new channels of rapid communication have opened. Societies that have been relatively cut off from one another are now interacting more frequently. Why: GlobalizationĪrmed only with this extensive linguistic data, our alien anthropologist would likely be able to conclude that our world has seen a meaningful shift in cultural interactions. More widespread than they have likely ever been at any other time in human history. But regardless of their nature, they’re very wide-spread. Sometimes they’re colloquial and creative. Sometimes the things being borrowed are practical, like words for objects, activities, and ideas. For some, a dramatic increase in the range of speakers has been a gift. More interestingly, languages positioned nowhere near each other on the map have begun borrowing from one another as well. Some languages that are geographically closer together have begun to bleed into one another more than in the past. How languages are formed and develop, what words they borrow from other languages, (and at what time), and how to incorporate those words are all reflect the historical conditions under which a language is developing- whether that means distant history, more recent history, or current conditions.įor example, a linguistic anthropologist from another planet might note how many of our world’s languages have shifted over the last couple of decades. You can learn a lot about a given society and both its history and perspectives by closely observing its language. Languages are liquid mirrors for the cultures they represent. Learning dead languages can also help deepen our understanding of our own history and development. A great deal of our present scientific and medical terminology comes from Latin and Greek, as does a rather large percentage of the words we use every day in English. It can also make learning other, still-active languages easier! This is because they introduce you to the wider patterns found within language groups and make the logic behind loan words clearer. Learning a dead language can help you gain a deeper understanding of your own language, of other languages, and of certain types of terminology. Gothic and Old Norse can similarly be helpful for unlocking the deeper valences of Germanic languages like Icelandic, Norwegian, and even Swedish. This is much like the way Latin is widely helpful for learning Western languages, especially the Romance languages. Sanskrit is particularly useful for learning Eastern languages like Hindi, Urdu, and Punjabi. Latin, Ancient Greek, Sanskrit, and Coptic Egyptian are all active languages of religion and philosophy. Are people still learning dead languages?Ībsolutely! People are still learning Latin, Ancient Greek, Coptic Egyptian, Sanskrit, and elements of Gothic and Old Norse, among others. Put another way, languages that no longer have any living native speakers (people who were raised speaking the language as a means of general communication) are considered ‘dead’. A ‘dead language’ is any language that is no longer being actively spoken by a living community as a means of common (daily?) discourse.
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