Thursday, May 9, 2013

Granted, I'm a language nerd...

...but this is seriously cool.
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4 comments:

  1. TinCan AssassinMay 9, 2013 at 7:01 PM

    If I'm reading this right, I use this theory at work, with the Romance Languages. Many words in Spanish(which I have a familiarity with) are similar to words in French. I use that to communicate with my French speaking guests. I just change the pronunciation a bit. I get compliments on my French when a barely speak a word of it.

    I've done the same with English to German.

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    Replies
    1. Heroditus HuxleyMay 9, 2013 at 7:16 PM

      You're reading that right. The idea is that family languages have cognate words--words that sound very similar, and mean the same--like "shit" in English and "shiza" (spelled with a German specific character) in German.

      Be careful, though, because there is such a concept as *false* cognates--words that sound very much alike, but mean very different things, like "embarrassed" in English and "embarazado" in Spanish (though the Spanish word means "pregnant"--which can be embarrassing if you're not married, in that culture. Or worse.).

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    2. OLDCATMANMay 10, 2013 at 7:15 AM

      Come on....

      Once upon a time the very first HUMAN appeared on Earth.

      They were the very first HUMANS to speak.

      As the HUMAN evolved so did the first HUMAN language--resulting in the various HUMANS and their languages.

      Evolution of species is fascinating!

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    3. Heroditus HuxleyMay 10, 2013 at 10:18 AM

      I'd assume the first humans had communication, but not language--about on the level of chimps and gorillas. It's been theorized that the first language (for Neanderthals) was actually sign language, and that spoken language didn't develop until sometime after Cro Magnon man did.

      Delete

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