"No story can give us such a precise idea of the vicissitudes of a people, their social organization, and their beliefs and feelings as an analysis of their language." - MARTIN ALONSO.
Throughout history, the language - its origins, its diversity, and its dynamic nature - has fascinated scholars. In fact, like most historical documents, its fascination remained thanks to the language itself. Undoubtedly, man has his ultimate means of communication in language.
Today, some linguists estimate that about 6,000 or more languages are spoken worldwide, excluding local dialects. By far the most widely spoken language is Mandarin, with over 800 million speakers. The next four most commonly spoken languages, not necessarily in that order, are English, Spanish, Hindi, and Bengali.
What happens when different cultures and of course their languages suddenly come into contact with one another? On the other hand, how does group isolation affect your language? Let's see how bridges are built, but also walls for communication.
Pidgins, Creoles and lingua franca
Colonization, trade between countries, and even being restricted to concentration camps made people feel the need to fill the communication gap as they did not have a common language. So they started using a reduced or simplified form of the language. They eliminated grammatical complications, used fewer words, and restricted them to areas of common interest. This is how pidgins were created. Pidgin, however small it may be, is a language with its own language system. But when the need passes, he can die.
When pidgin becomes the main language of a population, new words are added and grammar reorganized. He then becomes a Creole. In contrast to pidgins, creoles express the culture of a people. Today, dozens of pidgins and creoles are spoken around the world based on English, French, Portuguese, Swahili and other languages. Some have even become prominent languages in one country, such as Tok Pisin in Papua New Guinea and Bislama in Vanuatu.
Other bridges that promote communication are the lingua franca. The lingua franca is a common language used by groups with different mother tongues. In the Central African Republic, for example, speakers of several national languages can communicate with Sango. Among the diplomats, English and French are languages used as lingua franca. Pidgins are the lingua franca, as are Creoles.
Local variants of the national language, so-called dialects, can be used in different regions of a country. The more isolated the region, the more pronounced the differences can be. Over time, some dialects differ so much from the region's original language that they become a different language. In some cases, it is not easy for linguists to distinguish between a language and a dialect. As languages are constantly changing, dialects sometimes die of disuse and with them a piece of history dies.
Language is a divine gift. (Exodus 4:11) The fascinating process of changing languages shows how flexible this gift is. We can also learn in one language that no group of people is superior to another because there is no inferior language. As with other divine gifts, language is equally accessible to all, regardless of their culture or location. From the beginning, the languages of all peoples were broad enough to serve their purposes. Each of them deserves respect regardless of how many people use them.
Historical and social factors
The social nature of humanity is reflected in language. If there is a contact between cultures, which occurs frequently, the languages of those cultures indicate that contact over generations.
For example, Spanish, which is considered a modified version of Latin, through its many words of Arabic origin, retains a trace of the Muslim conquest of Spanish territory in the 8th century. The influence of Greek, French, English and other languages on Spanish can also be traced. In addition, there are traces of ancient inhabitants of the continent in the Spanish spoken in America. For example, Spanish contains many words from the Nahuatl language of the Aztecs of Central America.
Just as a mother tongue identifies people with a particular nation and even region, so use of the language can identify people with a group, e.g. B. a profession, business, cultural and sports groups or even groups. criminal organizations. The list is practically endless. Linguists call these particular variations slang or jargon, or sometimes even dialect.
However, when there is hostility between nations and ethnic or cultural groups, language is no longer a bridge. It can become a wall that increases the separation between people.
The future of languages
Communication is a complex subject. On the one hand, the modern trend is to tear down the walls of language, mostly because of the media. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica, 1 in 7 people speak English as a primary or secondary language. It is therefore the most widely used lingua franca in the world. The use of people enabled broader communication and a beneficial exchange of information.
On the other hand, the walls of language contributed to division, hatred and war. The World Book Encyclopedia says, “When all people speak the same language,. . . Goodwill would increase between countries. "It is clear that this goodwill would require a more profound change than the mere use of a lingua franca. Only the wise Creator of the language could make a language speak to everyone.
It’s was enjoyable readings this article