So Danish and Swedish are an example of languages that are mutually intelligible, apparently, yet if thats the case, how are they not considered the same language? If a Danish speaker can understand a Swedish speaker, then what makes the two separate languages and not just like… really distant dialects (like a Scottish accent + slang vs an English accent + slang)?
I’m very confused!
In: 18
Let’s take your question and run in back in reverse, so to speak: “If two people who speak the same language can have difficulty communicating due to the dialects of one or both speakers, is it still the same language?”
That question, no matter how you answer it, points at the fact that language isn’t exactly decided by who can understand you but by the nature of the language itself. What is or isn’t a separate and discint language is more a matter of anthropology, history, other academic considerations, and politics. Also, people who have these academic backgrounds often disagree on where the exact line between certain dialects and languages actually is.
Personally, I’d leave it up to the native speakers of those languages to decide; if Swedes and Danes consider their languages separate, then I’d tend to consider them separate.
(Edited for clarity)
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