So in a world with just 2 languages, for example, English and Spanish, and assuming there is only one person speaking each language and the other person doesn’t know how to speak your language, how did people at the beginning of civilization learn and teach a language since no one knows the other language?
I think you can learn the vocabulary by pointing to an object and saying the word but what about the grammar and special rules? I would assume this is because the ancient languages are simple, right?
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It’s not that ancient languages were simple – they weren’t, they were just as complex as modern languages. It’s that learning grammar doesn’t necessarily require translation. You can learn a language from somebody who does not speak your own language just fine, though it may take longer than just having some key words or concepts translated. Your start by learning basic words and phrases and eventually you understand enough to have the grammar explained to you, or just learn it through repetition. Moreover, consider that you don’t really have to have good grammar to understand and be understood in most situations. You might have a lot of frustrating misunderstandings, but if that’s your only option you’ll survive
Also, consider what you’re talking about when you’re saying “the beginning of civilization”. Because there never really could have been a point in history where there were just two different languages that were completely mutually unintelligible. All language evolved from other language, so at the time in human history when there really were just two languages, well then those languages had to have been very closely related to each other and probably mutually intelligible. As a result, there have always been people who have understood multiple languages, as long as multiple languages have existed.
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