How did people who speak different languages communicate in the past if language barrier is a thing even now?
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Body language is pretty powerful. Even between two very different cultures.
I went to a Chinese restaurant in Montreal once. I didn’t speak French nor Mandarin and the guy at the register didn’t speak English. And yet, I was able to order exactly what I wanted for dinner.
Lots and lots of communication can be done with zero langauge. Its not that hard to order food in a restaurant without speaking the local language, you just point at what you want and if they dont understand, you still get some food.
So it depends what situatiin you mean, traders dont need to speak the local language to trade, diplomats would stay for a long enough time to learn the language and turism did not realy exist for most of human history.
Lots and lots of communication can be done with zero langauge. Its not that hard to order food in a restaurant without speaking the local language, you just point at what you want and if they dont understand, you still get some food.
So it depends what situatiin you mean, traders dont need to speak the local language to trade, diplomats would stay for a long enough time to learn the language and turism did not realy exist for most of human history.
Body language is pretty powerful. Even between two very different cultures.
I went to a Chinese restaurant in Montreal once. I didn’t speak French nor Mandarin and the guy at the register didn’t speak English. And yet, I was able to order exactly what I wanted for dinner.
It was very common with interpreters in the past as well. And most traders and traveling tradesmen would learn several languages. But just like today there are lots of cases where two people had to communicate without sharing a common language and without an interpreter present. In these cases the body language can be used extensively. By pointing and acting you can make yourself understood even without a common language. But there are also lots of similar words in various languages. Especially within the same language group. This was more common before as the languages did not have as much time to diverge as today. As late as the 1400s most Spanish, French and Italians could talk together with some difficulties and would in fact not usually employ translators.
It was very common with interpreters in the past as well. And most traders and traveling tradesmen would learn several languages. But just like today there are lots of cases where two people had to communicate without sharing a common language and without an interpreter present. In these cases the body language can be used extensively. By pointing and acting you can make yourself understood even without a common language. But there are also lots of similar words in various languages. Especially within the same language group. This was more common before as the languages did not have as much time to diverge as today. As late as the 1400s most Spanish, French and Italians could talk together with some difficulties and would in fact not usually employ translators.
One of three ways usually.
Way 1: point at item. Person says what that is called in their language. You now know the word for that thing in that language.
That doesn’t always work out the way you want it to – for example the name Canada comes from a word for “village”. But it works for simple trading pretty well.
Way 2: Often different languages from close areas have enough similarity that people can roughly understand each other. If you find people from all the stops between your language and the language you want to speak in, you can probably get most of your message across without anybody learning a new language.
For example if you were from Sweden and wanted to speak to someone from Denmark, you could probably do it without either of you learning the other language.
Way 3: if you’re living with people who don’t speak your language at all and none of the other options are available, invent a new language that you can both understand. This is what a pidgin is. The grammar is very simple or even non-existent and the words are borrowed from both languages. After a generation or so a pidgin becomes a creole (which is the same thing but it has grammar), and eventually a creole just becomes its own language.
One of three ways usually.
Way 1: point at item. Person says what that is called in their language. You now know the word for that thing in that language.
That doesn’t always work out the way you want it to – for example the name Canada comes from a word for “village”. But it works for simple trading pretty well.
Way 2: Often different languages from close areas have enough similarity that people can roughly understand each other. If you find people from all the stops between your language and the language you want to speak in, you can probably get most of your message across without anybody learning a new language.
For example if you were from Sweden and wanted to speak to someone from Denmark, you could probably do it without either of you learning the other language.
Way 3: if you’re living with people who don’t speak your language at all and none of the other options are available, invent a new language that you can both understand. This is what a pidgin is. The grammar is very simple or even non-existent and the words are borrowed from both languages. After a generation or so a pidgin becomes a creole (which is the same thing but it has grammar), and eventually a creole just becomes its own language.
Well, for one thing, people usually did not need to speak a different language, but people who did (i.e traders) did not need to dabble about philosophy, it helps
A frequently used long−term solution you had if you were a trader was marrying a local or having an employee or a young member of the family do so. it would give you an interpreter in less than 12 years, which is not much in the grand scheme of things.
Well, for one thing, people usually did not need to speak a different language, but people who did (i.e traders) did not need to dabble about philosophy, it helps
A frequently used long−term solution you had if you were a trader was marrying a local or having an employee or a young member of the family do so. it would give you an interpreter in less than 12 years, which is not much in the grand scheme of things.
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