How did people who speak different languages communicate in the past if language barrier is a thing even now?
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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.
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