How did people who speak different languages communicate in the past if language barrier is a thing even now?
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You have to remember that in bygone eras language was very different. It wasn’t standardised like it is today. Borders weren’t as “hard” as they are today. Language in many areas was a gradual shift from one to another rather than a hard stop. So someone living in the south of France, for example, may have spoken a language that was very similar to someone who was living in northern Spain (as we know it today). The further south into Spain you go the further the language would shift away from French and towards Spanish. (This is entirely an example and the history of language is far more complicated. France had numerous languages in the middle ages and up to the French revolution.)
🍎 Æb-le. *points to you, with anticipation expression on my face*. *you look at me. Then the Apple, and say* tjaki-zki-tuu (or what Apple is in our language… U might not be a narive english speaker)
First you learn simple words. Then later you copy the small sentenses you ‘translate’ when the other says ‘me… apple’ and you translate it to ‘you WANT an Apple?’. Its litteraly like how babies learn languages, the natural way by copying. Works between adults too if there is no formal classes where you can learn from texts and conversarions with a teacher.
You have to remember that in bygone eras language was very different. It wasn’t standardised like it is today. Borders weren’t as “hard” as they are today. Language in many areas was a gradual shift from one to another rather than a hard stop. So someone living in the south of France, for example, may have spoken a language that was very similar to someone who was living in northern Spain (as we know it today). The further south into Spain you go the further the language would shift away from French and towards Spanish. (This is entirely an example and the history of language is far more complicated. France had numerous languages in the middle ages and up to the French revolution.)
🍎 Æb-le. *points to you, with anticipation expression on my face*. *you look at me. Then the Apple, and say* tjaki-zki-tuu (or what Apple is in our language… U might not be a narive english speaker)
First you learn simple words. Then later you copy the small sentenses you ‘translate’ when the other says ‘me… apple’ and you translate it to ‘you WANT an Apple?’. Its litteraly like how babies learn languages, the natural way by copying. Works between adults too if there is no formal classes where you can learn from texts and conversarions with a teacher.
My father worked in a part of china 15 years ago where nobody spoke english and at some places it was the first time they saw a foreigner (He once went into a restaurant where they showed him pictures of foreign guest they had in the past and took a photo of him and hung his picture right next to the others).
He usually tried to look what other guests had at their plate in restaurants and ordered by pointing at this guests plate.
He also pointed at his luggage and mimicked a plane to a taxi driver hoping he would bring him to the airport. Body language is very helpful.
My father worked in a part of china 15 years ago where nobody spoke english and at some places it was the first time they saw a foreigner (He once went into a restaurant where they showed him pictures of foreign guest they had in the past and took a photo of him and hung his picture right next to the others).
He usually tried to look what other guests had at their plate in restaurants and ordered by pointing at this guests plate.
He also pointed at his luggage and mimicked a plane to a taxi driver hoping he would bring him to the airport. Body language is very helpful.
Kinda serious- if you’ve ever seen deadwood there’s quite a few scenes where the English speaking people have to communicate with the Chinese (mandarin?) speaking people
A bit sweary, but a good example of how stuff gets done – basically you point / mime and shout/swear until you get your point across
Edit : more than a bit sweary!
Kinda serious- if you’ve ever seen deadwood there’s quite a few scenes where the English speaking people have to communicate with the Chinese (mandarin?) speaking people
A bit sweary, but a good example of how stuff gets done – basically you point / mime and shout/swear until you get your point across
Edit : more than a bit sweary!
Vehicular languages, for example if a 14th century Basque wants to trade with a Turk, he doesn’t learn Turkish and the Turk doesn’t learn Basque, they both learn Mediterranian Lingua Franca (mainly Venetian/Genoese and Occitan/Catalan rather than French) which is widely spoken by merchants throughout the Mediterranian and surrounding areas so you can use it to talk to just about any traveller, trader or seaman. Other regions had their own vehicular languages, eg in the Far East it was Classical Chinese, even after Chinese speakers had moved on to speaking more recent dialects, along the Silk Road it was Sogdian. Nowadays the most common is English, eg if Japanese and Chinese business people have a meeting there’s a good chance they will communicate in English but the International English they will use is slowly becoming it’s own dialect, with different usages and loan words.
Vehicular languages, for example if a 14th century Basque wants to trade with a Turk, he doesn’t learn Turkish and the Turk doesn’t learn Basque, they both learn Mediterranian Lingua Franca (mainly Venetian/Genoese and Occitan/Catalan rather than French) which is widely spoken by merchants throughout the Mediterranian and surrounding areas so you can use it to talk to just about any traveller, trader or seaman. Other regions had their own vehicular languages, eg in the Far East it was Classical Chinese, even after Chinese speakers had moved on to speaking more recent dialects, along the Silk Road it was Sogdian. Nowadays the most common is English, eg if Japanese and Chinese business people have a meeting there’s a good chance they will communicate in English but the International English they will use is slowly becoming it’s own dialect, with different usages and loan words.
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