How did European explorers communicate with the natives of the various places when they couldn't speak each other's language in the first contacts?
Interpreters, gestures, patience
It must have been terrible to try to explain the political structure of China or Japan as a daimyo or mandarin to those dumb Portuguese moors.
>>1244866
How do you communicate with people who can't understand you?
Now just add a bit about not wanting to murder them, or replace the interaction with murder
>>1244875
>Interpreters
I came here just to check if I had read that right. Godspeed you magnificent bastard
>>1244884
It was. But to be fair, it's because THE JAPANESE WERE A BUNCH OF PRISSY IDIOTS.
For example: Spain, Portugal, and England had for the longest fucking time, had no idea who the fuck ruled Japan.
Spain and Portugal took the Chinese direction (they were talking to Nips via Chink interpreters) and said Japan had a King. And this King was Taicosama (Hideyoshi's address. Simply means "Great Lord.")
But oh, wait, there's apparently an Emperor. But he's not ruling eh? So Jesuits interpreted this as "Mmmmaybe the guys is a religious leader? Like the pope?" And left it at that,
By the time the English and the Dutch were in Japan in the 1600's. These two mistook the Tokugawa shogun as THE Emperor. Covering the siege of Osaka, English merchants who were tagging along with Tokugawa's army frequently referred to Tokugawa Ieyasu as "the aged emperor."
Creole languages formed very often. They're combinations of two or more languages. Africa has multiple creoles due to colonization.
>>1244866
You can have a good interpreter from a mixed kid in like 3-4 years.
>>1244866
Cortez found a missionary who lived in a mayan village for several years and knew solid mayan. Then he found a grill who spoke both mayan and aztec languages and used these two combined until they made kiddie translators with native grills.
>>1244866
the portuguese spoke arabic and also a native berber tongue throught much of western africa. when they reached india they spoke arabic and spanish tho (there was an arab there who famously had spent his youth in granada)
>>1244866
I guess they shot them if all else failed.
>>1245081
The grill who spoke mayan and aztec eventually learned spanish too and was key for the conquest of the Aztec Empire.
>>1245506
She could have taught you English.
>>1245570
I would have taught HER a few things if you know what I mean
>>1245621
like where your prostate is?
