How did civilizations who had no contact before learn each others language? How did we learn Japanese when we had no way of knowing what the hell they were saying? What was the process like? Did someone just point to random objects and say that this is a rock or a boat? What about the more complicated stuff? I'm so confused.
>>319970
Basically, you had people in the countries close to it that knew both languages, then people next to them that knew their language and so on.
Indian merchants might know Chinese since they do a lot of trade. There'd be Middle Eastern merchants that knew Indian. And then you'd have Western Merchants that could speak Arabic.
>>319970
Some Brits washed up on Jp shores before Mr Perry came around, they were set to work teaching Japs engrish.
>>319970
This is a question I've been asking myself ages, and I can only assume that, for example, the first non-Japanese speaker to learn Japanese did so like a child, i.e. slowly, word-by-word and through exposure.
>>319998
I think you're skipping the point of OP's question, as you still don't answer how the first Indian learned Chinese, or how the first Westerner learned Arabic. Anyway, sometimes the new languages are introduced overnight, with no go-between, like Europeans in the New World.
>>320284
>as you still don't answer how the first Indian learned Chinese, or how the first Westerner learned Arabic
People growing up in an area that is multicultural (tradehubs) would automatically learn the languages spoken around them.
>>320284
>as you still don't answer how the first Indian learned Chinese
Presumably from living in regions close to each other, thereby learning the language the way a child would learn a language. Through example and practice.
Nigga how do you think immigrant children become billingual? I learned Vietnamese at home and learned English in my interactions with the outside world.
>>320284
>sometimes the new languages are introduced overnight, with no go-between, like Europeans in the New World.
horloge
HORLOGE
"horloge..."
Wow anon I just taught you the French word for clock!
>Points at tree
Tree
>Points at Cat
Cat
People are immersed in the language just start ti pick up on it
>>319998
I can imagine a giant line of translators being employed.
Must have been fucking awkward. No wonder diplomacy used to suck so bad that they had to send giant gifts just to make it clear that they're not going to war with you.
i guess when you were dealing with very foreign nations you probably just tried to find a guy who knows your language or language known in your court in that country and have him translate stuff.
you can trust me i am expert on the subject. i have 600+ hours on CK2
>>320306
>Nigga how do you think immigrant children become billingual? I learned Vietnamese at home and learned English in my interactions with the outside world.
That why I said "did so like a child." Are you sure you managed to learn English?
>>320292
>People growing up in an area that is multicultural (tradehubs) would automatically learn the languages spoken around them.
But there wasn't always a bilingual area connecting two languages, like North America.
>>320320
Qu'est-ce que vous dites, Pierre?
>>320320
Not him, but how did they learn abstract concepts or the nuances of certain verb forms? It's not obvious to me how that was learned. I know it must have occurred, but I don't get how.
Like for example, in Japanese, how did you learn what the んです ending did, or what おく does after the て-form of a verb?
>>320409
>But there wasn't always a bilingual area connecting two languages, like North America.
He wasn't refering to those areas. They were talking about Japan.
Communicating with Amerindians was just harder because you had to piece together the language from scratch. Once you did however you could use natives to translate for surrounding tribes and so on. Natives learned European languages and European fur traders learned Amerindian languages.
>>320409
Squanto
OP confirmed for monolingual
>>321734
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnnREr8BV24
also very relevant
>>321453
>Not him, but how did they learn abstract concepts or the nuances of certain verb forms? It's not obvious to me how that was learned. I know it must have occurred, but I don't get how.
They probably spoke like retards when they were learning, and through correction and reinforcement, learned the proper way to speak. Most people have horrendous grammar when they learn a new language. You just get corrected on it over time. Just look at any 6th grade spanish class. Every student is using the wrong verb form for the subject.
>>319998
Explain how Europeans learned American languages like Nahuatl then.
>>319970
>How did we learn Japanese when we had no way of knowing what the hell they were saying?
In Japan's case, cunts had Chinese translate shit for Europeans
Chinese got around a lot due to trade and the fact that Nips used Chink characters.
>>319970
When people are immersed in another language they gradually learn it just from watching and listening.
>>320320
Nice horloge, Ahmed
Wanna bring it to the white house?
>>319970
probably just used rosetta stone 2bh
speaking of which, don't forget the black friday sale is extended for this day only! get your complete 1-5 level sets for only $199
>>325349
I know that Cortés used a slave native girl and a shipwreck survivor that spent some time with the natives.
>>325391
Forgot to say that the spaniard knew maya (and obviously spanish) and the native girl knew maya and nahua. Cortés had to use the two translators to speak with the nahuas before Malinche (the girl) learned spanish, which she did pretty fast as apparently she was pretty smart.
>>320409
>Are you sure you managed to learn English?
Heh, sometimes I ask my students how they'd react if I told them I'd been teaching them the wrong language. Would be awkward.
>>319970
>Border area.
>two people
>lets fug.
>baby
>the kid is bilingual and then gets a job on mother's or father's people.
>Get benefits because he understand what the other is saying
One of many ways.
"Bilingualism And The Latin Language" http://www.mediafire.com/view/pj01ms69jwje7q3/Bilingualism_And_The_Latin_Language.pdf may help you with your question. The general theme is the nature of the contact between Latin and numerous other languages spoken in the Roman world. The three main things it focuses on is code-switching (switching between two languages in a single utterance) and its motivation, language contact as a cause of linguistic change, and the part played by language choice and language switching in conveying a sense of identity.
