How do languages die? I can understand if it was already spoken by a minority of peoples, but in the case of something like Celtics, how did it happen? Another example might be how widespread Niger Congo languages are, surely more families were spoken in Sub-Saharan Africa before? Is it genocide? Do the foreign speakers just slowly begin to outnumber the natives?
>Is it genocide?
>>994453
The same way they're dying today, the population starts to speak another language more frequently, usually a lingua franca, until the old language is marginalised and eventually disappears. European mainlanders don't realise it, but their languages are already dying. The Dutch, Swedes and Norwegians seem to speak English 50% of the time even amongst themselves.
>>994468
>The Dutch, Swedes and Norwegians seem to speak English 50% of the time even amongst themselves.
What? I honestly doubt this.
>>994453
Celtic languages still exist, it's just that they were dominated by the languages of the conquerors (French, English). And really, before Celtic languages, the natives in Western Europe spoke non-Indo-European languages.
>>994468
>The Dutch, Swedes and Norwegians seem to speak English 50% of the time even amongst themselves.
Nee
>>996675
>The Dutch, Swedes and Norwegians seem to speak English 50% of the time even amongst themselves.
That's false. We would speak English to eachother only if we are in a group wtih a person who knows English, but not Norwegian. I may be using English to a big degree but that's because I have few to interact with right now and I like to shitpost.
After my draft period I honestly felt like I lost my English, because I barely read any English at all during that period of my life.
>>996732
Honestly, When?
Sounds awkward.
>>994468
Well Dutch people tend to use English words or phrases but it's not 50% of what we speak, maybe 5%.
We also use loan words where we already have native words, so it's kinda true that our language is being marginalised by some people but mostly by people who're trying to be hip and edgy.
>How do languages die?
Same way any other fashion dies
Once upon a time powdered wigs and stockings were the manliest thing ever, then it was fedoras & suits, now T-shirts and jeans
Everybody follows the dominant culture at the cost of the old one
>>996675
Belgian here. There is a huge meme in the nederdraad on /int/ where posters from urban centers use a lot of English words. Our language is dying and replaced by English and Arabic.
>>994468
>The Dutch, Swedes and Norwegians seem to speak English 50% of the time even amongst themselves.
Nicely memed, my friend
>>996752
>Our language is dying
You have two spares
>>996739
>Honestly, When?
Some years ago.
>Sounds awkward.
It is, though 50% is an exaggeration, but English wordrs do sneak into conversations often. Will probably take many years before it reachers 50%, but who knows?
>>994468
Is lying, btw.
>>996841
Must've been years ago. I remember that English loanwords like "weekend", "party", "whatever" was really popular to use in the 00s. Now some of those words have been dropped or adopted and appropriately accomodated. Like the word "fucked", and how it's now commonly accepted as "fokka". People in general in lesser degree feel that it is imperative to pronounce English loanwords as orally close to English as they are able to as well.
>>996882
>Like the word "fucked", and how it's now commonly accepted as "fokka"
But that's not Norwegian dying, that's Norwegian changing. Languages have been influencing, borrowing and lending words to each other since the first languages were born
>>994453
It's the same kind of thing as species going extinct, but there's no natural selection, it's all pretty much random.
>>994453
>Another example might be how widespread Niger Congo languages are, surely more families were spoken in Sub-Saharan Africa before?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bantu_expansion
>>994468
>The Dutch, Swedes and Norwegians seem to speak English 50% of the time even amongst themselves.
