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Category: Other Languages
Is there a connection between the two lower case sigmas in Greek and the two lower case s in traditional German writing (black letter / cursive)?
The two certainly originated independently. Blackletter started elongating the medial s in the 8th century (Long s); Greek started using the pre-8th century lunate sigma as a final form, from the 11th century on (Letters). Both Greek and Latin scripts invented lowercase at the same time, but there was no real cultural contact between West […]
Why does the French language sound so different from the other Romance or Latin languages?
These answers are kinda converging. My answer is: What Brian Collins said—the vowel repertoire, plus the final consonants, and the nasals. There are nasals elsewhere, including Vulgar Latin; but the nasals are a huge part of the French stereotype. [hɔ̃.hɔ̃.hɔ̃] Grudgingly, I admit that the nasals are less critical than the other two. I hate […]
What country of origin does the first name “Zander” come from?
Can be German as Romain Bouchard said, can be English, can be Dutch (mostly as Sander (name)); Zander, Sander, and Xander are abbreviations of Alexander. Xan Fielding was born in 1919, and the oldest Xander listed under Xander was Xander Berkeley, born 1955. But the name was popularised through Xander Harris of Buffy. As a […]
What languages are spoken in Vanuatu?
Ethnologue lists 113 languages for Vanuatu, two extinct: Vanuatu Vanuatu has the highest language density of any country on the planet: one language per 2,000 people. When last I checked, Vanuatu was also the last frontier for a large number of undocumented or underdocumented languages. Ethnologue is compiled by SIL International, which coordinates missionary linguists. […]
Why is the French “U” different from the other Latin languages?
Mildred Pope, From Latin to Modern French, 1934. A very good book. Early on in the history of French, every instance of /u/ changed to /y/; and very soon after, every instance of closed /o/ changed to /u/, as a pull-chain (of the kind that happens a lot with vowels). It’s not as early on […]
If all indo european languages come from one language, does that mean that it used to be one people who spoke that language?
Probably, but not necessarily. As the astute Joachim Pense put it (answering this question, rather than the OP’s question): Joachim Pense’s answer to Linguists believe Proto indo European is the root of all those European languages. Does this mean that at one time everyone spoke the same language? No. Proto-Indo-European is a reconstruction that has […]
What are the two most studied foreign languages in your country? (excluding English)?
To my amusement, when I googled for this in Australia, I found that I know the researchers that came up with the latest research on this. The latest research I found was 10 years ago, though (which is why I know them); and I don’t think the numbers will have stayed the same. http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/… As […]
What languages did people in Anatolia/Turkey speak prior to the arrival of the Seljuk Turks?
Originally Answered: Which languages were spoken in Anatolia and modern Turkey when Turkic arrived? I’m touched by Anon’s A2A’ing assumption of my omniscience, but I’m going to Wikipedia here, to confirm my vague hunch that the Anatolian languages of yore were long, long gone by the time the Seljuks came to town. Anatolian languages and […]
Why do the Romani people in Bulgaria and Greece speak Turkish among themselves?
I don’t know the full answer, and I’m not seeing enough of an answer in Wikipedia. Let me put together what I know. There have been Roma in Greece for the better part of a millennium; we know linguistically that they went through Anatolia and Greece on the way to Europe, there is Greek in […]
Is French word fiancailles translated in Hebrew as Erabon?
No. No no no. The Hebrew word ’erabon “pledge” (Strong 6162. עֲרָבוֹן (erabon)) shows up in Greek as arrabōn. In fact, it doesn’t quite: the word was borrowed in Classical times, so it was likely taken from Phoenecian instead. Within Greek, arrabōn ended up meaning “engagement, betrothal”, because a betrothal is a kind of pledge. […]