2006-08-01 22:10:04 · 3 answers · asked by Ellen Juliet I 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
It's usually a matter of determining what features of a language it inherited from its ancestor using the methods of comparative linguistics, then determining what kinds of changes are more or less natural given the language type, and then whatever is left over we look for influence from surrounding languages. If the influence is in terms of vocabulary, then it's usually easy to see a borrowed word. If the influence is in terms of a sound or set of sounds, then we can see that those sounds are NOT in the related languages, but ARE in the neighboring (unrelated) languages. If the influence is in terms of grammar, then we can see similarities in the grammar that the language shares with its unrelated neighbors and not with its relatives. It is sometimes VERY hard to tell if something is due to natural change or due to influence from a neighboring language.
2006-08-01 22:30:17 · answer #1 · answered by Taivo 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Elementary. Speak in one language to another who is not supposed to know it, and see how much he understands. Then speak the other to another who does not understand this second language. Add up and you will have your conclusion.
Frankly, wise person should not get into this language mess! We still persist with our original language, which did not have any skript, but could be understood by discribing it as scream, lOl, Cry or simply babble anything without thinking. These are common in all languages of the world.
2006-08-02 05:22:23 · answer #2 · answered by kal_i_das 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Comparative linguistics and philology.
2006-08-02 05:14:35 · answer #3 · answered by helixburger 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋