I don't know but I've just been wondering about language lately. It's just funny how people can communicate, but at the same time there are so many different languages......it's a mystery I gues. What are your thoughts?
2007-02-05 08:09:23 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
It is not at all weird. I study linguistics, and we had a course on that lately. Languages keep evolving all the time, new words are created while others are forgotten. If you want to know more about that, I can recommend "The Seeds of Speech" by Jean Aitchinson. It is quite an easy read and uses a lot of case studies.
2007-02-05 08:16:23 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think language is wonderful. It makes possible reason and the transmission of information from one age and one culture to another. There are some marvelous books about language, such as "The Ape That Spoke," that talk about the development of language.
If I were inclined to believe in miracles, language would be the premier miracle of all.
2007-02-05 08:14:28 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I completely agree with you. I am fluent in three languages, and whenever I speak in one language, I can't help but think how unusual it might sound for someone who can't speak that language. It gives you a different perspective.
2007-02-05 13:00:13 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it is especially interesting to trace the origins of words and see how so many languages connect in the distant past.
2007-02-05 08:17:52 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
THE TOWER OF BABEL
After Noah's flood people believed in and obeyed God for a while. But as they began to increase in number a large group turned away from following God. They did not believe His promise that He would never send another flood to cover the whole earth again. They did not want to obey what God told them to do. They did not like Noah who constantly told them they were doing the wrong thing, and that they should change their ways. Noah's righteous lifestyle was so different to theirs that they did not want to live near him any more.
A large number of them moved from the mountains of Ararat to the plain of Shinar. This was a very lush, green plain that was between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. Here they built a large city. These people made bricks from clay, and burned them. They used slime for mortar, like the cement we use to hold the bricks together when building. Bit by bit they built their city.
They also talked to one another about their disbelief of God's promise not to send another flood to cover the whole earth again, and what they could do to prepare themselves should God change His mind. After much talking they decided to build a tower. Not just a large tower, but a huge tower. This tower would be so large that the top of it would reach unto heaven. They thought that if God did change His mind, all they would have to do is climb to the top of their tower and they would be saved.
God was watching what these people were doing. He was not pleased. He had to do something to teach these people a lesson they would never forget. If He let disobedience like this go unpunished, what else might these people think about doing? But what could He do?
Everyone back then spoke the same language, so God said, "Let us go down and mix up their languages so that they cannot speak to one another."
Everyone was busy building. Then all of a sudden everything went terribly wrong. The workers could not understand each other. The forman could not understand the workers. The architects could not understand the forman. Men became angry with one another. Fights broke out here and there. How could they carry on building? They couldn't.
They packed up their work things and went back to their houses. Slowly people found others that did speak the same as themselves. Groups were formed. People who spoke the same language moved away together. Each group moved to a different part of the earth.
So the Lord scattered the people everywhere as He originally intended.
The place in Shinar where the people built their city and tower was called "Babel," because the Lord did here mix up all the languages, and scatter all the people. The people who stayed here later changed the name to "Babylon."
This story shows us that it is always better to trust in God than to trust other human beings, or what we can make.
This story is based on Genesis 11:1-9; Psalms 118:8, 9.
2007-02-05 08:19:09 · answer #5 · answered by Buff 6 · 0⤊ 3⤋
I think they are not weired....becuze i am an Indian and i love our different languages and culture...they are interesting.....
Guess what -i know 4 different languages-Marathi,Hindi,Gujarati and English....
2007-02-05 10:35:03 · answer #6 · answered by Hi™ 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i agree...i think about them from time to time...it's really weird...cause they all had to start at one time...and we all have different ones...it's like how do they keep coming up w/ stuff...and all the written languages are funny too, how someone can teach someone else and they learn...I dunno...I tend to be a deep thinker...haha...
2007-02-05 08:15:21 · answer #7 · answered by :] 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
i wish that the whole world spoke i language (i don't like German)
it would be so much easier
2007-02-05 08:44:29 · answer #8 · answered by kamkirsty 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think languages are interesting........I am learning German
2007-02-05 08:16:43 · answer #9 · answered by angel 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
O THEIR THE BEST THINGS I THINK EVER HAPPEN IN AMERICA
2007-02-05 09:11:22 · answer #10 · answered by mzfiestychick92 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋