Why do people in spain speak spanish, and people in portugal speak portuguese, italians speak italian, chinese speak mandarin? etc..
I find it amazing!!
2007-07-31 20:46:03 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
There is disagreement among anthropologists on when language was first used by humans (or their ancestors). Estimates range from about two million (2,000,000) years ago, during the time of Homo habilis, to as recently as forty thousand (40,000) years ago, during the time of Cro-Magnon man. However recent evidence suggests modern human language was invented or evolved in Africa prior to the dispersal of humans from Africa around 50,000 years ago. Since all people including the most isolated indigenous groups such as the Andamanese or the Tasmanian aboriginals posess language, then it must have been present in the ancestral populations in Africa before the human population split into various groups to colonize the rest of the world.
2007-07-31 20:55:30 · answer #1 · answered by Cry_Wolf 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know if you are a christian, but i will answer this question as i understand.
Thousands of years ago, men on the face of the earth wanted to make a tower that would reach up to heaven so that the could go to heaven at will, speak to God and do all sort of things but God saw that they were determined in their quest so he decided to brek them up by making them speak different languages. After this they could not undestand each other so the tower was abandoned and it was called the tower of babel. Those that spoke the same language converged at the same place, hence the split in the languages. This is the belief of all true christians and i hope that you also understand and believe.
2007-08-01 04:13:11 · answer #2 · answered by wales4u_14 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
So that many people won't understand what the other people say. It's just like a secret code! I'll show you a funny example:
IDK#1: Konnichiwa, IDK#2!
IDK#2: Hajimemashite, IDK#1!
IDK#4: What the heck are you talking about?
IDK#1 and IDK#2: SECRET! You should read the bible first, then research the internet!
IDK#4: Okay!
After a year,
IDK#4: Ohayo minasan! Tookyoo e ikimashita! Watashi wa Nihonggo o kenkyuu! Ogenki desuka?
IDK#1 and IDK#2: Aw, that's great! How did you do that?
IDK#4: I did what you said, you two should try it!
IDK#1 and IDK#2: Okay!
After a month...
IDK#1: Ohayo! IDK#2! Ogenki desu ka?
IDK#2: Hai genki desu! Konnichi wa IDK#4!
IDK#4: An nyong haseyo!
IDK#1: and IDK#2: Huh?
IDK#4: I started studying Korean! You should try it two!
After another month...
IDK#1: An nyong haseyo! IDK#2!
IDK#2: An nyong haseyo! Myochshiimnikka?
IDK#1: Shib...
IDK#4: Magandang umaga, mga kaibigan!
IDK#1 and IDK#2: Huh? Another language?
IDK#4: Yeah! I like Tagalog language! You should try it!
IDK#1 and IDK#2: Okay!
Then IDK#4 studied many languages until the three know some thousands of languages...
IDK#1: blahblahblah?
IDK#2: blahblah, ablahkablahblah!
IDK#4: blahahahablahblah!
(Their tounge twisted when they learned too much languages!)
2007-08-01 05:18:19 · answer #3 · answered by hana no ana 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In the bible it is said that while people came together to build a tower that would reach god, he formed languages so that the could not communicate with each other.
But when you asked about Chinese and Manderin, Spanish and Portuguese, those are formed by dialects.
You see it in England, The southerners would use one word for a bread roll, and people in the north would use another. Thats how simular languages are formed.
2007-08-01 03:59:53 · answer #4 · answered by natasha * 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋
jus ask yourself, how we came by internet, it will relate you to computer, it will relate you to television and so on.
So before a communiocation becomes a language , there is always a start as in a basic level of communication and sounds that took place among the Humans, who journeyed out of Africa then, later they for a civilisation and the need for communication was much needed where languges and writing could be formed ?
Or God knows
2007-08-01 03:59:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It all started with a basic need to communicate, and as the people spread their languages differed.
2007-08-01 03:48:43 · answer #6 · answered by Timothy C 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Different groups of people were isolated from each other when languages were first created, so they all formed differently.
2007-08-01 03:54:08 · answer #7 · answered by Kate 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Me too!
The study of language formation is called etymology. Check out this site here for English etymology:
http://www.etymonline.com/
Pretty neat-o! Hope this helps!
2007-08-01 03:50:18 · answer #8 · answered by p37ry 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Find someone who knows the bible reeely well. I seem to remember a time when the Lord told all the people to go their own ways and speak your own language.
2007-08-01 04:02:17 · answer #9 · answered by tink 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
It is amazing. But languages didn't form themselves. We did. =D
2007-08-01 03:48:21 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋