Why so many diferent languages in Europe?

Question

The Babel tower was in Europe?
You know, it look like each eurpean country have a particular language. I don´t understand why they dont want to comunicate each others as if they where enemies, or whant to keep a secret.

Answer 1

There are languages widespread over vast regiosn, like english, spanish or portuguese in the Americas. This is not something "normal" as it is the direct result of cultural domination and linguistic contact in which one langiuage was the power language agains he native languages that were despised.
It's something really common that close villages speak unintelligible languages. Your claim that is an europe excentricity in reality reflects your limited knowledge about the linguistic plurality in te world. Even in the US, Mexico, Australia or Canada there are several minority languages spoken.

Answer 2

How many languages existed in North and South America before the arrival of the Spanish and English? The reason why those two language dominate the Americas is that they won a very long war against local cultures.
In Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire there never was a dominating power lasting more than a century. And that is a century in the Middle Ages and not in Modern Times.
See the heritage of the Romans. Most of their European dominions are of "latin" heritage. French, spanish, italian are all languages that came out of latin.
On communication in Europe : most of the nobles spoke french throughout the ages. At least the governing classes (who decided about wars anyway) could communicate with each other. English became such a powerful language only in the XX century.
Today communication works pretty well in Europe. I spek 4 different european languages and uese them every day. And I get by with english nearly everywhere in Europe. And when I want to keep a secret I speak a dialect that is note understood by any people who don't come from the same part of France as I do.

Answer 3

The Tower of Babel would have been in what is now Iraq.

The reason that most Europeans do not speak English is because the English Channel kept Europe isolated from civilisation.

Answer 4

I think it started with the monarchy having a different language than the commoners. And considering the vastness of Europe, it makes sense that the commoners' language differed from place to place. Something like that, I believe.

Answer 5

Left to its own devices, each community has its own language naturally, it is only with industrialisation and standardisation that local languages get wiped out. To lose your language is to lose your identity. In the modern world, "official" languages correlate closely with national or regional boundaries, but this gives an artificial picture. Take all the Latin languages for example, eg: Italian, Sicilian, Venetian, Romanian, Sardinian, Catalan, Valencian, Mallorcan, Galician, Asturian, Spanish, Portuguese, Provençal, Languedoc, French, Jersiaise, Walloon - they are all related, but we artificially chop them up by official political borders.

Answer 6

Variety is the charactristic of languages as a whole.Language reflects the culture behind it.And culture shaped its language.It is the variety of world's cultures that determined the variety of languages.In ancient times,people lived isolatedly and had no way reaching out to other lands;they didn't know how to make boats,vehicles and aircrafts.Thus,they had to live within their groups and created their culture and language which of course,differed to some degree.

Answer 7

Well, we never got around to murdering and enslaving each other like what you did to native Indians. Had the American butchering of the continent never happened there would definitely be as many languages in North America. Wampanoag, Navajo, Cherokee... look 'em up!

Answer 8

There are so many different languages in Europe because too many Europeans refuse to speak God's own preferred language.

That would be English, of course :o)

Answer 9

they didn't have phones and things were different. they were all invade so many times and so many immigrated and the old languages kept evolving but they didn't have superhighways or bridges or much else. same around the world. yet, everybody had a language. they just kinda made it up as they went along. far fewer people. little travel. isolation, relatively speaking. wierd ain't it?

Answer 10

All parts of the world have multiple languages. You should take a look at Indonesia.