Questions tagged [language]
Questions on historical use of languages and their development.
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Earliest story?
Personal amateur research shows The Epic of Giglamesh to be the earliest work of literature. I am curious if ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs depicted histories, warnings or tales? Are any simple stories ...
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Why did the father of algebra speak Arabic instead of Persian?
I'm reading about algebra and the man most associated with its creation or popularisation, Muhammad al-Khwarizmi. We know that algebra comes from the Arabic "al-jabr", but what I don't understand is ...
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Origin of "It won't be done by next Tuesday"
This may seem ridiculous but I'll give it a shot anyway. Always very interested in history, especially figuring out where sayings came from. Been watching Downton Abbey for probably the hundredth time ...
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Old audio recordings showing language change
Languages change with time and pronunciation is one of the things that changes. What is interesting about pronunciation is that direct evidence of this change exists only since we invented audio ...
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What is this griffin-like creature labelling a lunar mansion in the Zubdat al-Tawarikh?
While looking for astronomy-related things I found out about this Turkish history manuscript from 1583 called the Zubdat al-Tawarikh or "History of the World". One of the first things in it is an ...
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Did Roman Britannia leave any impacts on English?
I was discussing French influence on English language with some other users and while on the topic of if the Latin influence on English language came exclusively from the Normans, it occurred to me ...
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Why was Ormond Castle in Scotland so called?
There was a castle in Scotland known as Ormond Castle which had existed since at least the beginning of the 13th century. It sat upon Ormond hill in the Black Isle.
Why was it called Ormond Castle? ...
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What does the abbreviation "adhib." mean in historiography or archival science?
What does the abbreviation
adhib.
mean in the context of historiography and archival science?
Remarks.
This question is not about the meaning in medicine. This is easy to look up.
Of course, ...
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How do historians and linguists know how to pronounce the names from non-phonetic scripts?
If we take hieroglyphic writings like the Egyptian one, an Egyptologist knows that this hieroglyph must be interpreted as Nefertiti.
Or we can see in the following Sumerian cuneiform script that ...
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During the Chola dynasty how extensive was the use of Sanskrit in government and by the people?
David Shulman in his book "Tamil" notes:
One thing, however, is certain: the Cholas were happy to use Tamil as
an official state language, along with Sanskrit; and they, or the
poets they ...
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How was the Ancient Egyptian name 'God is Gracious' written?
According to this article Behind the Name: Ancient Egyptian Names Revealed there exists an Ancient Egyptian name meaning "God is Gracious".
What is that name and how is it written in Hieroglyphics? (...
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What impact did the migration of Germanic tribes have on languages in the rest of Europe?
I am currently looking for information about the migration of the Germanic tribes, and especially it's effects on European languages, or other languages.
Google Search provided me information about ...
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Why did Latin disappear so completely in Britain after the Romans left?
My impression, wholly prone to error, is that despite centuries of Roman occupation, after the Anglo-Saxon invasions, Latin virtually became a dead language in Britain.
Other parts of the Roman ...
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When did people decide that all caps means the writer is shouting?
Nowadays, writing in all caps tends to indicate that the writer is shouting.
FOR EXAMPLE IF I TYPE LIKE THIS PEOPLE EQUATE THIS TO SHOUTING.
My understanding from cursory googling is that letters ...
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What is the origin of the Scythians?
I am searching for Iranian languages and I encountered this chart shows Scythian as a Northeastern language.
On the other hand, my history course indicated that Scythians are a Proto-Turkic tribe. ...
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Meaning and usage of "Child of State"?
I have recently been reading about the 1688 English Revolution, which put William and Mary on the throne, more specifically about William and Mary's roles in deposing her father.
At least one book ...
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What is the term for "power vacuum" before the concept of vacuum?
Essentially I am wondering, what was the term for a power vacuum (when a position of power is suddenly unoccupied such as a monarch with no heir) before the concept of a vacuum existed?
I understand ...
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Which languages did H.P. Lovecraft understand?
H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) wrote his stories (including the "Cthulhu Mythos") in English, but his Wikipedia page notes that several French authors provided commentary on his stories. It doesn't ...
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Animosity between Mandarin-speaking and Cantonese-speaking Chinese?
The PRC-ROC schism aside, has there historically been (or is there today) any animosity or feelings of cultural or racial superiority between Mandarin-speaking Chinese and Cantonese-speaking Chinese?
...
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How multilingual would Canaanite citizens have been?
This question concerns the Land of Israel circa 1,500-1,000 BCE.
Different sources mention different languages for this region:
This land was part of the New Kingdom of Egypt, so presumably Middle ...
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What was the court language of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan?
Administrative language of Muslim rulers was usually Persian. But I doubt Tipu's courts used Persian. Was it Persian or Kannada? Even the Nizams started using Urdu instead of Persian after the 1800s.
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What languages were common in first century Jerusalem?
The Pentecost just made me wonder what languages were common in first century Jerusalem. The miracle of Pentecost was that the apostles were preaching in many languages, and this would assume that ...
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What's the Ancient Egyptian word for "benedict"?
I've been searching for, but can't for the life of me find the equivalent in ancient Egyptian to the word "benedict". Tried with "blessed", "glorified", and "exalted" too to no avail.
Thanks in ...
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Why did the Romans change Europe's language, but the barbarians didn't?
When the Roman republic/empire took over the Mediterranean between 40 BC and 20 AD, Vulgar Latin replaced the local languages almost completely. Basque seems to be the only remaining pre-Roman ...
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Where and how did scientists of the 18th and 19th century learn foreign languages?
I'm always amazed by the the apparent amount of foreign languages that scientists in the 18th and 19th centuries seem to have possessed. With the end of Latin as the main scholarly language, ...
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Why didn't the Greek language survive in Egypt?
During antiquity, there were multiple Greek colonies in today's Egypt. Later Alexander the Great conquered these territories and then the Ptolemaic Kingdom was established. Some of today's Egypt was ...
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Language Grammar History [closed]
I was trying to search for an article on the Web but cannot find from an authentic source.
I want to know when and which language was first formalized and its grammar specified.
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Were the Quebecois ever considered higher-class because they spoke French?
For a very long time, French was, well, the lingua franca. All courts spoke French, from England to Russia. Everyone else, as always, tried to emulate what the nobles were doing, and learned French if ...
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How much of a effect did linguistic relativism play in ancient Europe?
In linguistics we have a concept known as 'language relativism'. It's the idea that since languages change with time, and that they can share features with each other, the borders between them can be ...
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Why did English adopt Kamikaze (神風) as a loanword instead of Tokko (特攻) during/after WWII?
Kamikaze (you know, the 'crash plane into boat' thing) is, for Japanese learners like myself, initially a very confusing word. In Japanese it's 神風, 神 meaning god, gods, divinity, etc. And 風 means wind,...
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Why are Turkish people and other Turkik people considered of Mongolic race if their language is not in the Mongolic language family? [closed]
I saw that Turkish people are considered of Mongolic race even though Mongolic and Turkic are separate language families? Why are those races considered the same but their languages are so different ...
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Is the adamic alphabet the origin of the Greek? [closed]
The adamic alphabet seems to cover the entire Greek alphabet including even more letters and symbols, like sampi, heta (which I thought was just the origin of eta, but apparently not), yot, koppa etc.....
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When did Ireland become majority English-speaking
It seems to me it was around the time of the Famine of the 1840s, given that it was particularly deadly to poorer, more rural Gaelic-speaking areas. But the best I can find are vague statements like "...
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When did French become the official language of France? [closed]
While French did exist in France and differed depending on areas, it was not the official language. When did it become so ?
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Who was the Irish interpreter in Monterey in 1822?
Kirill Khlebnikov was a Russian business agent who made several visits to Alta California. His "Travel Notes" from 1822 describe Khlebnikov's visit to Governor Sola in Monterey, who sent for "the ...
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In the "Immigrationist theory" of Romanians (Vlachs), how did they became the vast majority in Transylvania?
The origins of Romanians is, for me, one of history's more interesting problems and I mostly agree with the "Immigrationist theory".
The great mystery for me is how could they become the majority in ...
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Looking for a (preferably digital) collection of McCarthy speeches (transcripts)
I am analysing the history of demagogy and it's rhetoric using modern data science. I have acquired some collections of speeches dating back to George Washington, but unfortunately I have not been ...
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Why did Icelandic begin to diverge from the Continental north Germanic languages specifically between 1050 and 1350?
According to wikipedia:
Between 1050 and 1350 Icelandic began to develop independently from other Scandinavian and Germanic languages;
Why did it begin then? Iceland was being settled from 874.
...
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Which immigrants became elected officials in an acquired language? [closed]
With some exceptions, candidates up for election are usually natural born citizens that are native speakers of the government's language. With the exception of the first generation of leaders in ...
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How long did Latin survive in Bavaria?
After my question What happened north of the Alps after the romans "left"?, I read through the sources given by the comments and answers. One paragraph in this post was especially interesting to me:
...
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Did 20% of the Soviet Population use a Latin script in 1935?
Did 20% of the Soviet Population use a Latin script in 1935?
The literacy campaigns in the Soviet Union between 1917 and 1940 taught many people to read. Many people who did not speak Russian had no ...
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Was there a historical figure named Fecund?
This is going to sound odd, but a Terry Pratchett book lead me to look up the meaning of the word "fecund", and the result included a google ngrams graph of its use in written works.
As you can see, ...
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Have the Pyramid Texts been translated into German?
I would like to know if the Pyramid Texts have been "officially" translated into German and, if so, where I can find them. I am interested in the texts of Pepi I.
There are some Incantations of Pepi ...
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What is the origin of currency signs being placed before the numerical value?
For most units, they symbol/abbreviation is placed after the number: 200 m, 75° F, 60 mph, 100 watts, etc.
When stating values of money, such as $500, the dollar sign is placed before the number. ...
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Which of the Nuremberg defendants spoke English, French, or Russian?
At the first Nuremberg trial, twenty-one defendants were tried in person: Karl Dönitz, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Hans Fritzsche, Walther Funk, Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Alfred Jodl, Ernst ...
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What was the standard spoken language (dialect) in the Three Kingdoms period?
Mandarin is the standard spoken language (dialect) in today's China, meaning distinct regions may have their own dialect, but they can all use Mandarin to communicate with each other.
Since all ...
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Why and when were ancient Egyptian hieroglyph phonograms used?
There are writings on the walls of some Egyptian temples of Hellenistic period written in Egyptian hieroglyph phonograms. However it was strange for me to know that these are Greek texts actually.
...
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When and where was the term "nigra" used and what was its relation to "nigger"? [closed]
I was watching two movies (Selma and The Help). Both are set in the USA South, in the 1960s. I noticed the whites sometimes said "nigra" (rather than the more familiar "nigger").
Did people in the ...
user3521
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Was the term 'renaissance' used during said period?
Just as the title suggests, was the term for the renaissance years coined and used during those years, or is it a modern word used retrospectively?
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Did any Native Americans adopt a script from Europe (before being assimilated)?
As far as I know, no Native Americans developed their own written language. (Correct me if I'm wrong. There may have been some numeral systems, but that's all I'm aware of.)
So now I'm wondering if ...
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