Transcript European Language Groups
The Indo European Language Family
A large group of languages spoken over most of Europe and also in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, Northern India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They developed from a parent language probably spoken somewhere in eastern Europe or Western Asia around 5000 years ago.
An Example of the Evidence: Words for `is’
• German: • Russian • Latin (ancient European language) • Ancient Greek
ist yest est esti
• • Sanskrit (ancient Indian language)
probably was?
asti Can you guess what the original word
An Example of the Evidence: Words for `is’
• German: • Russian • Latin (ancient European language) • Ancient Greek
ist yest est esti
• • Sanskrit (ancient Indian language)
probably was? *esti asti Can you guess what the original word
What the original language might have been like
`Ner owiom r wihnam sebhi gwhermom Man sheep ‘s wool to-himself warm westrom kwerneuti neghi owiom wihna esti.’ clothing makes nor to-sheep wool is Tod kekluwos owis agrom ebhuget.
That having-heard sheep to-plain fled
Branches of Indo-European in Asia
• • •
HITTITE
Turkey) (ancient language once spoken in
TOCHARIAN
(ancient language once spoken in Sinkiang ( 新疆 ))
INDO-IRANIAN
– PERSIAN and similar languages – INDO-ARYAN (languages of northern India and nearby countries)
Uriah the
HITTITE
( 赫人 烏利亞 ) was sent to die in battle by King David so that David could take his wife - Samuel II, 11 ( 撒母耳記下 )
Hittite Writing Method
Chinese Oracle Bone
Mummified body of a
Tocharian
speaker? 1500 B.C.?
A hymn to the god Ganesh from the Rigveda, written in
Sanskrit
, an ancient
INDO-IRANIAN
language
INDO-ARYAN LANGUAGES
• • • • • • •
[SANSKRIT] HINDI/URDU NEPALI Bengali Gujarati Marathi Sinhala
What’s your name (in Indo Aryan)
• Sanskrit: Tava nama kim asti?
• Hindi/Urdu: Tumhara nam kya hai?
• Nepali: • Gujarati: Timro nam ke ho?
Tamarun nam shun che ?
European Language Groups
• CELTIC: spoken in small areas of North-Western Europe • SLAVIC: spoken in Eastern Europe • GERMANIC: spoken in Northern Europe • ROMANCE: spoken in Southern Europe
• WELSH • [Cornish] • Breton • IRISH • Gaelic • [Manx] CELTIC
SLAVIC • Russian • Ukranian • Polish • Czech • Bulgarian • SERBO-CROATIAN
• GERMAN • Dutch •
ENGLISH
• Danish • Swedish • Norwegian GERMANIC
COMPARING GERMANIC LANGUAGES • English: The king slept in my house for two nights • Dutch: De koning sliep in mijn huis voor twee nachten.
• German: Der König schlief in meinem Haus für zwei Nächte
• [LATIN] • SPANISH • Portuguese • ITALIAN • FRENCH • Romanian ROMANCE
We love our mother (in Romance) • Latin: nostram matrem amamus • Spanish: Amamos a nuestra madre • Italian: Amiamo la nostra madre • French: Nous aimons notre mère
How Latin may have sounded 2000 years ago
( http://www.rhapsodes.fll.vt.edu/audiofiles/aeneis1.mp3
)
• Arma virumque cano, Troiae qui primus ab oris arms man also sing-I Troy’s who first from shores • Italiam fato profugus Laviniaque venit Italy-to fate-by refugee Lavinian-also came • litora multum ille et terris iactatus et alto coasts-to much he both land-on harassed and sea-at • vi superum saevae memorem Iunonis ob iram.
force-by gods’ cruel memorable Juno’s from anger