The History of LanguageThe true value in the study of language can be found in the study of its development over time, with the development of a language in history can at any point display the culture that language was a part of, as well as allowing for an explanation as to why certain languages thrive while others do not, despite some having similar situations politically and economically. It can explain why despite centuries of foreign rule by nomads from the steppes, many speaking Turkic languages, Chinese still managed to survive in China and even absorb its invaders into its culture. The study of language in history gives an insight into how culture and beliefs changed over time at any given point.
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A brief video on how and why language is important and its past.
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The Farmer's StrategyThe Farmer's Strategy is when languages flourish through the natural growth of its population, and although not as interesting as the Hunter's Strategy, its success is proven through the success of its adherents, such as Chinese.
PrehistoryAlthough language is often associated with the written word, if one were to study only language after the invention of writing, they would be missing a very large part of the story of language. The study of language's prehistory allows for the examination of the culture and world of times before records, through the study of how they spoke and communicated.
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The Hunter's StrategyThe Hunter's Strategy is one in which a language survives and spreads through the aggressive conversion of others to their culture and their language, leading to language expansion through conquest, with adherents such as Latin.
ColonialismThe largest event to happen in language since the invention of the written word is most likely the introduction of foreign European languages all across the world through the rise of colonialism and the conquering of half the globe by European powers. This led to a major shift in global language, and directly created the world we live in now, and its study is crucial to understanding how language is now.
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The Shield of FaithA less common route for languages, The Shield of Faith is a strategy in which a language ties itself and its fate to that of a religion, becoming a critical part of the religion. This strategy can be seen with the survival of Sanskrit in India.
Modern DayIn the modern day, globalization and the internet have led to major innovations and changes in how language is used and how people communicate, with the growing development of a global lingua franca and the mass extinction of hundreds of languages as more and more local cultures are suppressed by popular culture and larger languages, and homogenizing global culture.
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