Zyobot
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Post by Zyobot on Sept 4, 2018 4:04:36 GMT
As one of the great civilizations of history, the Roman Empire ruled vast swaths of Europe. It even incorporated ancient Britain, later the birthplace of today's modern lingua franca: English. Beginning as a Germanic language, English has globally proliferated and diversified alongside its worldwide speakers. From elements of Latin to loanwords from French, it stands among the most expansive and (as I hear) challenging tongues in the 21st Century.
If an ISOT were to take place between a modern, Anglospheric power and the Roman Empire of old, the language barrier would pose immediate diplomatic problems. Uptimer authorities may have to study and struggle at first, but their historical knowledge makes them exponentially more primed to deal with ancient societies.
Such words cannot be said of the Romans. Aside from the obvious lack of science, technology and modernity in general, one defining trait stands out: they have no concept of the English language. But could they learn it?
Thank you in advance,
Zyobot
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spanishspy
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Post by spanishspy on Sept 10, 2018 5:13:32 GMT
There's enough vocabulary in English of Latin origin that something could be figured out, and certainly there must have been Romans with experience with Germanic languages.
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Zyobot
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Post by Zyobot on Sept 10, 2018 20:38:21 GMT
There's enough vocabulary in English of Latin origin that something could be figured out, and certainly there must have been Romans with experience with Germanic languages. I'm no linguist or historian, but I imagine that whatever language(s) the Romans were familiar with evolved quite a bit in the ensuing millennia. I mean, how well could modern Germans communicate with their Teutonic ancestors? There's also the fact that modern English, even with its already-oversized vocabulary, has terms that Romans have no concept of (factory, radio, television, etc.). As far as grammar goes, English's (mostly) analytic grammar and word order will require time and practice for the downtimers to get used to. Oh, and if they ask how and why English is so widespread by 2018, the answer will blow them away: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/The_British_Empire.png |
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Sept 10, 2018 22:03:58 GMT
There's enough vocabulary in English of Latin origin that something could be figured out, and certainly there must have been Romans with experience with Germanic languages. I'm no linguist or historian, but I imagine that whatever language(s) the Romans were familiar with evolved quite a bit in the ensuing millennia. I mean, how well could modern Germans communicate with their Teutonic ancestors? There's also the fact that modern English, even with its already-oversized vocabulary, has terms that Romans have no concept of (factory, radio, television, etc.). As far as grammar goes, English's (mostly) analytic grammar and word order will require time and practice for the downtimers to get used to. Oh, and if they ask how and why English is so widespread by 2018, the answer will blow them away: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/The_British_Empire.png
However they are familiar with the concept of other languages. Probably more important Latin is still used today in some specialist areas and there is, at least in the western Anglophobe countries a significant community who explore the ancient classical world and are familiar with the language and much of the culture, albeit at an intellectual rather than a 'gut' level. This would mean the up-timers once they realised what had occurred, would have people capable of communicating with the Romans and helping them to understand the English speaking areas transported. At least unless it was a small region of the modern world which by choice or chance excluded any advanced educational establishments and possibly also other people familiar with Latin.
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