 |
Languages are always undergoing change. One result of this is that a single language can develop into several languages. Different dialects (such as British English, American English, Australian English and Indian English) can develop into separate languages under certain conditions; "a group of speakers must remain relatively isolated from one another, separated either by such physical barriers as geographical distance, impassable mountains and bodies of water, or by such social and political barriers as those drawn along tribal, religious, racial and national boundaries" (Finnegan et al. p.232 - see bibliography) In this way, English, Swedish, German and Norwegian have all developed from Proto-Germanic, while French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish have developed from Latin. Linguists can identify these relationships by comparing similar features which occur between each language. The Aboriginal language Jiwarli has been found to be genetically related to three nearby languages, Thiin, Warriyangka and Tharrkari. These languages have several features in common: six verb conjugations with the same morphological structure, an irregular verb ‘to go’ and shared irregularities in the pronominal paradigms. From these languages, it is possible to reconstruct several hundred word roots and suffixes and to point to unique features of the parent language. In the study of Australian languages, it is common to name groups of related languages after the word for ‘man or human being’ in those languages. Jiwarli, Thiin, Warriyangka and Tharrkari are called Mantharta languages, as this is the name for ‘man’ in each of the languages.
|
