By Achae

English as a language has evolved over the years. Generally speaking, cultures that are isolated or cannot travel very well tend to have an accelerated rate of language change. On the contrary, cultures that have ease of travel and interact with other regions tend to develop a homogenization of language. Modern English as we know it today has not changed very much since the shift from Middle English (c. 1500). Believe it or not, writers like Shakespeare use Modern English.

Where did it all begin?

In 1786, Sir William Jones postulated the idea that languages have a common source. The discovery of Sanskrit (the language of Ancient India) led to the idea of there being a common source.

For example, the word "brother" in English:

"bhrätar" in Sanskrit

"brathir" in Old Irish

"frater" in Latin

"phrater" in Greek

Through example of this word, you can see how there are similarities in the sounds and even in the structure of the word. This common root language became known as Proto-Indo-European. There are two hypotheses regarding the root language. Both believe that the language had to have a common ground that was centrally located (hence the indo-european) and that eventually spread out.

The first hypothesis is dubbed the "Kurgan" hypothesis. This happened north of the Black Sea. There lived a nomadic Neolithic people, around 4500 B.C. They were proficient horsemen that used the flat land to their advantage. Many of their words reflected pastoral life. Thanks to grave robbers, archaeologists found mounds with bones and artifacts. These mounds are called "kurgans," hence the name for the hypothesis. The Kurgans were believed to have spread out searching for more land for their horses. The horses also made them superior tactically, so they were able to branch out.

The second hypothesis is known as the "Farming Dispersal" hypothesis. The name speaks for itself. The region is south of the Black Sea, in the current country of Turkey, by the Kunya plains. The farmers in this region were agricultural and peacefully expanded, unlike the Kurgans. This hypothesis is fairly new, having been brought forth in the 1970s by Colin Renfrew.

In 1822, Jacob Grimm noticed that when words changed, it was certain sounds and letters. The 'p' in Indo-European languages shifted into the 'f' in Germanic languages. The t and k were also changed into Þ and h, respectively. For example, in Latin, "piscis" we would expect to see a word in English that begins with an f. This is actually the case, wherein the word is "fish." Another instance is "pës" in Latin which shifts to the word "foot." There are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part it follows along with these fricatives.

So what languages have sprung from this root language? There are noted eleven main groups: Indian, Iranian, Armenian, Hellenic, Albanian, Italic, Balto-Slavic, Germanic, Celtic, Hittite, and Tocharian. In the next section I will briefly discuss these eleven branches.