Languages From the Past

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Good morning, and welcome!

Can we all agree that words are amazing? Think about it: a string of sounds, a jumble of letters, with a common meaning embraced by enough people to establish a consistent method of reference? Occurring often enough to create an entire system of communication? When you think about it that way, it seems like a miracle we’ve come this far in the art of language. Sure, we use and interpret thousands in a day. But that doesn’t make this unsung marvel of modern technology any less flabbergasting than other essential inventions like cooked food or toilet paper… or any less fascinating to study.

(So you think you know where this article is headed now? Yeah. You’re probably right.)

I find that the most interesting part of words is that they, like cities (see last week’s article on ghost towns), are as mortal as their creators. You can see it in the rise and fall of terms such as “twattle”, “gorgonize”, and “snoutfair”. These days, slang words go out of fashion by the month! Even more drastic? Dead or extinct languages! The term “dead language” refers to an entire communication system that is no longer in use by native speakers. This kind of change doesn’t happen in just one generation, but in spite of their longer lifespans, words really can die just like we do. Call me morbid, but to me it just adds to the subject’s appeal.

Words. Are. Amazing. Even dead ones. That’s why I’d like to take this morning to remember six of the most prominent dead languages in our world: they had so much meaning to those who used them that I can’t stand the idea of leaving them behind forever.

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Dead Language #1: Latin

(Photo "Via Sine Devio" by electropod is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

At the height of the Living Latin movement, it’s hard to think of Latin as a “dead” language. Phrases like “de facto”, “alter ego”, “et cetera”, “lingua franca”, and “bona fide” are just a few examples of terms from this language that we’ve all heard a million times before. We also can’t forget Latin’s connection with the Catholic church. Pope Francis even has a Latin Twitter page! In spite of this, it’s true that Latin is categorized as a dead language, and we have the Ancient Romans to blame for its untimely death. Originally, the language developed from the Greek and Phonecian languages as the Roman Empire gained power around the Mediterranean. Works such as Virgil’s The Aeneid or Ovid’s Metamorphoses were written in Latin about a century prior to the height of this ancient civilization. It was even adopted by the Germanic tribes that eventually claimed Roman land for their own following the empire’s fall in 476 CE. However, without the unity that the Roman empire provided, these isolated areas of Latin speakers began developing their own dialects. Eventually, they evolved into modern “romance” languages such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Romanian, and French, and the language of Latin was lost to history.

Could Latin make a comeback someday? This enthusiast, interviewed by The New Yorker, sure hopes so! Read about her here: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/eat-pray-latin

Dead Language #2: Akkadian 

(Photo "Capital of Akkade" by D-Stanley is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

The dead language of Akkadian hasn’t boasted a native speaker for over 2,000 years! It originated in about 2,800 BC in the ancient Mesopotamian city of Akkad. The Akkadians, led by King Sargon, were the first of many empires to rule the area. Their language had no written counterpart originally, but was soon adapted using a system of writing called cuneiform, which was developed by the ancient Sumerians. The written Akkadian quickly found success in all aspects of life. The first postal service was established during this time, using clay tablets and envelopes that contained messages in Akkadian. The world’s first author, the priestess Enheduanna, wrote her famous hymns and poems in Akkadian. One of the first epic poems, The Epic of Gilgamesh, was also in Akkadian. Unfortunately, the Akkadian empire fell after a mere 200 years, and the language was forgotten as other groups seized power in Mesopotamia. Now, here’s where things get interesting. Unlike Latin, the Akkadian language did not only die out, but it was also forgotten. When remnants of the written Akkadian language were unearthed once more, no one was able to translate them! It wasn’t until the 19th century that scholars were finally able to interpret their meaning, and even today we still don’t have all the answers when it comes to the lost language of the city of Akkad.

Read more about Enheduanna, the world’s first author, in this Ancient History Encyclopedia article: https://www.ancient.eu/article/190/enheduanna---poet-priestess-empire-builder/

Dead Language #3: Middle English


The dead language of Middle English is seen as the result of Norman influence on the island of Britain. It all started in 1066 when William the Conqueror, a Norman from northern France, seized power on the island. Under the rule of William and his successors, there was a language barrier between social classes: the elite minority spoke Anglo-Norman, a French dialect with Germanic influence, while the lower classes spoke Old English. To make things even more confusing, written works of the day often favored Latin. However, in time the divide between social classes began to close, and Old English and Anglo-Norman speakers began to intermarry. The two languages influenced each other so heavily that eventually, an entirely new language was formed: Middle English. While written works in the language were still scarce, “A Gest of Robyn Hode”, one of the earliest known Robin Hood stories, was published in Middle English around the 16th century. Additionally, the works of Geoffrey Chaucer, sometimes known as “the father of English literature”, wrote consistently in Middle English. He even translated other important pieces of literature from Latin into English, and in doing this made them available to the common people of England. Middle English’s death came with what was known as the “Great Vowel Shift”, a drastic change in the sound of long vowels made over the course of about 200 years. The change in vowel sounds brought an early form of modern English.

The thing about the Great Vowel Shift is that no one knows why it happened! Think you can solve the mystery? Read about it here: https://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/history_early_modern.html

Dead Language #4: Old Norse

(Photo "Norse Church at Herjolfsnes" by D-Stanley is licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Old Norse was spoken in Scandinavia by the Norsemen… better known in popular culture as the Vikings (though the term “viking” is actually specific to the profession of plundering other areas for food and supplies). Their spoken language was a descendant of the Germanic language and their written language used an alphabet or runes known as the Futhark. While Norse runes originally appeared on items such as jewelry or weaponry, the Norsemen quickly graduated to literature involving their unique mythology and legends of honored leaders, heroes or groups. The original written language was deeply connected to Norse religious practices, meaning that it was gradually left behind in favor of the Latin alphabet once Christian conversions began in the area. Why did Old Norse die out? In some Nordic countries, it simply evolved into modern languages such as Icelandic or Swedish, while in others it was left behind in favor of other tongues. Remember the Norman people from a second ago? The ones who came from northern France to conquer the island of Britain? The Normans were actually descendants of vikings who settled on the coast there. They originally spoke Old Norse, but in the end their unique French dialect became more prominent. However, the Anglo-Norman language did not emerge unscathed from Norse influence, which is why this dead language lives on in some of my favorite English words, such as whisk, blunder, snub, and freckle!

Read more about Old Norse’s influence on modern English  in this Babbel Magazine article: https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/139-norse-words

Dead Language #5: Archaic Chinese


Common during the time of the earliest known Chinese ruling order, the Shang dynasty (1600-1046 BC), Archaic Chinese’s relationship to modern Chinese is similar to that of Old English and modern English. This is why it can also be referred to as “Old Chinese”. Its written counterpart was pictographic, similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs, meaning that each character referred to an object or idea as opposed to a corresponding sound made in the spoken language. Out of approximately 4,500 characters, only half have been deciphered, and not much is known about the grammar or sentence structure of the day. For reference, we have… well, not much. The written form of Archaic Chinese can be found only on “oracle bones”, which were used by ancient Chinese fortune tellers and believed to encourage communication with the spirit world. These fortune-tellers would inscribe questions about the future onto animal bones or tortoise shells and then determine the answer by striking the surface with a heated metal rod and examining the direction of the resulting rupture that appeared. Historians value the information collected from the remains of these oracle bones because they give insight into the daily life of the ancient Chinese. However, as time went on this ancient language evolved so drastically that much of it was lost to history. Now, modern Chinese speakers struggle to interpret these small clues of their linguistic heritage.

For more info on the fascinating world of oracle bones, visit this ThoughtCo page: https://www.thoughtco.com/oracle-bones-shang-dynasty-china-172015

Dead Language #6: Shorthand Script


Recently, my family unearthed a textbook explaining the Gregg shorthand system (it's actually identical to the book in the lower right corner of the image above) that my great grandmother once used in school. I recall watching her write in the minimal shorthand she retained from those days and wondering: are those just scribbles? I hadn’t even heard of shorthand script, nor did I understand its purpose. While shorthand’s relevance in modern culture is still up for debate, considering its popularity among doctors and journalists, many consider it to be a casualty of the rise of more efficient typing mechanisms. That doesn’t make it any less fascinating to learn about, however! There were many different shorthand systems, but the most prominent were the Pitman and Gregg systems. Both were developed in the 19th century as a writing system established solely for speed. Those who were fluent in shorthand, sometimes known as “ink slingers”, were able to write over 200 words per minute. There were even shorthand competitions for the fastest time! The secret to shorthand’s success was its lack of reliance upon the longhand English alphabet and grammar rules. There were different symbols for each letter sound, and no symbol was ever interchangeable (so the confusing “c” and “k” issue was nonexistent in most shorthand systems). As with Latin, shorthand’s perks endear it to many enthusiasts, who work even today to keep this dead language from being forgotten like so many others.

I love this in-depth Atlantic article about journalist Dennis Holler’s shorthand experience. Read about his thoughts on the subject on this webpage: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/06/yeah-i-still-use-shorthand-and-a-smartpen/373281/

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Beyond these six intriguing languages, the sheer amount of dead languages I was able to find was definitely unanticipated. In fact, one study estimated that a new language dies out every two weeks. It’s heartbreaking to see these invaluable pieces of history and culture forgotten and no longer in use.

However, there’s another part of human mortality that applies to words, and I find this one infinitely more awe-inspiring: birth. New languages develop from older ones, come from intermixing of cultures, or are even just invented one day like many shorthand systems once were. One example? Computer programming languages. From Java to Python to Swift to R, computer programming languages may not be spoken or used in modern literature, but they all have one thing in common: potential. Each one is used to build something new and different that furthers our understanding of the world.

There’s a saying about that, actually: where one door closes, another one opens. In its own unique way, I think it’s kind of beautiful.

With this in mind, today I dare you to enjoy the possibilities that come with each new day. Be flexible. Be open-minded. These opportunities are going to change quickly, so don’t allow any of them to pass you by. Instead of mourning what you can’t do or see, spend time appreciating what you can. Life is best when it’s lived to the very fullest.

Join me in keeping a lookout for possibility today, and let’s see what we can find together!

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