How languages evolve.
Over the course of human history, thousands of languages have developed from what was once a much smaller number. How did we end up with so many? And how do we keep track of them all? Alex Gendler explains how linguists group languages into language families, demonstrating how these linguistic trees give us crucial insights into the past.
Answer the following questions:
Why are words that sound similar and have similar meanings not enough to establish a relation between languages?
What are some reasons that it's impossible to give an exact number for how many different languages there are?
What can linguistics teach us about the history and culture of ancient peoples?
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