What makes a language... a language? - Martin Hilpert

Translator: Emma Toft Reviewer: Anders Finn Jørgensen

The distinct forms of speech heard

De tydelige udgaver af tale hørt

around Bremen, Germany and Interlaken, Switzerland

omkring Bremen, Tyskland og Interlaken, Schweiz

are considered regional dialects of the German language.

er anset som at være lokal dialekter i det tyske sprog.

And yet, when someone from Bremen is visiting the Swiss Alps,

Men, når nogen fra Bremen besøger de Schweiske alper,

the conversations they hear between locals will likely be incomprehensible to them.

vil de samtaler de hører mellem lokale være uforståelige for dem.

Similarly, outside of China,

Lige sådan, udenfor Kina,

Mandarin and Cantonese are often referred to as Chinese dialects.

Mandarin og Katonesisk er ofte refereret til som Kinesiske dialekter.

But they’re even more dissimilar than Spanish and Italian.

Men de er mere usammenlignelige end Spansk og Italiensk.

On the other hand, speakers of Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish,

På den anden side, folk som taler Dansk, Norsk og Svensk,

which are recognized as three distinct languages,

som er anset som tre forskellige sprog,

can usually communicate in their native tongues with little difficulty.

kan ofte kommunikere i deres modersmål med lidt besvær.

And Turkish language soap operas, broadcast without dubbing or subtitles,

Og Turkiske sæbeoperarer, vist uden dubbing eller undertekster,

are some of the most popular shows in Azeri-speaking Azerbaijan.

er nogle af de mest populære shows i Azeri-talende Azerbajian.

So, when is a form of speech considered a dialect versus a language?

So, hvornår er en taleform anset som en dialekt i stedet for et sprog?

It seems reasonable that the degree of mutual intelligibility would determine

Det virker fornuftigt at en form for gensidig forståelse ville bestemme

whether two ways of speaking are classified as separate languages

om to måder at tale på er klassificeret som to adskilte sprog

or as dialects of the same language.

eller som dialekter af samme sprog.

But as we've seen, there are many occasions where this is not the case.

Men som vi har set, der er mange tilfælde hvor dette ikke gælder.

Perhaps surprisingly, the distinction between a language and a dialect

Måske, overraskende, skelnet mellem et sprog og en dialekt

usually has nothing to do with pronunciation, vocabulary,

har oftest ikke noget at gøre med udtalelse, ordforråd

or any other linguistic features.

eller andre linguistiske træk.

However, it’s not coincidental, either.

Men, det er heller ikke tilfældigt.

It’s a matter of politics.

Det er politisk.

The basis for what’s officially deemed a language

Grundlaget for hvad der officielt menes ved et sprog

was shaped by the emergence of a European nation states beginning around the 1500s.

blev dannet ved opståelsen af en Europæisk nationsstater omkring 15-tallet.

In order to establish and maintain centralized governments,

For at etablere og vedholde centrale regeringer,

clear territorial boundaries, and state-sponsored education systems,

tydelige grænser and stats-sponseret uddannelsessystemer,

many nation states promoted a standardized language.

mange nationer foreslog et standardiseret sprog.

Which form of speech was chosen to be the standard language

Hvilken taleform der blev valg some det standardiseret sprog

was usually based on what people spoke in the capital.

var oftest baseret på hvad folk talet i hovedstaden.

And while other forms of speech persisted, they were often treated as inferior.

Og mens andre sprog vedholdte, var de ofte set som underlegne.

This tradition extended across the globe with European colonization

Denne tradition spredte sig verden over med Eurpæisk kolonalisering

and into modern times.

og ind i moderne tider.

Italy, for example, has at least 15 of what might be called regional dialects.

Italien, ekemplevis, har mindst 15 af det som kan kaldes lokale dialekter.

One of them, the Florentine dialect,

En af dem, Florentine dialekten,

became known as Standard Italian when the country politically unified in 1861.

blev kendt som Standard Italiensk da landet blev politisk forenet i 1861.

It was selected because legendary authors like Dante and Machiavelli

Det blev valgt fordi legendariske forfattere som Dante og Machiavelli

used it in their original works,

brugte det i deres oprindelige værker,

And it came to represent an image of Italian national identity

og det begyndte at repræsentere et billede af Italiensk national identitet

that some found particularly desirable.

som nogle fandt særdeles attraktiv.

Later on, in his attempt to establish a unified, fascist state,

Senere, i hans forsøg på at etablere en forenet, fascistisk stat,

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini saw language standardization

Italiensk diktator Benito Mussolini så sprog standardisering

as an important objective.

som et vigtigt mål.

His government promoted standard Italian while prohibiting other forms of speech

Hans regering ophøjede standard Italiensk og forbad andre taleforme

from the public sphere,

fra det offtentlige rum,

framing them as backward and unsophisticated.

skelnet dem som bagvendte og usofistikerede.

In everything from job applications to court testimonies,

I alt fra job ansøgninger til retsvidnesbyrder,

standard languages act as gatekeepers around the world.

standard sprog opererer som vagter verden over.

For instance, one 1999 study showed that landlords responded to apartment inquiries

For eksemple, en undersøgelse fra 1999 viste at udlejere dømte ansøgninger

based on what form of speech their prospective tenants used.

udfra hvilken talemåde den potentielle ansøger havde brugt.

When callers spoke African-American Vernacular English, or AAVE,

Når de talte Afrikansk-Amerikansk Engelsk, eller AAVE,

landlords were more likely to reject their inquiries.

ville udlejere højst sandsynligt afvise deres ansøgning.

When they spoke so-called Standard American English,

Når de talte, så kaldt, Standard Amerikansk Engelsk,

which is often associated with whiteness,

hvilket ofte er forbundet med hvidhed,

landlords responded more positively.

reagerede udlejerne mere positivt.

Both of these forms of speech are considered English dialects.

Begge disse taleforme er anset som Engelske dialekter.

In the United States, some people have cast AAVE

I USA nogle folk har beskrevet AAVE

as an incorrect or simplified version of mainstream US English.

som en ukorrekt eller forenklet udgave af mainstream US Engelsk.

But AAVE follows consistent grammatical rules

Men AAVE følger konsekvente grammatiske regler

every bit as sophisticated as other forms of English.

lige så sofistikeret som andre forme for Engelsk.

Linguists tend to avoid the term dialect altogether.

Sprogforskere plejer generalt at undgå udtrykket dialekt.

Instead, many opt to call different forms of speech “varieties.”

I stedet for, vælger mange at kalde forskellige taleforme “variationer”.

This way, languages are seen as groups of varieties.

På denne måde bliver sprog set som en gruppe af variationer.

So the English language is made up of varieties

So det Engelske sprog er formet af variationer

including Standard British and American English, AAVE,

inklusiv Standard Britisk og Amerikansk Engelsk, AAVE,

Nigerian English, Malaysian English, and many others.

Nigerisk Engelsk, Malaysisk Engelsk, og mange andre.

Each has its own unique history and characteristic pronunciation,

De har hver deres egen unikke historie og karakteristiske udtalese,

vocabulary, and grammatical structures.

ordforråd, og grammatiske strukturer.

But the dividing line between varieties is murky.

Men linjerne mellem variationer er uklare.

Human language, in all its cross-pollinating, ever-evolving glory,

Menneske sprog, i alt dets krydsbestøvende og konstant udviklende storhed,

naturally resists the impulse to sort it into neat buckets.

modsætter sig naturligt impulsen til at blive sorteret ind i fine grupper.

Oftentimes, forms of speech exist on a kind of linguistic continuum

Oftest, taleforme eksisterer som en slags lingvistisk kontinuum

where they overlap with others,

hvor de overlapper med hinanden,

and the differences between them are gradual—

og forskellene mellem dem bliver gradvist-

not clear cut.

mindre tydelige.

And that’s the confounding beauty of the dynamic, diverse,

Og det er en forunderlige skønhed af det dynamiske, mangfoldige,

and dazzling universe of human communication.

og blændende univers af menneske kommunikation.