How languages evolve - Alex Gendler

Translator: Hekim Atay Reviewer: Taban Khidr

In the biblical story of the Tower of Babel,

Li gorî çîroka babîl ya Încîlê

all of humanity once spoke a single language

hemû mirov bi zimanekî diaxivîn.

until they suddenly split into many groups

Heta ku dema belav bûn û

unable to understand each other.

ji hev fêhim nekirin.

We don't really know if such an original language ever existed,

Ev çîrok belkî ne rast e,

lê dema em bikevin pêy koka zimana,

but we do know that the thousands of languages existing today

can be traced back to a much smaller number.

di dîrokê de ziman digihijin hev.

Lê evqas ziman çawa çê bûn?

So how did we end up with so many?

In the early days of human migration,

Di heyamên kevin de,

the world was much less populated.

nifûsa dinê gelek hindik bû.

Groups of people that shared a single language and culture

Mirovên ku zimanên wan yek bû,

often split into smaller tribes,

ji bo nêçîr û zeviyên nû

going separate ways in search of fresh game and fertile land.

veqetiyan qebîlên biçûk bûn, belav bûn.

As they migrated and settled in new places,

Ji hev dûr ketin,

bi awayê cuda pêş ketin

they became isolated from one another

and developed in different ways.

ji hev re bûn biyanî.

Centuries of living in different conditions,

Bi sed salan,

di nava şert û meçên cûda de,

eating different food

and encountering different neighbors

bi cîranên cuda re,

turned similar dialects with varied pronunciation and vocabulary

zaravayên heman zimanî

into radically different languages,

hatin guhartin û bûn zimanên cuda.

continuing to divide as populations grew and spread out further.

Ev guhartin hê jî didomin.

Like genealogists, modern linguists try to map this process

Zimannas vê pêvajoyê lêkolîn dikin,

by tracing multiple languages back as far as they can

diçin koka zimanan,

to their common ancestor, or protolanguage.

li zimanê yekem digerin.

A group of all languages related in this way is called a language family,

Ji komên zimana yên têkildar re "malabata ziman" dibêjin.

which can contain many branches and sub-families.

Her komek ji gelek şaxan pêk te.

So how do we determine whether languages are related in the first place?

Em têkildarîya zimana çawa fem dikin?

Similar sounding words don't tell us much.

Peyvên dişibin hev,

They could be false cognates or just directly borrowed terms

ewqas ne muhîm in,

rather than derived from a common root.

çimkî ziman peyvan deyn jî dikin.

Ji bo femkirina tekilîya zimanan;

Grammar and syntax are a more reliable guide,

as well as basic vocabulary,

gramer û peyvên bingehin wek cînavk,jimar

such as pronouns, numbers or kinship terms,

behtir bi qîmet in.

that's less likely to be borrowed.

Çimkî deynkirina van kêmtir e.

By systematically comparing these features

Zimannas, vana didin ber hev

and looking for regular patterns of sound changes

li guhertina dengan û

and correspondences between languages,

hevşibîyên zimana dinihêrin.

linguists can determine relationships,

Têkilî û pêşveçûyûnên zimana

trace specific steps in their evolution

derdixin holê,

and even reconstruct earlier languages with no written records.

û zimanên qedim kifş dikin.

Linguistics can even reveal other important historical clues,

Zimannas, ji pêvajoya çêbûna zimanan,dikarin

such as determining the geographic origins and lifestyles of ancient peoples

zanyariyên derbarê kok û jîyana mirovên kevin

based on which of their words were native,

and which were borrowed.

fem bikin.

There are two main problems linguists face

Dema zimannas dara malabata ziman çêdikin,

when constructing these language family trees.

du pirsgirêk derdikevin.

One is that there is no clear way of deciding

Yekem, rêbazekê tekuz ku

where the branches at the bottom should end, that is,

ziman û zaravaya veqetîne

which dialects should be considered separate languages or vice versa.

û şaxen darê ziman saz bike,nîn e.

Chinese is classified as a single language,

Çînî wek zimanekî tê hesibandin,

but its dialects vary to the point of being mutually unintelligible,

lê zaravayên wê ji hev fem nakin.

Yên îspanyolî û portekîzî diaxivin,

while speakers of Spanish and Portuguese

can often understand each other.

ji hev fêhm dikin.

Languages actually spoken by living people

Zimanên vî çaxî

do not exist in neatly divided categories,

bi hesanî nayen kategorîze kirin,

but tend to transition gradually,

û ziman sînoran û kategoriyan nas nakin.

crossing borders and classifications.

Often the difference between languages and dialects

Gelek caran cudabûna zimana

is a matter of changing political and national considerations,

ne bi zimannasiye,

lê li gorî siyasetê çê dibe.

rather than any linguistic features.

This is why the answer to, "How many languages are there?"

"Çend ziman hene?"

can be anywhere between 3,000 and 8,000,

Bersiv; di navbera 3,000 û 8,000 de ye.

depending on who's counting.

Li gorî herkesî ev cuda ye.

The other problem is that the farther we move back in time

Pirsgirêka duyem,

çiqas em herin serê dara zimanan

towards the top of the tree,

the less evidence we have about the languages there.

zanyari ewqas kêm dibin.

The current division of major language families

Kategorîzakirina komên zimana,

represents the limit at which relationships can be established

di çerçoveke mantiqî de

with reasonable certainty,

bi têkiliyakê hindik hatiye kirin.

meaning that languages of different families

Belkî di navbera komên zimanan de

are presumed not to be related on any level.

tu tekilî nîn e.

Lê heya ev biguherin.

But this may change.

While many proposals for higher level relationships --

Têkiliyên navbera malbatê bilind ê zimanan de

or super families -- are speculative,

spekulatif in.

some have been widely accepted

Hinek hatine pejirandin,

and others are being considered,

yên din hê tên nirxandin.

especially for native languages with small speaker populations

Zimanên axifkerên wê hindik

that have not been extensively studied.

zêde nayên lêkolîn kirin.

We may never be able to determine how language came about,

Belkî em ê bi misogerî fem nekin; gelo ziman çawa çêbûne,

or whether all human languages did in fact have a common ancestor

an jî gelo bavê hemûyan

scattered through the babel of migration.

Babîl e.

Ji vir pê de, dema we zimanekî biyanî bihîst,

But the next time you hear a foreign language, pay attention.

It may not be as foreign as you think.

bal bidine,belkî ewqas ne biyanî ye.