[SunkenCiv]

Another fun-filled GGG ping.

[TomSmedley]

My mother is the child of Ukrainian immigrants. Her childhood language represents, apparently, something she was ashamed of, and eager to leave behind her. In any case, she never thought of teaching it to us.

[Swede Girl]

One of the best programs ever on TV was a series called "The Story of English." It compiled the history of the formation of the language and its impact on the world. English seafaring and colonization over the centuries and the richness of the language have led to its world-wide acceptance. Because English is the official language of the United States, it is now the language that must be spoken world-wide in order for countries to interact, trade and advance.

It is fascinating to realize that the language originally spoken in this relatively small island country of England is fastly becoming the language of the world.

[NYer]

Most interesting! Many of these 'languages' are dialects that have evolved from ancient roots. I had the most fortunate opportunity to experience this in the Molise Province of Italy. In one small town, the local dialect traces its roots back to Etruscan. Just to cite an example, the word in Italian for "upstairs" is "sopra" (think soprano in music). In this one small town the word in dialect for "upstairs" is "in gup". "Downstairs" in Italian is "sotto" (again, think music - sotto voce). In this small village the word in dialect is "bal".

It is difficult for us in the US, to relate to these extreme differences in language, in villages only miles apart. One village retains a dialect different from the neighboring town. Much of this has to do with the evolution of language, before the advent of modern transportation.

For this reason, it is extremely important that theologians study the source languages of the Bible, AND the audience + time frame in which information was delivered. For the very same reason, it is most interesting to note that with the Qu'uran, it is now understood that the source languages were the various dialects of the Bedouins. Each community had a different 'dialect'; hence christians who tried to proselitize them, resorted to their own linguistic terms. In the process, the Qu'uran was born - a 'bastardized' version of the Bible. Sadly, today, the Imams have condensed and translated everything into Arabic. In the process many of the word meanings were improperly translated, resulting in the mess we see today.

For a greater understanding of this, refer to this link:

The Virgins and the Grapes: the Christian Origins of the Koran