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From: Tony Xenos and company <ax823092@oak.cats.ohiou.edu>
Subject: Re: What's an old language? was Re: English import...
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> >What does it mean for a language to be older than another?  

> Not that a language's
> birthday can be pinpointed with accuracy, but surely one language can
> be said to be older or younger than another.

In 449 CE, the first Germanic people began to invade Britain.  This is the
absolute earliest date that anyone could have spoken "English".  Before
this, the invaders spoke some mainland Germanic tongue; the were Angles,
Saxons, Jutes, and perhaps Frisians.  People in Britain spoke Celtic, with
perhaps some Latin thrown in from the Roman occupation.

On the other hand, my Harper-Collins World Reader has poetry written by
Anacreon, who was born around 582 BCE, and who spoke classical Greek.
That means Greek is at least 1031 years older than English.

From what I understand, a literate modern Greek can to some extent read
ancient Greek, while people who major in English literature must read the
comparatively recent "Beowulf" in translation because it is further from
present day English than French.

Craig

--
Tony Xenos                                                     Craig A. Butz
10 Hocking Street                                          2498 Mineral Road
Athens, Ohio 45701                           New Marshfield, Ohio 45766-9747
614.593.8746                                                    614.664.6401

