Patricio Morales: The history and evolution of our language
The evolution of language has been always a matter of discuss, are we responsible of that? For sure, yes. The society is responsible of the language change and, in the past, of the creation of new languages, such the ones that we know in our days.
For this reason, we interviewed teacher Patricio Morales, who is going to tell us about the genesis of our native language, Spanish; also how language affects our cultural identity and how languages are in an evolution process permanently.
What can you tell us about the origin of our language, Spanish?
In the Spanish language history we identify three periods, a pre Romanic, a Romanic, and a post Romanic period. The Roman Empire came to the Iberian Peninsula in the third century before Christ and lasted until the first century after Christ; before the arrival of the Roman Empire, there were several native languages in the region, such as Íbero and Basque. With the arrival of the empire; there is a submission of the peoples, not only in administration but also through the language (the language is a form of subjugation); as a consequence, Latin spread thought the European region. The Vulgar Latin arrive to the peninsula principally from the south part of Italy, and the mixture between this Latin and the native languages will set up what is the Romance language, a direct precedent of Spanish. After the fall of the Roman Empire wars arise in Europe, bringing with them Germanic influence to the peninsula, we can appreciate that in words like Álvaro, Fernando and guerra (war). Foreign influences doesn’t end here, the Muslim invasion came between the years 711 to 1492, the formation of language is directly influenced by the Moorish influence, there are about 4,000 words in our language of Arabic origin, like ajedrez (chess), almohada (pillow), alférez (lieutenant), among others. During Medieval Times, Spanish achieves his first grammar and is officially decreed as the language of the kingdom by King Felipe V in 1714.
Do you think that the language we speak is related to the cultural identity of a people?
Of course, there are several linguistic variables present when generating the communicative act: we have the diachronic variable, which deals with the evolution and permanent change of language throughout time; the variable is based on an historical and generational element. Now, there are many words that had been incorporated with new meanings and others that have fallen into disuse. This variation throughout time is evident when reading the Quijote and the poem of the Cid, it is clear a different use of the words.
There is also the dystopian element that has to do with the distribution and variation of a language across or between geographical areas.
The third has to do with the diastratic character, in which language varies across different social classes, and that has to do with a cultural aspect and access to education.
Within these same languages shifts, there are those who are influenced by concepts from the English language.
Sure, sure. In fact, there is also a principle that is evident; as well as Spanish was formed from the influence of Latin, Islamic languages, the German elements, the same process occurs at present. We are getting terms directly from English, and perhaps much more strongly that what happened in the past, mainly through the support of the technological means. In the process of globalization, English has become a fundamental tool for international economic relations and transactions.
Do you agree with the position of English-speaking-people how don’t adopt foreign terms, but we must adopt some of their terms because of the globalization phenomenon?
Among these cultural processes, you cannot be abstracted from reality. Nowadays we are part of large economic groups, for example, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Today there is a strong need for learning Asian languages, such as Mandarin, because of negotiations, global markets and international marketing, this is a fact. It’s the same situation that we live with the English language years ago.
Do you know anything about Lingua Franca? We do some research and we find that this a kind of international language developed by a North American professor; it mixes elements from French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Catalan.
I don’t have either information about that, but the languages that you have mention came from the same linguistic substrate, Romance languages. Surely is being taken to account to use this language as a layer, and from the basics characteristics of these languages, create an international language that permit the contact of these new realities. One of the major challenges that are facing education is to see how they fit the new realities of today's world language to education.
Going back in history, at the time the Mapuche people was colonized by the Spanish empire; do you think that was lost cultural identity during the process?
In this process of linguistic insertion, through the conquest and colonization of America, there is a fundamental cultural element, which is the imposition of the language, which is also a way of domination, as I said before. When peoples are dominated, they necessarily have to adapt their linguistic reality to be understand by this new dominating entity, through the use of a foreign language; so, in one way or another, they loses identity in the way of communication and therefore the transmission of its idiosyncrasy, a cultural element. In Temuco, for example, I shared a lot with people there, even young people and none had any basic knowledge of mapudungún, and even they that were embedded in the geographic reality had acceded to any knowledge of language. Then, as the language is the main element for transmitting a culture, an identity, an idiosyncrasy, in the way that it comes in disuse, is very difficult to transmit the identity of a people. It could only be done through other expressions such as music and dance. However, I would say that the great element that promotes the culture of a people is the use of language through literature and its constant use, while isn’t used for communication between persons and between peoples, a culture is not going to last.
Are you in favour of the cultural sacrifice that the Mapuche people lived to incorporate new technologies brought by Spanish conquerors?
The access to a religion and new ways to develop increases the life expectancy of the person. The problem occurs when people have been dominated through language, and that has more to do with a value concept, this phenomenon may well have occurred respecting the identity of the peoples, and that did not happen. During the process of conquest there is a distorted value element and is the respect for the human being and his identity. I must admit that as influences that promote further development, are beneficial, while they respect the human being.
As we saw previously, language is in a continuous change. This dynamism gives him the tools for the development and creation of new languages (from the convergence of languages), as the case of Spanish, and new terms, like “almohada” (pillow). But also can be used as a method of conquering peoples, ending, if it isn't employee with respect, with the extinction of a culture.
