Content deleted Content added
m →Classical languages in Asia: order as per the quote |
|||
| (One intermediate revision by one other user not shown) | |||
Line 21:
== Classical languages in Asia ==
In terms of worldwide cultural importance, [[Edward Sapir]] in his 1921 book ''[[Language: An Introduction to the Study of Speech|Language]]'' extends the list to include [[classical Chinese]], [[Classical Sanskrit|Sanskrit]] and [[Classical Arabic|Arabic]]:
<blockquote>When we realize that an educated [[Japanese people|Japanese]] can hardly frame a single literary sentence without the use of Chinese resources, that to this day [[Thai language|Siamese]] and [[Burmese language|Burmese]] and [[Khmer language|Cambodgian]] bear the unmistakable imprint of the Sanskrit and [[Pali language|Pali]] that came in with Hindu Buddhism centuries ago, or that whether we argue for or against the teaching of Latin and Greek [in schools,] our argument is sure to be studded with words that have come to us from [[Rome]] and [[Athens]], we get some indication of what early Chinese culture and [[Buddhism]], and classical [[Mediterranean civilization]] have meant in the world's history. There are just five languages that have had an overwhelming significance as carriers of culture. They are classical Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic, Greek, and Latin. In comparison with these, even such culturally important languages as [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] and [[French language|French]] sink into a secondary position.<ref>{{cite book | last =Sapir| first=Edward| author-link =Edward Sapir | title =Language: An introduction to the study of speech | publisher =Harcourt, Brace and Company| date =1921| ___location =New York| page =164| url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12629| isbn =4-87187-529-6| access-date=February 17, 2006}}</ref></blockquote>
Line 120:
* [[Ottoman Turkish#History|Classical Ottoman Turkish]] (language of poetry and administration of the [[Ottoman Empire]], 16th to 19th centuries)
* [[Manchu language]] (language of the Manchus who ruled China, 16th–20th centuries)
* [[Harari language|Classical Harari]] (language of the city of [[Harar]]. Major language of Islamic scholarship from the 16th -20th centuries.)▼
* [[History of the Dutch language#Standardization and Modern Dutch|Early Modern Dutch]] (language of the [[Dutch Golden Age]], 17th century)
* [[History of French#Modern French|Early Modern French]] (language of [[France]] under [[Louis XIV]] to [[Napoleon]], 17th to 18th centuries)
Line 128 ⟶ 129:
* [[Yiddish#Secularization|Classical Yiddish]] (language of the [[Yiddishist movement|Yiddish Renaissance]], 19th–20th centuries)
* [[Classical Newar]] (lingua franca in India-Tibet trade)
▲* [[Harari language|Classical Harari]] (language of the city of [[Harar]]. Major language of Islamic scholarship from the 16th -20th centuries.)
== See also ==
| |||