Learning about the history of a language is usually reserved for college linguistics classes, not high school students or beginning language learners. However, when taught in age and level-appropriate ways, knowing the history of a language can be very beneficial.
Here are five reasons why learning the history behind the language you are learning is worth it:
Those crazy patterns finally make sense
Ever wondered why we say one ox but two oxen? Children instead of childs? Men instead of mans? If you knew the history of the English language you’d know that it’s because English is a Germanic language and in Old English nouns were made plural by adding -en, not s. Learning the history of a language can help speakers understand why certain patterns of words are the way they are.
Root words
Studying the history of a Romance language (including French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese) will reinforce students’ knowledge of Latin root words. Latin and Greek roots are major buzzwords in education circles and knowing the roots is useful for standardized testing and fields like botany or medicine. This is because when students know the root word they can figure out what other words containing that root mean.
Better understand culture and politics
The history of a language is intertwined with its speakers culture and politics. For example, the region of Catalunya in North Eastern Spain has been in the news recently because of its push for independence from the rest of Spain. Students studying the history of Spanish or Catalan would learn that speaking Catalan was prohibited during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco from 1939 all the way to 1975. Today the language is an important part of the Catalunya independence movement.
If we take Mandarin as an example, knowing the politics and reasons behind China’s change to simplified characters instead of traditional ones reveals why Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macao still use traditional characters.
Connections to language families
Why are Danish and Norwegian so similar? German and Dutch? Why can Brazilians understand Spanish speakers but Spanish speakers can’t understand Brazilians? Why does Japanese use Chinese characters? Learning the history of a language will help students learn similarities and differences between languages in the same families. It might even motivate them to start learning another language now that they know they have a head start!
It’s interesting!
Finally, learning the history of a language provides you with lots of interesting tidbits and a better appreciation of all the things that have influenced that language. One of my favorites is is this: Did you know that the Spanish word ojalá (hopefully) comes from the common Arabic word inshallah (God willing)?
If you are interested in learning more about the history of French or Spanish, check out these books by Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow: The Story of French or The Story of Spanish.
Do you teach Spanish or are you learning it yourself? Check out my History of Spanish bundle for intermediate learners to learn more about the amazing history behind this language.
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