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[egoabsumo]

Latin disappeared not primarily because the language changed into something else, but because at some time the speakers decided to call the language something else.

Solodow, Joseph B. (2010) Latin Alive. P110.

The quote reminds me of a question: are Old English and mordern English two different languages or just one? It seems like an easy question to answer but it is not.

I saw someone on some Chinese social network arguing about if Classical Chinese and Modern Chinese are the same language, even though they are different in both phonology and grammar. The guy proudly claimed that no one on earth would consider Old English and mordern English are two langauges, so that Chinese was and will alway be only one.

If I remembered correctly, that was quite a lonely post and no one really interesed in joining the discussion, so no one brought up the fact that the relationship between Latin and French or Spanish or Italian are just the same as Old English and Mordern English, or Classical Chinese and Mordern Chinese, yet no one (I hope) will say they are just the same language.

Funny that some Greek people also consider ancient Greek and modern Greek are the same language. In the end, it is just all about identity and nothing about linguistics.

[egoabsumo]

说话说到有人厌恶，比起毫无动静来，还是一种幸福。天下不舒服的人们多着，而有些人们却一心一意在造专给自己舒服的世界。这是不能如此便宜的，也给他们放一点可恶的东西在眼前，使他有时小不舒服，知道原来自己的世界也不容易十分美满。苍蝇的飞鸣，是不知道人们在憎恶他的；我却明知道，然而只要能飞鸣就偏要飞鸣。我的可恶有时自己也觉得，即如我的戒酒，吃鱼肝油，以望延长我的生命，倒不尽是为了我的爱人，大大半乃是为了我的敌人，——给他们说得体面一点，就是敌人罢——要在他的好世界上多留一些缺陷。

鲁迅，《坟》题记 。