Laura Spinney

would be, for example, we know from ancient historians' chronicles that Hadrian, he wasn't yet the emperor, but before he was an emperor, he addressed the Roman Senate in around 100 AD CE, and he was mocked by the other senators for his Spanish accent. So Hadrian was born in what we call Seville now in Spain.

would be, for example, we know from ancient historians' chronicles that Hadrian, he wasn't yet the emperor, but before he was an emperor, he addressed the Roman Senate in around 100 AD CE, and he was mocked by the other senators for his Spanish accent. So Hadrian was born in what we call Seville now in Spain.

would be, for example, we know from ancient historians' chronicles that Hadrian, he wasn't yet the emperor, but before he was an emperor, he addressed the Roman Senate in around 100 AD CE, and he was mocked by the other senators for his Spanish accent. So Hadrian was born in what we call Seville now in Spain.

So he had a Spanish accent and the other senators thought that was very funny, but he still spoke recognizable Latin. So that's a clue that at that point, Latin was still Latin. It hadn't yet exploded into the Romance languages, but it was in the process of doing so. Now by the ninth century CE, we have another little

So he had a Spanish accent and the other senators thought that was very funny, but he still spoke recognizable Latin. So that's a clue that at that point, Latin was still Latin. It hadn't yet exploded into the Romance languages, but it was in the process of doing so. Now by the ninth century CE, we have another little

So he had a Spanish accent and the other senators thought that was very funny, but he still spoke recognizable Latin. So that's a clue that at that point, Latin was still Latin. It hadn't yet exploded into the Romance languages, but it was in the process of doing so. Now by the ninth century CE, we have another little

historical glimpse of what the languages in Europe were doing from something called the Oaths of Strasbourg. So this is when two grandsons of Charlemagne signed a pact, a military pact. And in order to broadcast this pact to their followers, they read it out in their respective languages. One of them spoke German and the other spoke Romance.

historical glimpse of what the languages in Europe were doing from something called the Oaths of Strasbourg. So this is when two grandsons of Charlemagne signed a pact, a military pact. And in order to broadcast this pact to their followers, they read it out in their respective languages. One of them spoke German and the other spoke Romance.

historical glimpse of what the languages in Europe were doing from something called the Oaths of Strasbourg. So this is when two grandsons of Charlemagne signed a pact, a military pact. And in order to broadcast this pact to their followers, they read it out in their respective languages. One of them spoke German and the other spoke Romance.

So the Germanic speaker had to speak in Romance and the Romance speaker had to speak in Germanic. And obviously it was very important to avoid any kind of misunderstanding in this situation. So the Romance speaker spoke in German. The Germanic speaker could easily have spoken in Latin, which was the language of Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire, but he had more trouble with Romance.

So the Germanic speaker had to speak in Romance and the Romance speaker had to speak in Germanic. And obviously it was very important to avoid any kind of misunderstanding in this situation. So the Romance speaker spoke in German. The Germanic speaker could easily have spoken in Latin, which was the language of Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire, but he had more trouble with Romance.

So the Germanic speaker had to speak in Romance and the Romance speaker had to speak in Germanic. And obviously it was very important to avoid any kind of misunderstanding in this situation. So the Romance speaker spoke in German. The Germanic speaker could easily have spoken in Latin, which was the language of Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire, but he had more trouble with Romance.

So he needed a crib sheet to help him to say the right thing. And that crib sheet is what we call the Oath of Strasbourg. It's the first evidence of the French language written down and in fact of any Romance language. So that shows us that at that point, the reason he was unsure of himself was that it was no longer Latin. It had become Romance, in this case, French, Old French.

So he needed a crib sheet to help him to say the right thing. And that crib sheet is what we call the Oath of Strasbourg. It's the first evidence of the French language written down and in fact of any Romance language. So that shows us that at that point, the reason he was unsure of himself was that it was no longer Latin. It had become Romance, in this case, French, Old French.

So he needed a crib sheet to help him to say the right thing. And that crib sheet is what we call the Oath of Strasbourg. It's the first evidence of the French language written down and in fact of any Romance language. So that shows us that at that point, the reason he was unsure of himself was that it was no longer Latin. It had become Romance, in this case, French, Old French.

So those are examples of the kinds of historical clues that help us to put dates on these things. But obviously, before the beginning of... So how far does history go back? Let's answer that question. The oldest texts in an Indian language of any substantial size are the Rig Veda. It's the Rig Veda. In Greek, the oldest texts are about the same age, so about 1400 BC.

So those are examples of the kinds of historical clues that help us to put dates on these things. But obviously, before the beginning of... So how far does history go back? Let's answer that question. The oldest texts in an Indian language of any substantial size are the Rig Veda. It's the Rig Veda. In Greek, the oldest texts are about the same age, so about 1400 BC.

So those are examples of the kinds of historical clues that help us to put dates on these things. But obviously, before the beginning of... So how far does history go back? Let's answer that question. The oldest texts in an Indian language of any substantial size are the Rig Veda. It's the Rig Veda. In Greek, the oldest texts are about the same age, so about 1400 BC.

Exactly. That's 1400 BC. There are older inscriptions in Indo-European language. The oldest of all are Hittite, and they date to about 2000 BCE. But these languages are older than that. And so they were spoken for thousands of years before they were written down. So how do we get at that period prior to 2000 BCE?

Exactly. That's 1400 BC. There are older inscriptions in Indo-European language. The oldest of all are Hittite, and they date to about 2000 BCE. But these languages are older than that. And so they were spoken for thousands of years before they were written down. So how do we get at that period prior to 2000 BCE?