Anatomy, Comparative; Embryology, Human; Evolution; Human beings -- Origin
When, with the assistance of this tree, we follow the formation of the
various languages that have been developed from the common root of the
ancient Indo-Germanic tongue, we get a very clear idea of their
phylogeny. We shall see at the same time how analogous this is to the
development of the various groups of vertebrates that have arisen from
the common stem-form of the primitive vertebrate. The ancient
Indo-Germanic root-language divided first into two principal
stems--the Slavo-Germanic and the Aryo-Romanic. The Slavo-Germanic
stem then branches into the ancient Germanic and the ancient
Slavo-Lettic tongues; the Aryo-Romanic into the ancient Aryan and the
ancient Greco-Roman. If we still follow the genealogical tree of these
four Indo-Germanic tongues, we find that the ancient Germanic divides
into three branches--the Scandinavian, the Gothic, and the German.
From the ancient German came the High German and Low German; to the
latter belong the Frisian, Saxon, and modern Low-German dialects. The
ancient Slavo-Lettic divided first into a Baltic and a Slav language.
The Baltic gave rise to the Lett, Lithuanian, and old-Prussian
varieties; the Slav to the Russian and South-Slav in the south-east,
and to the Polish and Czech in the west.
We find an equally prolific branching of its two chief stems when we
turn to the other division of the Indo-Germanic languages. The
Greco-Roman divided into the Thracian (Albano-Greek) and the
Italo-Celtic. From the latter came the divergent branches of the
Italic (Roman and Latin) in the south, and the Celtic in the north:
from the latter have been developed all the British (ancient British,
ancient Scotch, and Irish) and Gallic varieties. The ancient Aryan
gave rise to the numerous Iranian and Indian languages.
This "comparative anatomy" and evolution of languages admirably
illustrates the phylogeny of species. It is clear that in structure
and development the primitive languages, mother and daughter
languages, and varieties, correspond exactly to the classes, orders,
genera, and species of the animal world. In both cases the "natural"
system is phylogenetic. As we have been convinced from comparative
anatomy and ontogeny, and from paleontology, that all past and living
vertebrates descend from a common ancestor, so the comparative study
of dead and living Indo-Germanic tongues proves beyond question that
they are all modifications of one primitive language. This view of
their origin is now accepted by all the chief philologists who have
worked in this branch and are unprejudiced.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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