7 hours ago
- Languages can feel familiar due to practical usage patterns, not just historical family trees.
- A subtitle-based similarity map analyzed how languages translate the same English phrases, revealing cross-family links.
- Examples like Finnish and Swedish show proximity from cultural contact, not shared ancestry.
- The method uses English as a reference, which can miss nuances like politeness levels in Japanese or agglutination in Turkish.
- Closeness is shaped by both historical relationships and modern media translation habits.