Chapter · Spain · Language
The first grammar
Writing the rules of a language everyone already speaks
1492 brings the first grammar ever written for a living language of Europe. This path reads its prologue, which is a political argument addressed to a queen, not a declaration of love.
Context first
A lesson to read before the others, to set the scene.
- The place
- The era
- The people
The first grammar1492 brings the first grammar of a living European language. Its author justifies it by showing that languages fall with the powers that carry them, and asks that Castilian be fixed at its summit.9 min
The lessons in this chapter
- 1Four languages, four childhoodsTo justify a Castilian grammar the author first proves on Hebrew, Greek and Latin that languages fall with the powers that carry them. Then he places Castilian at its summit.9 min
- 2The bishop took the answer from himThe queen asks what a grammar is for. A bishop answers in the author’s place: to teach it to the peoples she will have subdued. The author reports the scene, having given two other uses first.10 min
- 3A house for memory to live inA language without rule changes in five centuries as much as separates two languages. A grammar, says the author, gives memory a house to live in, failing which it will have to emigrate.10 min
How these lessons are written
Each lesson starts from first-hand sources: Wikisource, Gallica, Persée, archives, museums and institutes. A fact without a source does not get written, and every lesson lists its own as direct links.
The rhythm
A lesson is five minutes of cards and four questions. Those questions then come back the next day, then at 3, 7, 21 and 60 days, and that return is what makes it stick. One a day is enough, and you can do several in a row.