• NegentropicBoy@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    1 month ago

    Yes! “The Greeks used the term barbarian for all non-Greek-speaking people, including the Egyptians, Persians, Medes and Phoenicians, emphasizing their otherness. According to Greek writers, this was because the language they spoke sounded to Greeks like gibberish represented by the sounds “bar…bar…;” the alleged root of the word bárbaros, which is an echomimetic or onomatopoeic word.”

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarian

    • Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 month ago

      Wow. So even thousands of years ago humans were racist assholes demeaning others for speaking a different language.

      See America? You’re not special.