Imperialism and Colonization Essay Example for Free

Imperialism and Colonization Essay Colonization and imperialism are inherently associated with an economic model that is meant to boost the economy of the colonizing power (herein referred to as benefactor state) by providing target market for manufactured goods and source of raw materials. During the twentieth century most colonies gained independence or autonomy resulting in a disruption of the economic model associated with colonization and imperialism. A current trend is globalization which necessitates a complete reversal of the economic role of states. The role has changed from serving as a market for the benefactor state to manufacturing products using inexpensive labor that are then sold back to the benefactor state. Many states (particularly in Africa) have not been able to adjust to this change and have, thus, been caught between colonization and globalization without strong economic ties to other nations. To minimize conflict within a state and between states, the respective nations must have ties that are strong enough to transcend national boundaries. This is evident when examining global trends such as colonization and globalization which tend to focus nations that would normally be at odds on a common goal. In the case of colonization, natives of occupied territories are inclined to unite against the occupying power. A current trend towards globalization has forced nations to unite because of an increased economic dependence between states. The claim (albeit untrue) that there has never been a war between two countries having McDonalds underscores the importance of economic ties that can transcend national boundaries. A History of Imperialism and Colonization During the height of colonialism, Britain controlled over a quarter of the land and one third of the population. Combined, Britain and eight other European countries controlled approximately 84% of the earth’s surface. (Conklin: 1) What factors allowed Europeans to exert such a strong influence on other parts of the world? More importantly, what were the motivations for subjugating the rest of the world that have made such a profound impact even in the modern world? J. A. Hobson describes the driving force behind olonization as â€Å"the investor who cannot find at home the profitable use he seeks for his capital, and insists that his Government should help him to profitable and secure investments abroad. † (Hobson: 15) On the practical side of colonization, armies are needed and colonization can’t occur until an industrial revolution begins. Industrialization requires cheap labor, a navy, a target market to buy surplus p roducts and raw materials. Without a large enough target audience for selling goods, the industrial revolution would have been stymied and Britain’s economy and industry could not have advanced as rapidly. Essentially, raw materials are shipped out of colonies to the colonizing country, manufactured into a finished product using cheap labor and then sold back to the colonies at profit. (Kollenbroich) Undoubtedly, there are other factors that motivated European powers to colonize; Christianity, national pride and civilizing those perceived as savages to name some. However, there is no denying that most colonies became economically dependent on the colonizing country. This implies that economic reasons, regardless of other motivating factors for colonization, were a driving force in colonization. In fact, the factors such as Christianity, national pride and the mission to civilize would often go hand in hand with the economic motivation and serve to conceal the economic reasons from the general public. (Kollenbroich) M. K. Ghandi agrees with that statement, â€Å"England is a nation of shopkeepers,† (attributed to Napoleon) and goes on to describe how the British, â€Å"hold whatever dominions they have for the sake of their commerce. † (Ghandi: 25) Continuing on the same note, Ghandi explains that the British view the world as a vast market for their goods. According to Ghandi, the British didn’t conquer India per se; rather the acceptance of British commerce, lifestyle and law allowed the British to govern India. For this very reason, Ghandi promotes a lifestyle lacking in machinery. â€Å"What did India do before these articles were introduced? Precisely the same should be done today. † (Ghandi 28-29) In Ghandi’s opinion, removing economic ties to Britain and rest of Europe, India would eventually attain sovereignty. Clearly, the economy plays a vital role in colonization and is a strong motivation by providing raw materials and markets to sell finished goods. The question that begs to be asked is: How were Europeans able to convince or force other parts of the world to accept colonization? The answer has everything to do with image. If natives didn’t believe that the Europeans were superior, revolts would have been much more widespread. In turn, European militaries would have been spread too thin and outnumbered. The key to preventing this lies in creating the illusion for natives that the Europeans are superior in every way and resistance is futile. The style of rule is as important as the fact the Europeans are in control of the colony. Typically the French would use a divide and conquer strategy. They would bring in French administrators and subject the natives to French culture. This was effective because the French often grouped tribes or groups of natives that didn’t get along. Instead of fighting the French, the natives would fight amongst themselves. On the other hand, the British would preserve parts of the local system and choose natives leaders. This was effective for the British because it gave the natives the illusion of a certain level of autonomy while the British remained in control. Kollenbroich) The socio-economic model in most colonies was noticeably lacking a middle class. On one hand there are the natives who are often dirt poor by European standards and on the other hand there are the business and elite classes that are continually sucking profit out of the colonies. This is somewhat true of even Europe because of industrialization which left a large lower class working in the factories fo r minimal wages. The Trend of Globalization The push towards a more global economy has several important consequences. Many states that were once colonizing powers have seen their role shift to that of economic powerhouses with global cities that serve as command and control centers for the economy. (Sassen, 4) In the wake of globalization, an increasing number of firms have centralized their business presence in the downtown areas of global cities and placed numerous factories in foreign states to take advantage of lower labor prices. The placement or acquisition of factories in other states is known as foreign direct investment (FDI). The five major exporters of capital (United States, United Kingdom, Japan, France and Germany) account for 70 percent of FDI (Sassen 11). According to Sassen, â€Å"the growth in FDI has been embedded in the internationalization of production of goods and services. † (Sassen: 10) This is readily evident when considering the number of factories being built in Latin American and Southeast Asian. The semiconductor explosion coupled with other industries choosing to locate in Asia has led to an â€Å"emergence of Southeast Asia as a crucial transnational space for production. (Sassen: 11) Prominent American companies have increasingly moved the manufacturing of products offshore to take advantage of more lax labor laws and significantly lower wages. The transition from colonization to globalization has seen the role of foreign countries move from buying products to creating products cheaply. The economics of intervention has played a more dominant role in foreign policy and will continue to do so in the future. For decades the United States and Soviet Union struggled to see capitalism and communism spread, respectively. The struggle played out both economically and militarily in many countries throughout the world and is important because more often than not decolonized countries would be in need of economic and sometimes military intervention. More recently, the United States and other countries have faced decisions about whether to intervene in situations such as Somalia and other African states. Interventions such as these are often viewed by the much of the public as too little too late and this can be attributed, at least in part, to a lack of economic interest in the conflict. In fact, intervention costs millions and sometimes billions of dollars which, in many politicians’ eyes, is not justified. To make matters worse, politicians are very careful about labeling conflicts as massacres or genocide because as soon as a conflict is labeled as such, it ethically requires intervention. What happens then to a state caught between colonization and globalization that has little or no economical tie to the global economy? If the conflict receives enough attention on the world stage and there is enough bloodshed, then there is a good chance that a peacekeeping force will intervene. However, the chance of intervention in a conflict with little or no bloodshed is much slimmer and may never materialize. Case Study: Zimbabwe According to the International Crisis Group, â€Å"Zimbabwe’s economy is hemorrhaging. † (Zimbabwe: 5) Zimbabwe’s economy has shrunk approximately 25 percent since 1998, inflation is more than 228% percent (Zimbabwe: CIA) and unemployment is higher than 60 percent. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has decreased from 436 million USD in 1998 to 4. 5 million USD. The FDI alone is indicative of an ever increasing gap between today’s global economy and the economy of Zimbabwe. Any economic ties that Zimbabwe has with the rest of the world are slowly wasting away with a decrease in gold production and decreased foreign aid. In fact, reducing hours and production volume is now the norm and has led to a scarcity of basic commodities within the country. To make a poor situation even worse, the government of Zimbabwe has been directing farm seizures that have led to 95 percent of large scale farmers either stopping operations or being severely disrupted. The food production has declined by 40 percent and prompted a United Nations (UN) report that warns of the potential of famine. If predictions hold true, Zimbabwe’s harvests will not be enough to feed the entire population Zimbabwe will be forced to import food. The government has gone as far as deploying army and police units to deal with riots, should they break out. (Zimbabwe) The ruling ZANU-PF party has been systematically eliminating opposition from the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The ZANU-PF has been accused of distributing food to party members rather than equally which means that even children of MDC supporters have food withheld. ZANU-PF supporters, civil servants and traditional leaders are blocking MDC supporters from acquiring maize †¦ It is clear that some schemes have been discriminatory for months without the donor being aware. (Zimbabwe: 7) Thus far, the rest of the world has been passive about the happenings in Zimbabwe. In part, this can be attributed to the need to intervene if a country or countries declare a humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. As noted earlier the FDI has dramatically declined resulting in essentially no economic ties between Zimbabwe and the rest of the world. More than likely, aid or intervention will not take place without a crisis that places Zimbabwe in the center of the world stage. Zimbabwe is just one former colony of many (in Africa and other parts of the world) that gained independence and left behind the imperialistic economy. Unfortunately, Zimbabwe has stepped out of one economic model and failed to step into the global economy. This is evident in the dramatically decreased FDI and production as well as the lack of intervention from other states. Focus on Former African Colonies World War II left the European powers (with the exception of Portugal) scrambling to leave Africa. As alluded to earlier, colonizing is an expensive business that takes enormous resources and ultimately is profitable for a relatively small number people. Most European colonies in Africa were never as profitable as had been hoped for couldn’t be justified like India and some other colonies. The bad name given to imperialism by Hitler helped accelerate the process in Africa as well as other parts of the world. Due to a lack of economic motivation capable of transcending national boundaries, many former colonies have descended into civil wars and other disputes between nations within the state. As demonstrated with Zimbabwe, this conflict is not necessarily militarily (although this is often the case) carried out and may be something as appalling as withholding food or other basic commodities from a portion of the population. Countless other African states such as Somali, Uganda, Liberia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Congo have had or continue to have conflicts between nations. Many countries in Africa are lacking a solid economy that isn’t dominated by a single sector such as agriculture.

Irregular verbs

Irregular verbs How do native English children acquire irregular verbs? The process of how children acquire their first language is a widely investigated phenomenon. Some researchers and experts agree that every child has a special language learning device, which enables them to learn a language very effectively. Numerous researches have been conducted on the different stages of first language acquisition. One of these stages is the process of verb acquisition. Children usually make errors when trying to use the past tense forms of irregular verbs, but later on these errors disappear, as they acquire the correct forms. In this paper I will, firstly demonstrate the stages of first language acquisition and place the phase of verb acquisition, then I will explain the most common mistake children make with irregular past tenses, and lastly, I will give an explanation to this phenomenon, and show the consequence it could possibly have. According to Pinker (1994) when a child is born it can distinguish all the phonemes of the worlds languages, even if there is no distinction in their mother tongue. By reaching ten months of age, however, they will have learned the sounds used in their language, and will not have a universal knowledge of sounds anymore, just like adults. Children learn to understand speech between two month and their first birthday. They start to produce syllables in between this time span, at around their seventh month. This phase is called babbling. Then, they begin to use single, isolated words when they are one year old, and with eighteen months, their vocabulary starts to grow very quickly, and syntax also begins with combining words. When they reach their second year the development in all fields of language learning is very rapid, and as Pinker (1994) states, with three years a child is a grammatical genius (p. 276). For a better overview we could name the stages as follows: Syllable Babbling, Gibberish Babbling, One-Word-Utterances, Two-Word-String, and All Hell Breaks Loose (Pinker, 1994, p. 269). The acquisition of verbs usually takes place later than that of nouns (Harris, Meints and Plunkett, 2008). There are two types of verbs: regular verbs and irregular verbs. In order to produce the past tenses of verbs, Redman and Rice (2001) point out, that children need to acquire the morphophonological component of past tense, the rules for producing the various forms associated with past tense (p. 655). This means, that they have to learn that the past tense is constructed by adding -ed to the stem, and that there are irregular verbs, which are exceptions to the rule, and are produced differently. Learning to produce the past tense of regular verbs is usually not a problem for children, because they only have to know one rule, and be able to apply it. The problem is with irregular verbs, because there is no rule there, which can be applied. The mistake children commonly make when trying to use the past tense of irregular verbs is called overregularization. This can occur whan the c hild already knows, that in order to express past tense, -ed has to be added to the stem of the verb, and applies this rule, incorrectly, to irregular verbs as well (Matthews and Theakston, 2006). There is an explanation to this phenomenon. According to Pinker (1994), irregular verb forms have to be memorized independently, linked together as word pairs, and if the correct form cannot be retrieved from memory, the general rule of adding -ed is applied. This substitution can occur, because regular inflection is a symbol-combination rule and does not need access to the contents of memory (Pinker, 2001, p. 19). In the English language there are about 180 irregular verbs, which originate from Old and Middle English. There used to be about twice as many, but adults also tend to forget that a verb is irregular, especially if it is not a common, often used verb, and start to use it as a regular verb (Pinker, 1994). Therefore, the amount of regular verbs is increasing, while that of irregular ones is decreasing. It can be concluded then, that verb acquisition starts between the childs first and second birthday, somewhat after noun acquisition. When using the past tense of verbs, children have to know the rule which is used with regular verbs, and that there are irregular verbs, which are produced differently. However, they tend to apply the general rule, which is used for regular verbs, also for irregular verbs. This is probably so, because there is no rule for generating the past tense of irregular verbs, so they have to be memorized as pairs of words, and if the child cannot remember the right form, or the other half of the word pair, it simply applies the rule it knows, and generates a regular past tensed verb. Irregular verbs, that are not often used, might stay in the childs lexicon as regular ones, and this can cause the increase of regular verbs and the decrease of irregular verbs. References Harris, P. L., Meints, K., Plunkett, K. (2008). Eating apples and houseplants: Typicality constraints on thematic roles in early verb learning. Language and Cognitive Processes, 23, 434-463. Matthews, D. E., Theakston, A. L. (2006). Errors of omission in English-speaking childrens production of plurals and the past tense: The effects of frequency, phonology, and competition. Cognitive Science, 30, 1027-1052. Pinker, S. (1994). Baby born talking-Describes Heaven. In The language instinct (pp. 262-296). London, England: Penguin Books. Pinker, S. (2001). Words and rules. Eye on Psi Chi, 14-19. Redmond, S. M., Rice, M. L. (2001). Detection of irregular verb violations by children with and without SLI. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 44, 655-669.

Teenage Mothers :: Teen Pregnancy

Becoming a parent permanently and profoundly alters a teenager's life. Most of the girls forget about their dreams of happy marriage, college is almost always out of the question, graduating High School becomes a goal most teenage moms don't achieve. Young girls having babies isn't new, as a matter of fact, teenage parenthood was higher in the 1950 then it is today, but things were different. Most of the girls were eighteen or nineteen and many of them already married. Only a few of single mothers actually kept their babies. Today many mothers are fifteen or sixteen years old. Some are even as young as twelve. Fathers contribute little or nothing to the care of the baby, therefore it's even harder for the mother. All of a sudden the girl is thrown into the world of responsibilities and duties, where the baby's needs come before her own. She is expected to balance her school or a job with the full time task of raising a baby. Her world is changed from her world of dates, parties, sleepovers and waiting for a Saturday so you can sleep late, to the world of doctor appointments, diapers, baby formulas, bills, and day care. Experts say that girls have babies from lack of self-esteem. "Too often, adolescent pregnancy is what happens to poor kids," says psychologist Judith Musick. "It can be a symptom of having no better options." They need someone to love and someone to love them back. What's cuddlier and cuter than a baby is? A baby gives them something to look forward to and something that gives meaning to their life. Studies show that a lot of teenage mothers come from poverty and some of them don't know any better. There's definitely a lack of education but it doesn't have a direct relationship to race or ethnic background. A lot of teenage moms don't think that they have anything to lose by having a baby. Communities and Governments have tried to help out teenage mothers but sometimes what they do just isn't enough. There is After-School Care for young adolescents and there are community learning centers. In 1984 about 8.7 million girls were living with a baby and without the father. Only 58% of those girls have been awarded child support. Of those who were supposed to get child support in 1983, only half received the amount due.

How to Successfully Skip a Day of School :: essays research papers

Every kid in high school is always trying to think of new ways to skip class. This is where I come into play. I missed forty-two days of high school my senior year and didn't get caught once. If executed correctly, almost anyone can pull this off. I've been told many times that Ferris Bueller didn't have anything on me. Maybe one day I'll get my own movie. I was not a fan of class in high school, and it was well known. I was what most would call the class clown and tended to stay in trouble. If I wasn?t skipping school I was usually suspended. So when I was there, I had to be prepared for anything and everything thrown my way. Missing so many days I had to be an expert at forging doctor?s notes. But for one day you will only need one forged note from your parents. All materials needed to pull this off can be found around the house. The most important thing needed to pull this off is a functioning brain. Some other materials you may need are soup, Kleenex, and ibuprofen. All these materials will be vital to your success. To successfully skip a day of school requires two very important things, practice and execution. To begin, this cannot be a spur of the moment thing, it must be thought out and practiced. Don?t come out right away and say you do not feel well. Act so sick your parents have to ask if you are feeling well. The best thing to tell them is that you have a terrible headache and can?t see straight. This cannot be proven wrong. The next morning, stay in bed until they come tell you that you are going to be late. This is when you tell them you are so sick you can?t make it to class. When they finally depart for work stay put for at least an hour. People have been known to get caught because they are too anxious. Patience is a virtue. When you go to shower, take a minute to look around and memorize where everything is, then when you are finished put everything back the way it was before you got in. Now leaving the house is the tough part. Be very cautious of noisy neighbors.

The Relevance Today of A Jury of Her Peers Essay -- A Jury of Her Peer

In "A Jury of Her Peers," Susan Glaspell illustrates many social standards women experienced at the turn of the century. She allows the reader to see how a woman's life was completely ruled by social laws, and thus by her husband. Glaspell also reveals the ignorance of the men in the story, in particular the sheriff and the county attorney. I think some examples are rather extreme, but in Glaspell's day, they would have probably been common. Women did not have many rights at the turn of the century. What few rights and freedoms they did have were dominated by social standards. They were expected to cater to their husbands' wishes and commands. I think their society oppressed them more often than their own husbands did. A good example of this in "A Jury of Her Peers" is Martha Hale. Lewis Hale treats his wife as an equal privately, but does not treat her as an equal in public. When Mrs. Hale attempts to interrupt her husband as he tells the county attorney what he experienced in the Wright household she does not treat him as a master, but as an equal (Glaspell 260). Clearly she is not afraid of him. Many women at this time would have never even attempted to distract or interrupt their husband while they talked. Clearly defined gender roles are prevalent throughout "A Jury of Her Peers." Men are supposed to work outside of the home, and women are supposed to work inside the home. Neither the men nor the women seem to appreciate the other's wo...

Determination of Dissolved Oxygen In a Water Essay

INTRODUCTION In an alkaline solution, dissolved oxygen will oxidize manganese(II) to the trivalent state. 8OH-(aq) + 4Mn2+(aq) + 2H2O(l) ï ¼ Ã¯ ¼ Ã¯ ¼Å¾ 4Mn(OH)3(s) The analysis is completed by titrating the iodine produced from potassium iodide by manganese(III) hydroxide. 2Mn(OH)3(s) + 2I-(aq) + 6 H+(aq) ï ¼ Ã¯ ¼ Ã¯ ¼Å¾ 2Mn2+(aq) + I2(aq) + 6H2O(l) Sodium thiosulphate is used as the titrant. Success of the method is critically dependent upon the manner in which the sample is manipulated. At all stages, every method must be made to assure that oxygen is neither introduced to nor lost from the sample. Furthermore, the sample must be free of any solutes that will oxidize iodide or reduce iodine. Chemicals: Manganese(II) sulphate solution – prepared by dissolving 48 g of MnSO4.4H2O in water to five 100 cm3 solution; alkaline potassium iodide solution—prepared by dissolving 15 g of KI in about 25 cm3 of water, adding 66 cm3 of 50% NaOH, and diluting to 100 cm3; concentrated sulphuriv(VI) acid; 0.0125 M sodium thiosulphate solution; starch solution (freshly prepared). Apparatus: 250 cm3 volumetric flask, 250 cm3 conical flask, measuring cylinders, titration apparatus, magnetic stirrer Procedure: 1.Use a 250 cm3 volumetric flask to collect water sample. Fill the flask completely with water without trapping any air bubbles. 2.Add 1 cm3 of manganese(II) sulphate solution to the sample using a pipette. Discharge the solution well below the surface (some overflow will occur). 3.Similarity introduce 1 cm3 of alkaline potassium iodide solution. Be sure that no air becomes entrapped. Invert the bottle to distribute the precipitate uniformly. [Hazard Warning: Care should be taken to avoid exposure to any overflow, as the solution is quite alkaline.] 4.When the precipitate has  settled at least 3 cm below the stopper, introduce 1 cm3 of concentrated sulphuric acid well below the surface. Replace the stopper and carefully mix until the precipitate disappears. A magnetic stirrer is helpful here. 5.Allow the mixture to stand for 5 minutes and then withdraw 100cm3 of the acidified sample into a 250 cm3 conical flask. 6.Titrate with 0.0125M sodium thiosulphate until the iodine colour bec omes faint. Then add 1 cm3 of starch solution and continue adding the thiosulphate solution until the blue colour disappears. 7.Record the volume of thiosulphate solution used and calculate the dissolved oxygen content in the sample in mg dm-3. Remarks 1.If the water sample has a low DO value, it is recommended to withdraw 200 cm3 of the acidified sample into a 500 cm3 flask for the titration describe in step 5. 2.This experiment can be further developed into a project to study the extent of water pollution. (a)The water sample under investigation is divided into two portions. One portion of the sample is immediately analysed for dissolving oxygen using the Winkler method. The other portion is stored in the dark for five days. (b)Repeat the analysis with the water sample that has been stored in the dark for five days. The difference between the two measurements is the five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), measured in mg dm-3.

History of Vernacular Language Essay

Spanish has one of the richest and longest histories of any of the world’s languages. It is the fourth most-spoken language in the world after Chinese, Hindi and English. Native Spanish speakers exist throughout Europe, the United States, Pacific Islands and Africa (Penny, 2002). Spanish originated on the Iberian Peninsula which is located in the southwestern region of Europe. The vernacular language was not originally known as Spanish, it was referred to as Vulgar Latin. The Celts were a nomadic tribe from central Europe who moved into the peninsula towards the end of the sixth century (Penny, 2002). The Celts mixed with the peninsula’s residents, the Iberians resulting in a new people known as the Celtiberians who spoke a form of the Celtic language. By the nineteenth century BCE, the region in southwestern Europe was known as Hispania and the inhabitants learned Latin from Roman settlers, traders and soldiers. Soon after the people in Hispania learned Latin, a new language was created as a mixture of the Celtiberians language and classical Latin (Penny, 2002). The new language became known as Vulgar Latin which developed into modern Spanish. Vulgar Latin was similar to classical Latin but implemented many words from other languages. Spanish started as a native language dialect spoken in the Castilian region of Spain. After many years of conquest, exploration and forced conversion, the people in the region spread the language to a worldwide vernacular. The Spanish language belongs to the Indo-European family of languages and the Romance language family as the language was greatly influenced by Latin. The anguage took many years to fully develop and spread because of the influence of other countries. Towards the end of the fourth century A. D. , Roman control over the Iberian Peninsula had significantly declined (Pimsluer, 2013). The fifth century brought on the rule of the Visigoths who spoke a German vernacular which made it difficult to communicate in Spanish. The Islamic people invaded Spain in A. D. 711 which led to the spread of Vulgar Latin throughout the Peninsula (Pimsluer, 2013). The Islamic people brought their culture and Arabic language to parts of Spain. The effects of the Islamic Moors conquest did not reach all parts of Spain which contributed to the spread of Spanish. Many residents borrowed from Arabic but the residents of the northwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula preserved the Spanish language. The northwestern region of the Iberian Peninsula was often referred to as Castile and by the eleventh century A. D. , Castile had gained enough power to declare itself as a kingdom. The Castilian people spread south and east throughout the Iberian Peninsula in Spain and drove out the Islamic and Arabic presence. As the Spanish speaking people moved throughout the peninsula, they spread their language into the conquered territories as well as surrounding territories. The Spanish language was known as Castilian during that time period and was often considered a prestigious language (Lopez, 2007). By the end of the fifteenth century, Castile and the Spanish language ruled a large territory encompassing the peninsula, spanning from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. Latin had a significant influence on the development of Western languages as it led to the creation of many individual dialects. The Roman Empire gained power during the fourth century B. C and Latin spread throughout the Italian peninsula and the Mediterranean region. Speakers of Latin traveled in Europe and Central Asia which sparked new innovations in language (Sayre, 2013, pg. 264). Latin influenced the development of languages in the Western region of the world by serving as a basis for the creation of new languages. An example of this influence would be the use of Latin words in the Spanish language as a result of the Roman power in the Spanish peninsula. Native populations learned Latin first and then eventually developed new dialects and languages. Local residents often became bilingual in classical Latin and the newer language or dialect. Latin is the main foundation of languages in Western Civilizations. The languages spoken in Spain, Romania, Italy, France and Portugal were created from a hybrid form of Latin. Western languages were also influenced by other languages such as German and Arabic but the most significant influence remains Latin (Sayre, 2013, pg. 264). Without the Latin language, only a small number of the languages spoken today would be recognizable in their current dialects. Latin survived the fall of the Roman Empire and continued to be an international language for educated individuals and the socially elite. After the Middle Ages, the Western Hemisphere underwent a cultural Renaissance and many forms of Latin were transplanted into Western languages (Sayre, 2013, pg. 265). Not only did Latin serve as a basis for the Spanish language but it had a substantial impact on the development of languages in Western civilizations.