Archaeological Analysis of Linguistic Evolution through Cultural Interactions between the Mediterranean Region and Japan

Abstract

This paper employs a multidisciplinary approach integrating diachronic linguistics and archaeology to explore the linguistic evolution features of the Mediterranean region (including languages such as Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, etc.) and Japanese during cultural interactions. Although Japanese and Mediterranean languages belong to different language families (Altaic and Indo-European), they have been influenced by various cultural, political, and economic factors throughout history, potentially resulting in shared linguistic characteristics. The core issues addressed include the similarities and differences between Japanese and Mediterranean languages in phonology, syntax, and vocabulary, particularly how cultural interactions have promoted the evolution of these linguistic features. The study first reviews relevant theories and methods of diachronic linguistics and discusses the historical background of cultural interactions in detail. It then analyzes the phonological, grammatical, and lexical features of Japanese and Mediterranean languages through diachronic comparison, focusing on their evolutionary paths in different historical periods. Finally, specific cases of cultural exchange, such as ancient trade, religious transmission, and literary inheritance, are used to demonstrate the direct and indirect influences of cultural interactions on linguistic evolution. The research indicates that cultural interactions not only directly affect linguistic features through borrowing and phonetic imitation but also influence grammatical and syntactic structures at a deeper level. This discovery provides a new perspective for the study of linguistic evolution and enriches the diachronic comparative study of Japanese and Mediterranean languages.