Columbus's maritime communication model

When Columbus first arrived in the New World, he did communicate with the aborigines in sign language. It's like traveling to a strange country. You can't speak the local language, and you can't read the local characters. You can only use gestures. Fortunately, some human needs and behavior patterns can be conveyed by gestures. If you want to eat or drink, just put something in your mouth. Others are not stupid, so naturally they can understand this behavior. This has caused many misunderstandings. Isn't that what jokes about Australia say? Kangaroos are named after the British colonists landed on the mainland. In fact, however, this word means "I don't know". Although this linguistic joke is false, the logic behind it is true.

Before the era of great European navigation, the most active navigators in the world's oceans were all from Arabia. This may not be understood by people now, but at that time, Arabia was not a symbol of backwardness and occlusion, but a very dynamic commercial nation. The so-called second semu of four types of citizens in Yuan Dynasty refers to Arab businessmen. The trade of these people spread all over Eurasia, which brought great wealth to Mongolians who could not manage the economy. It's the same in Europe. Explorers must consult Arab businessmen about the ocean before going out to sea. More importantly, Arabs are well-informed and can hire linguists who can speak many languages to go to sea with the ship. Columbus's expedition included such experts.

But in fact, the expert didn't come in handy. His only function is probably to record the language used by the local people and bring original materials for the later translation work. However, Europeans obviously don't think that these natives in the New World are intelligent and civilized human beings, so they don't spend much energy on learning their languages. When Columbus's team explored the American continent, he found the capital of the other kingdom and the location of gold through guidance. Indigenous people who are not aware of their situation do not know what kind of tragic situation they will face.