Final answer:
People face challenges in effectively communicating in a progressively digitally-dependent society due to the digital divide, linguistic diversity, and the influence of historical events. These challenges can affect communication and access to resources.
Step-by-step explanation:
One challenge people face in their attempts to effectively communicate in a progressively digitally-dependent society is the digital divide, which refers to the differential access to technology and the internet. The digital divide leads to a knowledge gap, where those with less access to technology have less information and proficiency in using it. This divide can create disparities in communication and access to resources, affecting effective communication.
Another challenge is the linguistic diversity resulting from historical influences and migration. Languages evolve and diverge over time due to encounters with different groups and environments, political and historical events, and even brain structure differences among different groups of people. These linguistic differences can make it difficult to establish relations between languages, even if words sound similar and have similar meanings. Furthermore, it is impossible to give an exact number of how many different languages there are due to various reasons such as linguistic isolation in remote areas and the presence of linguistic refuge areas.
Linguistics can teach us about the history and culture of ancient peoples by studying the evolution and dissemination of language. For example, the history of English as a global language can be traced through its influence on technology and media, such as air travel, internet, personal computers, and Hollywood. Additionally, linguistic diversity can provide insights into the cultural and geographic contexts in which different languages emerged.