tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post7808657765844317137..comments2024-03-23T01:31:13.502+01:00Comments on Jabal al-Lughat: Why do historical linguistics?Lameen Souag الأمين سواقhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00773164776222840428noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-20528939404749405302009-02-20T23:20:00.000+01:002009-02-20T23:20:00.000+01:00Matthew: Oh, better than you think. The Skt versi...Matthew: Oh, better than you think. The Skt version of The Syllable is "AUM", so "OM" must reflect the au > o: shift that took place between Skt and Pali. I mean, if even the Divine Sound That Runs The Universe is subject to sound-changes, historical linguistics becomes the essential branch of theology!John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-85675041053640838162009-02-20T18:10:00.000+01:002009-02-20T18:10:00.000+01:00My most common 'joke' explanation I like to give f...My most common 'joke' explanation I like to give for why I do historical linguistics is "to reconstruct the proto-form of the monosyllabic mantra 'Om'".<BR/><BR/>It's not a very good joke.Mattitiahuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17190475034700450411noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-69082327119806075802009-02-16T17:39:00.000+01:002009-02-16T17:39:00.000+01:00Bulbul: You know, on further consideration I think...Bulbul: You know, on further consideration I think that's definitely the right answer. But it's also nice to persuade people who don't get it.<BR/><BR/>Moubarik: Hmm, predictions are always dangerous but I'll see if I can come up with anything...<BR/><BR/>Dave: You're covering Greenberg's megafamily stuff in a typology class? Or is this independent reading?Lameen Souag الأمين سواقhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00773164776222840428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-17331063956815803932009-02-15T22:47:00.000+01:002009-02-15T22:47:00.000+01:00IMHO, the only correct response to the question "W...IMHO, the only correct response to the question "Why study X?" is "Because it's there and it's fun" :)bulbulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14505565281151328789noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-31355238745501683522009-02-14T15:26:00.000+01:002009-02-14T15:26:00.000+01:00I think we want to know in what language Adam and ...I think we want to know in what language Adam and Eva chatted. :)<BR/><BR/>Speaking of predictions, I would like to read something about your "possible case scenario" for Berber in North Africa, if you have one.<BR/><BR/>Do you think Berber will be unified, standardized, and popularized? or are the dialects going to prevail?<BR/><BR/>Do you think Latin script will rule in Berber, or is the Moroccan Tifinagh script going to steal the show?<BR/><BR/>Moubarik Belkasim<BR/>tussna@gmail.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-86592428022814854132009-02-14T07:24:00.000+01:002009-02-14T07:24:00.000+01:00Interesting posting, Lameen. I'm taking a class o...Interesting posting, Lameen. I'm taking a class on Linguistic Typology this semester and looking a lot at linguistic universals a la Greenburg. Actually his ideas comparing Native American languages with some of those of Central Asia and lumping them together in mega-families seem quite compelling given his evidence, although I'm still not convinced Basque should be included in this mix!Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09019682991191598492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13177437.post-74721723759357114182009-02-14T00:00:00.000+01:002009-02-14T00:00:00.000+01:00My favorite example (thanks to Tom Shippey for it)...My favorite example (thanks to Tom Shippey for it) is that English <I>hammer</I> and Russian <I>kamen'</I> 'stone' are cognate, thus giving us evidence of a Stone Age that must have existed at some time before the breakup of IE, quite independent of the archaeological evidence!John Cowanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452247999156925669noreply@blogger.com