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#481
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Bob LeChevalier wrote:
Holger Dansk wrote: Their language is no more primitive than yours, of course. I didn't live a thousand years ago. Language a thousand years ago was no more primitive than it is today. (Latin was big some 2000 years ago, of course). And, purely as a data point, it is a well-known linguistic fact that languages progress from complex to simple. Thus, the more primitive a language, the more complex it is. -- Be well, Barbara All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful. Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman |
#482
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In article ,
Bob LeChevalier wrote: Holger Dansk wrote: The Greeks put vowels in the alphabet which made language a lot more useful. Are you claiming that Hebrew, the language of the Bible, and Arabic, the language of the Qur'an, are not "useful"? The introduction of vowels into the alphabet, made separately at least by the Greeks and the Indians, made the alphabet more suitable for Indo-European languages. One can get by in the Semitic languages rather well without them. The Greeks mainly converted consonants and semi-vowels into full vowels; the Indians added a new set of letters. That this is needed in Indo-European languages can be attested by the East European Jews converting some of the consonants into vowels for Yiddish, which is mainly a dialect of German. -- This address is for information only. I do not claim that these views are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University. Herman Rubin, Department of Statistics, Purdue University Phone: (765)494-6054 FAX: (765)494-0558 |
#483
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Circe wrote:
Bob LeChevalier wrote: Holger Dansk wrote: Their language is no more primitive than yours, of course. I didn't live a thousand years ago. Language a thousand years ago was no more primitive than it is today. (Latin was big some 2000 years ago, of course). And, purely as a data point, it is a well-known linguistic fact that languages progress from complex to simple. Thus, the more primitive a language, the more complex it is. This comports well with intuition. One wouldn't expect early attempts at languages to be as efficient as later ones. Much like systems of numbers I imagine. I sure am glad that I didn't have to use Roman numerals in my math classes. Slainte, Fletch |
#484
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"Fletch F. Fletch" wrote: You do realize that there are black people who are far smarter than you, right? How does that square with your beliefs? Do you look down on even those who are your intellectual superiors? There are a few under-age-25 drivers who are safer than most over-age 25 drivers, but that doesn't keep the insurance companies from charging higher rates to the younger group. Insurance companies just go by the *Group_Statistics*. You should adjust your dealingz with DAFNz by the same approach; you don't have the resources to check them all out... |
#485
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On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 00:08:55 -0400, Bob LeChevalier
wrote: Any leisure time was probably spent sitting on a termite mound saying "muhfugger". (in their primitive language, of course) Their language is no more primitive than yours, of course. What an enormous chip you have on your shoulder. I'm trying to tell you that they did not use the noise, "muhfugger" when they were in Africa. Muhfugger is not a language but they spoke differently. Holger http://www.mindspring.com/~holger1/holger1.htm |
#486
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On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 14:42:58 -0400, Bob LeChevalier
wrote: Holger Dansk wrote: The Greeks put vowels in the alphabet which made language a lot more useful. Are you claiming that Hebrew, the language of the Bible, and Arabic, the language of the Qur'an, are not "useful"? I'm not claiming anything. I'm stating the fact that the Greeks were the first people to put vowels in language. Prior to that time, it was all consonants in all languages. With vowels, they could make more words and do more thinking. (We think with words.) This gave them an advantage over other civilizations. http://www.translexis.demon.co.uk/new_page_2.htm lojbab Holger http://www.mindspring.com/~holger1/holger1.htm |
#487
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Holger Dansk wrote:
On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 14:42:58 -0400, Bob LeChevalier wrote: Holger Dansk wrote: The Greeks put vowels in the alphabet which made language a lot more useful. Are you claiming that Hebrew, the language of the Bible, and Arabic, the language of the Qur'an, are not "useful"? I'm not claiming anything. I'm stating the fact that the Greeks were the first people to put vowels in language. Prior to that time, it was all consonants in all languages. With vowels, they could make more words and do more thinking. (We think with words.) Um, are you suggesting that Greek was the first language to have vowels in it? Do you honestly think that everyone up to that time manage to speak in nothing but consonants? All the Greeks did was to assign symbols to the vowels for *writing* them--they didn't *invent* the vowel sound! Earlier written languages (including Linear B, which was a Greek script) either used a system of symbols for syllables (which, by definition, *include* a vowel sound) or wrote symbols only for the consonants on the theory that any native speaker would presume the vowel sounds by virtue of familiarity with the language. -- Be well, Barbara Mom to Sin (Vernon, 2), Misery (Aurora, 4), and the Rising Son (Julian, 6) Aurora (in the bathroom with her dad)--"It looks like an elephant, Daddy." Me (later)--"You should feel flattered." All opinions expressed in this post are well-reasoned and insightful. Needless to say, they are not those of my Internet Service Provider, its other subscribers or lackeys. Anyone who says otherwise is itchin' for a fight. -- with apologies to Michael Feldman |
#488
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Holger Dansk wrote:
On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 00:08:55 -0400, Bob LeChevalier wrote: Any leisure time was probably spent sitting on a termite mound saying "muhfugger". (in their primitive language, of course) Their language is no more primitive than yours, of course. What an enormous chip you have on your shoulder. I'm trying to tell you that they did not use the noise, "muhfugger" when they were in Africa. Muhfugger is not a language but they spoke differently. The point remains that you made a judgement-in-ignorance about a language you know nothing about, labeling it "primitive". You also have no clue whether they have a 'noise meaning "muhfugger"' lojbab -- lojbab Bob LeChevalier, Founder, The Logical Language Group (Opinions are my own; I do not speak for the organization.) Artificial language Loglan/Lojban: http://www.lojban.org |
#490
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Holger Dansk wrote:
On Wed, 02 Jun 2004 14:42:58 -0400, Bob LeChevalier wrote: Holger Dansk wrote: The Greeks put vowels in the alphabet which made language a lot more useful. Are you claiming that Hebrew, the language of the Bible, and Arabic, the language of the Qur'an, are not "useful"? I'm not claiming anything. I'm stating the fact that the Greeks were the first people to put vowels in language. Prior to that time, it was all consonants in all languages. Not Chinese. With vowels, they could make more words and do more thinking. Nonsense. By that argument, a language with twice as many vowels or twice as long words could do more thinking (and there are languages that fit each category). You are expressing a VERY naive and extreme form of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, something I am well-informed on, and showing yourself to be an idiot. lojbab -- lojbab Bob LeChevalier, Founder, The Logical Language Group (Opinions are my own; I do not speak for the organization.) Artificial language Loglan/Lojban: http://www.lojban.org |
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