Re: time distinctions

Tim,

I'm responding on-list under the assumption that you mistakenly addressed
your reply to me only.  This has been happening a lot lately.  I have not
changed my email settings and although I subscribe to about 20 different
elists, it only seems to occur on this one.  ???

Anyway, see my real response to your message below:

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tim Smith [mailto:timsmith@global2000.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2000 10:36 AM
> To: dbell@graywizard.net
> Subject: RE: time distinctions
>
>
> At 06:11 PM 8/28/2000 -0400, you wrote:
> >> From: Tim Smith [mailto:timsmith@global2000.net]
> >> Here's a nice case of coincidental similarity of words.  In my conlang
> >> Meitzanathein, _nathya_ means "is a person" or "is sentient".
> (The root
> >> _nath_ is a noun meaning "person, sentient being" and the
> suffix _-ya_ is
> >> the verbal stative aspect marker, which can turn any noun X
> into a stative
> >> verb meaning "to be X".)
> >
> >
> >That's eerie, "nathya" in nathya means "language of the people". Derived
> >from nathi=people and yar=language, in turn derived from the amman iar
> >narid=person/nerid=people and iar=language.  "nathya" in amman
> iar would be
> >"nerid iar" or possibly "nerdhiar"
>
> Interesting!  Does that mean "language of the people" in the sense of
> "demotic" (that is, "the people" meaning "the masses", as opposed to "the
> elite")?  And is Nathya the everyday vernacular in a diglossic culture in
> which Amman Iar is the "high-culture" literary/ritual language?
That is precisely the case. amman iar is used exclusively by the elite of
the imperial court of amman for and for literary and liturgical purposes.
nathya is the tongue of the "common" man on the street.

David

David E. Bell
The Gray Wizard
    dbell@graywizard.net
    www.graywizard.net

"Wisdom begins in wonder." - Socrates