Re: CHAT: Subtitles (was: Re: Proto-Romance)

And not only the language, but usually the flag, the
currency, the political system, the beer brands and
much more. The attraction center for ex: on the French
side, people are attracted towards Paris, on, the
Italian one, towards Rome, just if they were planets
belonging to different solar systems. And yet they
live a few hundred meters from each other.

There is something absolutely fascinating in borders.
Political borders, but also geographic ones, like
rivers, summits, and even more, the limit between land
and sea. A very special place indeed. Imagine you have
a continent of 5.000 km or more in your back, and five
meters ahead of you it's only sea. You stand on the
very blue line drawn on the map. It is a very narrow
one.

And think of the the water parting line: five meters
ahead, rivers flow towards the Atlantic, five meters
back, towards the Mediterranean. Wow. One feels small.

(also temporal borders, like the end of the century,
or the millenarium).

--- David Zitzelsberger <DavidZ@...> wrote:
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jake X [mailto:starvingpoet@PATMEDIA.NET]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 6:44 PM
> To: CONLANG@LISTSERV.BROWN.EDU
> Subject: Re: CHAT: Subtitles (was: Re:
> Proto-Romance)
>
>
> Which reminds me of something that has always vexed
> me,
> though it makes perfect sense:  the way languages
> start and stop
> at the borders of a country.  It always seemed
> artificial and forced
> to me.
>
> Jake

=====
Philippe Caquant

"High thoughts must have high language." (Aristophanes, Frogs)

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