Re: [T] -> [f] (was: Chinese Dialect Question)

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Cowan" <jcowan@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Tuesday, October 07, 2003 7:24 PM
Subject: Re: [T] -> [f] (was: Chinese Dialect Question)


> Mark J. Reed scripsit:
>
> > But what do you mean by "an English Koine"?  I thought
> > Koine was Greek.
>
> A koine is a language variety that results from a fusion of dialects,
> taking some features from each.  Koine Greek is the prototypical koine;
> Yiddish is essentially the modern descendant of a koine of Middle
> High German dialects, mixed with Slavic and Hebrew.
>

I doubt there ever will be an English Koine.  We'll simply stick with
English fro mthe 20th century, I think, until it becomes obvious that that
fails to represent any of the Englishes at all.