Re: Brr (was: Re: A few questions about linguistics concerning my new project)
From: | ROGER MILLS <rfmilly@...> |
Date: | Wednesday, August 1, 2007, 20:05 |
Ray Brown wrote:
>
>Thinks: How does one give a language that Brr factor?
Back in the 70s, my Natl.Public Radio station ran a series produced in
Alaska-- folk tales of the Aleut (IIRC) people. The title ("The things that
were said of them") was given in the language, as were the names of course
and occasional phrases. It was all spoken very quietly and was full of [q]s
and [?]s, and perhaps [x]s and [G]s. Somehow it felt "cold"*-- I imagined
that the language had evolved that way so that the people wouldn't have to
open their mouths very wide in the freezing cold :-))
*maybe too, because of the subject matter, or because it was broadcast
during winter? They were very strange but affecting stories, and I'd love
to hear it all again.
Gwr should be a "cold" language, as they too live in the frozen north (odd
place for simian types to evolve, but hey... Maybe they moved up there to
get away from the Kash, whose early ancestors preyed on them) , but I'm not
sure it is. It does have /q/ and /x/........
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