Re: does conlanging change your sense of reality?

On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 01:39:31PM +0200, Benct Philip Jonsson wrote:

> But think about it: if
> language and culture determined eachother
> unilaterally neither would change!
That actually doesn't follow at all - you are adding an unspoken assumption.

Reword as "if language and culture determined each other *symmetrically*
and unilaterally neither would change".

If they have asymmetric (but delayed) effects upon each other, then it
guarantees a constant, swirling source of change.

I am reminded of the speculation that one of the sources of language
change is that people learn to make sounds as children, with children's
mouths, and when they get older predictable changes in their pronunciation
occur due to the change in their speaking apparatus - I don't know if this
is true, nor do I remember where I read it, but it would be a parallel
case wherein language-learned-by-children has an effect on language-spoken-
by-said-children-when-they-get-older, which is not equal and opposite to
the effect language-spoken-by-adults has on language-learned-by-children,
thus guaranteeing constant change.

tylakèhlpë'fö,
Amanda

Replies