Re: "easiest" languages, SE Asian word-order typologies (was Rating Languages)

On Wed, 26 Sep 2001, Adam Walker wrote:

> >From: J Y S Czhang <czhang23@...>
> >Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2001 00:44:27 EDT
> >
> >     Wonder what influences coulda made Mandarin become such a
> >"head-final"/left-branching language (modifier(s) + head word) ?
> >
> >     czHANg ponderin' the big weirdnesses & mysteries of Sino-linguistics
>
> I've often wonderd what made Mandarin so weirdly divergent from the other
> Sinitic langs in a lot of ways -- phonolgy, syntax, vocab, tone structure.
> Mandarin almost seems like a pidgin.  Maybe it's the result of all those
> Mongols, Manchus and other Tungusic tribes trying to learn Sinitic langs --
> Which would make my French analogy even more apt.  Mandarin is Chinese in
> the mouths of Mongols just like French is Latin in the mouths of Germans.
>
Well, what you sketch is more or less the academic received opinion,
too. Unless you think it's caused by areal norms and/or a non-sinitic
substrate in the north of China - people appear to be arguing that
the language on the tortoise shells isn't sinitic at all.

Boudewijn Rempt  | http://www.valdyas.org