Theiling Online    Sitemap    Conlang Mailing List HQ   

Re: glossogenesis (was: Indo-European question)

From:Lars Henrik Mathiesen <thorinn@...>
Date:Sunday, June 24, 2001, 14:41
> Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2001 01:56:11 -0700 > From: Tommie L Powell <tommiepowell@...>
> A large base of technical knowledge is imbedded in any tribal > language's vocabulary,
Yes.
> and any tribal language embodies a large base of sophisticated > techniques in its grammar.
Not in the sense of something that has to be taught explicitly.
> Such a vocabulary surely takes many generations to build up.
In so far as the vocabulary cannot exist before the technology, yes.
> Such a grammar surely takes many generations to build up.
No. It's a nice rethorical parallel you're building, but unlike Socratic symposia in 500 BC, that doesn't have force of evidence here. We know that full-featured grammars form in one generation. Read any book about creoles. Grammar is only to a very small part a conscious social convention that is elaborated when a lack is felt --- especially not in spoken language. (People do have a tendency to elaborate the syntax of their written language, often in the hope of marking prestige). Lars Mathiesen (U of Copenhagen CS Dep) <thorinn@...> (Humour NOT marked)