Re: glossogenesis (was: Indo-European question)

Tommie L Powell wrote:
> Tribalization changed that: Since each member of a tribe
> spent his whole life speaking only with other members of
> his tribe, each tribe could develop a language of its own.
> And such a language could be wonderfully complex,
> because its speakers didn't have to talk with people whose
> linguistic tricks were slightly different (but different enough
> to create confusion if one tried to express a thought in a
> fairly complex manner).
The formation of tribes wouldn't change matters, I believe.  People can
have complex languages even while dealing with other people speaking
very different languages.  The only change tribalization would make to
language is that it might cause what had been simple pidgins for
inter-band communication into full-scale creoles, and causing the
formation of sprachbunds.

Besides, even after tribalization, all but a small minority of
communication is within the band, so the formation of tribes couldn't
have more than a minor influence.

--
Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon
A nation without a language is a nation without a heart - Welsh proverb
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