Re: Obscure languages

Quoting joe <josephhill@...>:

> > > Almost certainly. After a quick perusal of Oxford's
> > > website, I couldn't find any online listing of courses
> > > taught, but I have no doubt that there are resources
> > > for a wide variety of languages there.  I don't know
> > > what kinds of requirements they have to take courses,
> > > but Oxford's libraries are world-famous (especially the
> > > Bodleian library), so I would take advantage of them
> > > if you can.  (They may be closed to the public; UChicago's
> > > Regenstein library is, but I don't know what Oxford's
> > > policies are.)
> > >
> >
> > You need to get a reader's card, which you only get when you
> > have some kind of a recommendation. But there'll no doubt be
> > linguistics professors who rather want to stimulate an early
> > interest in obscure languages, and are willing to talk to a 13-year
> > old who has heard of Yugh.
> >
> > In Leyden, which probably has even more grammars of obscure
> > languages, the same principle holds, but you can also buy a reader's
> > card, perhaps  that's possible in Oxford, too.
>
> Yes, but it's not that easy for a 13 year old to get to see a
> linguistics professor, is it?
Depends.  Some professors are really open and friendly; some are
insensitive to the point of being misanthropic.  In other words,
they are like the rest of humanity.

I would suggest that if you're concerned about getting in contact
with a professor, have your parent or guardian get in contact with
them first, explain the situation, and try to arrange a meeting.
If none is arranged, you personally won't get the rejection.

==============================
Thomas Wier <trwier@...>

"If a man demands justice, not merely as an abstract concept,
but in setting up the life of a society, and if he holds, further,
that within that society (however defined) all men have equal rights,
then the odds are that his views, sooner rather than later, are going
to set something or someone on fire." Peter Green, in _From Alexander
to Actium_, on Spartan king Cleomenes III