Re: Language Corruption

At 8:03 am -0800 26/1/99, Peter Clark wrote:
>---Garrett <alkaline@...> wrote:
>>
>> Here's my theory: Languages are becoming more corrupted through
>time.
COBBLERS!!!! (As we say in our part of the world)

>> Look
>> at the languages of today - they have all sorts of idiosyncracies,
>> irregularities, idioms, and stuff like that. Look at the ancient
>languages
>> like Latin or Greek - they may have a bunch of cases and stuff, but at
>> least they're regular, AFAIK.
>
>   Dude, break out the asbestos underwear, because your fanny is about
>to get flamed! That's a very old idea that has been disproved time and
>time again,
I know <yawn> - but what's the point of flaming.  If people are happy
believing the earth is flat, I'm sure not wasting my time trying to
disprove it yet again.

>yet keeps crawling to the surface every now and again
>until someone beats it back. And I don't know how much Greek or Latin
>you have studied, but in my limited study, I have found that
>chock-full of irregularities, idiosyncracies, and idioms. But I'll let
>an expert handle that. (Hark! Is that Ray Brown and John Cowan I hear
>approaching? :)
I'm here.  Well, all natlangs I know of are chock-full of idioms - one of
the things that makes them interesting.  Actually the Latin verb, for all
its multiplicity of forms, does have a high degree of regularity - *once
the principle parts are known*.  I once wrote a parser in Prolog that could
successful parse all but the most idiosyncratic verbs.  But the nouns and
pronouns rather make up for it!

As for Greek - the guy simply can't have done much of it.  Anyone who
thinks the ancient Greek verbal system is regular has to be stark, raving
bonkers! We use to say when we were at school that Greek was better than
Latin in that there was only one verbal conjugation as opposed to Latin's
four - pity that all verbs in Greek are irregular!  Slight exaggeration,
maybe, but not far from the truth.

Ancient Greek verbs regular?  I'll be kind and assume the guy was just
joking and trying to wind us up.  No sane person could seriously say that.

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And at 12:02 pm -0500 26/1/99, Steg Belsky wrote:
....
>Tsk, tsk...this all came about because you people are concentrating on
>sissy languages like Latin and Greek.  Study a *real* language, like
>Hebrew, and you won't have these problems!  It's chock full of
>idiosyncracies, irregularities, and idioms!
I assume Steg also knows little Greek - or is pulling our legs a little  :)
If ancient Greek is not chock-full of idiosyncrasies, irregulariries &
idioms, I don't know what is!  I don't dispute Hebrew's claim to these but
I somehow doubt that it'd be greater.

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But wisely at 5:49 pm +0100 26/1/99, Christophe Grandsire wrote:
......
>        I won't go in a flame war, it doesn't deserve it.
You are right - it doesn't deserve it.

Let's just laught it off, put away the flame-thowers & asbestos suits and
get back to conlanging.

Ray.