Re: Language change among immortals

Tom Chappell wrote:
> Jim Henry wrote:
>   >On 11/22/05, tomhchappell <tomhchappell@...> wrote:
>
> >> According to some theorists, one of the major engines
>   >>behind
>   >> the rapid
> >> linguistic change in the Papua/New Guinea area and its
>   >> nearby islands,
> >> and one of the major regions that this 1% of the world's
>   >> inhabited land
> >> area contains 15% of the world's languages, is that when
>   >> someone there
> >> dies, it becomes taboo to say their name -- and, of course,
>   >> most
> >> people's names are words or short phrases (usually nominals
>   >> or
> >> adjectivals, of course).
>
> >That sounds intriguing. Do you remember where you read
> >about that?
>
>   I found out it was pages 100-101 in "Atlas of the World's
>   Languages: Revised Edition" by Bernard Comrie, S(tephen?)
>   Matthews, and Maria Polinsky.
>   Later, when I have more computer time, and have the book with
>   me at the same time, I'll write more.
>
>   >Is this custom pretty much common to all the
>   >tribes
> >of Papua New Guinea?
>
IIRC, Robert Blust considers taboo-substitution as one of the main reasons
why some of the Melanesian languages (Solomon Is., New Caledonia et al.) are
so divergent, vis-a-vis reconstructed Austronesian vocab.  Of course those
islands were settled early on by "Papuan" groups and languages, the ANs came
later.

Taboo-substitution is also mentioned in some of the old Dutch works on
various tribal groups within Indonesia-- the Bare'e of central Sulawesi are
the best known to me (the language is now called Poso).

>   Happy Thanks-Giving Holiday, everyone.
>
>   Tom H.C. in MI
To you and to all. Lero vele-kuvus re minda!!
Roger and his "friend/informant" Shenji rona Kavatu

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