Re: NATLANG/Learning : Sanskrit

Quoting Joe <joe@...>:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Nikhil Sinha" <nsinha_in@...>
> > >"Joe" <joe@...> likis:
> > > > I also suspect that a number of Hindu Indians
> > > > will be surprised to learn that "no one speaks
> > > > it" anymore! ;)
>
> > Many Pandits and even other people speak and understand Sanskrit
> > and there are Sanskrit news on TV and radio. I know two persons
> > who speak Sanskrit very nicely.
>
> Somewhat like Latin in the middle ages, then?
Probably not too much like Latin.  Latin in the Middle Ages
had broader social use than English in the Netherlands or Scandinavia
of today.  A better example might be the use of French among the Russian
aristocracy of the 18th and 19th centuries.

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Thomas Wier            "I find it useful to meet my subjects personally,
Dept. of Linguistics    because our secret police don't get it right
University of Chicago   half the time." -- octogenarian Sheikh Zayed of
1010 E. 59th Street     Abu Dhabi, to a French reporter.
Chicago, IL 60637