Yaguello's stereotype: response to Roger

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Mills" <romilly@...>

> The thing I found unpleasant about Yaguello's characterization-- (just
IMO)
> underlying the whole passage was.....Jewish stereotype
Curious, Roger.  I've been disturbed by Yaguello's "artsy" prose-style on a
number of points, but this one really bothered me.  Why depict him for us in
this way?  Is she describing Marr?  Yaguello's book is saturated with subtle
revelations of this sort; her stereotyping of "male" and "female" language
invention (the men are analytical, the women are hysterical; most speakers
of glossolalia are black women [that may be true, but there is an
insensitivity in this remark because it doesn't lead to a helpful
understanding of glossolalia per se]); and towards the end of the book she
suggests that those who invent languages not for a political cause verge on
the pathological:  pp 121-122:  "Languages seem destined to split up into
dialects; ironically enough, artificial languages aiming for universality
are themselves also victims of this conflict.  In the first place, a great
many projects never got beyond the stage of idiolects because their
inventors were quite unable to interest anyone else in them.  Here we enter
the doman of 'private languages' which borders, at the far end of the
continuum, on language pathology (the invention of languages by people with
psychiatric disorders).  If consideration is restricted to viable
projects... "  Viable projects.  After all, the title of the book is FOUS DU
LANGAGE.  Her prefatory quote is from M. O. et Camee:  "No one will
remember, / Any more than a mirror / Keeps our reflections, / Or the sand /
Our footprints."
Professor Eve Sweetser at the Celtic Conference assured me that she's really
very nice, but this woman has prejudices.


Sally Caves
scaves@frontiernet.net
Eskkoat ol ai sendran, rohsan nuehra celyil takrem bomai nakuo.
"My shadow follows me, putting strange, new roses into the world."

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