Re: OT: semi-OT: bilingual communication

Hello,

> I'm reading more on the North Caucasian languages (where I
> got A LOT of ideas for Tech phonology). I understand that in
> Vladikavkaz, Russia, which is on the Chechen-Ingush border,
It isn't. Vladikavkaz is the captial of North Ossetia, west of
Ingushetia. Never mind though.

> it's common for a Chechen to speak Chechen
> to an Ingush, and the Ingush to reply in Ingush, and they
> understand each other enough to hold an everyday conversation.
Hmm, Chechen and Ingush are reasonably close.

> Is it possible, or practical, for this to happen in the real world for
> speakers of two more different languages?
Yes. I have myself seen our Swedish tutor (the Swedish one, i. e. from
Sweden) talk to the Dane (who teaches Danish, naturally) in Swedish, and
he'd reply to her in Danish. They were speaking pretty fast. When she
said something along the lines of 'These are my students', he broke into
Danish for us, and I think I *could* understand the gist of it even with
my elementary Swedish.

Swedish and Norwegian are even closer.

Pavel
--
Pavel Iosad               pavel_iosad@mail.ru

Is mall a mharcaicheas am fear a bheachdaicheas
                 --Scottish proverb

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