99.44% (was Re: German dialect in Texas)

Mark A. Mandel mamandel at LDC.UPENN.EDU
Tue Nov 28 14:51:16 UTC 2006


Wilson writes:
    >>>>>

Chris has a point, though not necessarily the one she intended to
make. Words beginning with /h/ in a Slavic language or in Rumanian are
99.44% certain to be of non-native origin. The root of "haken" could
easily be the historical source of both "haczyk" and "hacek."

 <<<<<

How widely used is that "99.44%"? And how many who use it are aware of its
origin, Ivory Soap, "99 44/100 % pure" (IIRC)?

-- Mark
[This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]

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