Discrete Infinity

[jess tauber]

Are all languages equal, though, in their ability to say new things?

For example, where languages have reduced numbers of morphemes (as in polysynthetic types, according to Fortescue), it might be harder to get at a particular concept unless you either compare it to something else not quite identical, or coin a new lexical root, etc. In extreme cases what we normally think of as open classes can be closed.

Not directly related to DI, perhaps, but part of the overall system.

Jess Tauber
phonosemantics at earthlink.net