dialects and languages

[James Harbeck]

>Here's the distinction:
>
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_language_is_a_dialect_with_an_army_and_navy

I enjoy the fact that Weinreich (who says he didn't make up the
saying) originally said it in Yiddish, which is a language that has
never had an army or navy.

I agree that Cantonese and Mandarin could readily be called separate
languages, but they are conventionally called dialects, and if one
is, so is the other. (They do have sub-dialects, of course.)

But Benjamin is of course right: I should just ask her what her
definitions are. (What, and take the straightforward and easy way of
finding out?)

James Harbeck.

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