[Ads-l] Kusunda

[Jonathan Lighter]

IIRC, Latin frequently used "immo" or "ita" for 'yes, indeed' and "minime"
for 'no, indeed.'

Close enough for me.

JL

On Sat, Sep 14, 2024 at 5:47 PM Martin Purdy <
00000bd8cf391c5b-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> I suspect the mistaken view that "translation = word-substitution" is
> partly to blame.  If there isn't a 1:1 match for a word in a different
> language, some will believe the concept itself is entirely absent.  The
> idea that the same thing may have to be expressed in different ways in
> different languages is a tough one for some people. Martin NZ
>
>
>     On Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at 02:28:13 AM GMT+12, Laurence Horn <
> laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
>
>  Yeah, and Latin. Those old Romans seem to have lasted a few centuries
> with no words for “yes” and “no” without much of a problem.
>
>
> The absence of negation itself would be more surprising but doesn’t stand
> up to scrutiny. I asked a colleague who looked at David Watters's
> comprehensive 2006 grammar and noted
>
> "Looks like total bs, if this grammar is anything to go by. Negation has
> an irrealis asymmetry, and there are negative indefinite pronouns,
> existential negation, etc.
> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/83v8d1wv <
> https://escholarship.org/uc/item/83v8d1wv>Is a basic but well set out
> grammar. Kusunda is the new Pirahã, I suspect”
>
> Watters covers Kusunda negation on pp. 71-75.
>
> LH
>
> > On Sep 9, 2024, at 7:59 AM, Amy West <medievalist at W-STS.COM> wrote:
> >
> > On 9/9/24 00:00, ADS-L automatic digest system wrote:
> >> Date:    Sun, 8 Sep 2024 09:11:32 -0400
> >> From:    Jonathan Lighter<wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> >> Subject: Kusunda
> >>
> >> Mystery language of Nepal:
> >>
> >>
> https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-language-that-doesn-t-use-no?utm_medium=email&utm_source=pocket_hits&utm_campaign=POCKET_HITS-EN-DAILY-SPONSORED&PAVED-2024_09_08=&sponsored=0&position=8&category=fascinating_stories&scheduled_corpus_item_id=5a0bbd08-9bfb-4b64-8594-d0e7cfab5d66&url=https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-language-that-doesn-t-use-no
> >>
> >> JL
> >> -- "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
> >
> > Hmmm . . . I've heard the same claim re: lack of "yes" and "no" re:
> Irish . . .
> >
> > ---Amy West
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


-- 
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org