PIE vs. Proto-World (Proto-Language)

[Patrick C. Ryan]

Dear Joat and IEists:

 ----- Original Message -----
From: <JoatSimeon at aol.com>
Sent: Monday, July 12, 1999 11:09 PM

> In a message dated 7/12/99 9:28:59 PM Mountain Daylight Time,
> proto-language at email.msn.com writes:

>> I simply do not understand why some find it difficult to understand that
>> reconstructing the Proto-Language is only primarily different from
>> reconstructing Indo-European in the wider selection of source languages
>> for data.

Joat responded:

> -- Temporal distance.  Loss of information.  Entropy.

> A distinction between 5,000 years of unrecoverable loss and 50,000 years
> of unrecoverable loss.

> Words _vanish_.  A certain percentage of vocabulary just ceases to exist
> in every century.

Pat responds:

Nice theory! But the rate of vocabulary replacement is so variable (not to
mention punctuated equilibrium) that it cannot be used to exclude possible
retention of words for periods longer than 5,000 years.

What is shameful is that when someone does show *regular* similarities, that
perforce exceed that date by far, bogus reasons for dismissing them are
employed: like Larry's favorite onomatopeia, or expressive, or fantastic
loan scenarios.

Pat

PATRICK C. RYAN (501) 227-9947; FAX/DATA (501)312-9947 9115 W. 34th St.
Little Rock, AR 72204-4441 USA WEBPAGES:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2803 and PROTO-RELIGION:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2803/proto-religion/indexR.html "Veit
ek, at ek hekk, vindga meipi, nftr allar nmu, geiri undapr . . . a ~eim
meipi er mangi veit hvers hann af rstum renn." (Havamal 138)