PIE vs. Proto-World (Proto-Language)

[Adam Hyllested]

On Fri, 16 Jul 1999, Larry Trask wrote:

> But you can't just pick some languages that catch your eye and then
> "reconstruct" a common ancestor for them.  That is, you can't pick, say,
> Zulu, Sumerian and Korean and "reconstruct" Proto-ZSK.  You must first
> make a good case that a common ancestor for these languages is
> preferable to any other scenario.

Exactly. This is why people shouldn't always neglect distant language
relationship using the argument that no sound correspondences have been
set up. Every scientific project has a primitive beginning.

Adam Hyllested