borrowing pronouns

[Glen Gordon]

>> Borrowing of pronouns is rare, but NOT impossible:

ROBERT ORR:
 Not to mention the entire 3rd-plural paradigm in Modern English,
 borrowed from Old Norse to replace the inherited WGmc. forms which
 had become indistinguishable from sing. forms.

Yes, yes, and I don't think anyone is disputing that it happens from
time to time, here and there, nth person by nth person, but so far
people have been citing tidbits of scattered factoids to pettily ignore
something that is blunt and obvious, trying desperately to derail the
topic perhaps because some think that "debate" equals "arguement".

It doesn't change anything. The probability remains likelier that
languages that show evidence of a specific ENTIRE paradigm and an ENTIRE
(as in WHOLE) set of pronouns are genetically related somehow until such
time as proof showing that it IS the result of borrowing is found. (I'm
stressing ENTIRE so that people understand what I'm talking about when I
say ENTIRE as in WHOLE).

We can't say that the similarities found between IE and Uralic are in
fact 100% borrowed. We can only dilude ourselves into thinking that our
precious and pure IE can't be genetically related to anything which is
irrational. In the absence of evidence either way, we must accept that
genetic ties between IE and Uralic are the best possibility above all
else and all the examples in the world of pronominal borrowing aren't
going to change that because borrowing of an ENTIRE set of pronouns or
an ENTIRE paradigm is rare, rare, rare. It happens but it's rare. Rare,
I say. Did I say "rare" yet? We should put these insignificant thoughts
in the far reaches of our mind until such time as they are warranted.
Are they warranted? No.

Nothing much more will be gained in IE studies until people in general
bravely address these kinds of issues with honesty instead of with a
purely opposition frame of mind.

--------------------------------------------
Glen Gordon
glengordon01 at hotmail.com