The Neolithic Hypothesis

[Rick Mc Callister]

[ moderator re-formatted ]

>>Avestan:  tam amavantam yazatem
>>Sanskrit:  tam amavantam yajatam

>>		   surem damohu sevistem
>>		   suram dhamasu savistham

>>		   mithrem yazai zaothrabyo
>>		   mitram yajai hotrabyah

>Yeah, I've read Mallory, p. 49, too.  Avestan and Sankrit are
>similar, but they're not in any way "virtually the same
>language".  The differences are far greater than between Swedish
>and Danish.

>[ Moderator's comment:
>  I'm not sure that the attested differences are much greater than between,
>  for example, the forms of Spanish spoken today in Madrid, Buenos Aires,
>  Caracas, and Mexico DF.
>  --rma ]

	HMMM. Those forms of Spanish are pretty close. Each has a
distinguishing feature or two but other than that, they're virtually
identical. You can "fish" out contrasting features to make them look more
different than they are. And, of course, working class dialects will be
more diverse. The intonation and rhythm are what really distinguishes those
forms.

[ Moderator's reply:
  There are of course extremely noticeable phonological differences among the
  four forms I named, as well as lexical distinctions.  If these were written
  in a broad phonetic transcription, rather than the standardized spelling of
  Madrid, we might think them more different than they are.  My point, really.
  --rma ]