IE versus *PIE

[Larry Trask]

--On Wednesday, May 2, 2001 2:25 am +0000 JoatSimeon at aol.com wrote:

[LT]

>> Linguistic work in the last twenty years has demonstrated beyond dispute
>> that linguistic descent can be, and sometimes is, far more complicated
>> than our conventional family-tree model would suggest.

> -- quite true.

> Although one should point out that the family-tree model is overwhelmingly
> more _common_; and should therefore be regarded as the "default mode"
> absent evidence to the contrary.

Indeed.  I want to make it clear that I agree with this, since that's the
way the evidence points.

My old friend Bob Dixon has recently been trying to persuade us otherwise.
So far I am not persuaded, but I'm listening.

Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk

Tel: (01273)-678693 (from UK); +44-1273-678693 (from abroad)
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