[Lexicog] extinct languages...

[Mike Maxwell]

phil cash cash wrote:
> one major advance that i have made is capturing the
> basic prosodic sound pattern which appears as a trochaic word pattern.
> from there i may be able to show borrowing of forms where comparisons
> have been made in the literature.

I don't have anything particular to add, so I'll add it anyway :-).  I just
want to say that I think you're doing the right thing, by considering the
basic word (and/or root) patterns.  Too many comparativists (I won't name
names) have simply used word lists, without regard for the morphology/
phonology of the languages.

FWIW, my rule of thumb in comparative work for Ecuadorian and Colombian
languages was if it's over a syllable, it's questionable; if it's over two
syllables, it's wrong.  Your mileage may vary, of course...

    Mike Maxwell
    Linguistic Data Consortium
    maxwell at ldc.upenn.edu




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