[Lingtyp] Traditional view of language and grammar in indigenous societies

[Christian Lehmann]

Dear Jürgen,

just one reminder concerning your question about proper names for 
languages and your idea "that every such act involves an implicit 
objectification of the languages involved." Here is a quote from Eugenio 
Coseriu: "Die Sprache ist dem Sprechen adverbial." (Not sure whether 
this is deliberately arcane or is the skillful use of a second language 
by a linguist.) With this, he refers to expressions like Latin /Graece 
loqui/ 'to speak Greek', where /Graece/ is the adverb of the adjective 
/Graecus/, thus 'the Greek way'. This contrasts with the German and 
English expressions, which make it appear that the language functions as 
an object of one's speaking. No, says Coseriu, a language is a way of 
speaking, for instance, speaking like the Greeks do.

Upshot: Maybe the ability of distinguishing ways of speaking does not 
presuppose the reification of the language.

Best, Christian
-- 

Prof. em. Dr. Christian Lehmann
Rudolfstr. 4
99092 Erfurt
Deutschland

Tel.: 	+49/361/2113417
E-Post: 	christianw_lehmann at arcor.de
Web: 	https://www.christianlehmann.eu
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