12.2312, Qs: Armenian/Sky&Earth, Taliban Word Origin

[LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List:  Vol-12-2312. Wed Sep 19 2001. ISSN: 1068-4875.

Subject: 12.2312, Qs: Armenian/Sky&Earth, Taliban Word Origin

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1)
Date:  Mon, 17 Sep 2001 13:37:27 +0200
From:  "R. Viredaz" <remy.viredaz at span.ch>
Subject:  "Sky" & "Earth" as 'Halves'

2)
Date:  Tue, 18 Sep 2001 14:52:32 +0000
From:  Robert Beard <rbeard at ceinetworks.com>
Subject:  Source language/"Taliban"

-------------------------------- Message 1 -------------------------------

Date:  Mon, 17 Sep 2001 13:37:27 +0200
From:  "R. Viredaz" <remy.viredaz at span.ch>
Subject:  "Sky" & "Earth" as 'Halves'

Dear Linguists,
It has been suggested that the Armenian words _erkin_ 'sky' and
_erkir_ 'earth' are akin to Arm. _erku_ 'two' (PIE _*dwo:_,
compositional form _*dwi-_), because heaven and earth were conceived
as the two halves of the universe (as in Rgveda 2, 27 5, _ubha:'v
a'rdhau_): A. Meillet, Melanges Boisacq, 1937, pp. 1-2.  But do you
actually know languages - where the words for 'sky, heaven' and/or
'earth', by their etymology, meay" 'halves', 'twins', 'spouses' or
the like ?  - where the word for 'half' is derived from the word for
'two' ? (the only example I know is Esperanto duono from du, but I
mean natural languages).

Thanks to everybody for their help,

Remy Viredaz
1, rue Chandieu
1202 Geneva
Switzerland


-------------------------------- Message 2 -------------------------------

Date:  Tue, 18 Sep 2001 14:52:32 +0000
From:  Robert Beard <rbeard at ceinetworks.com>
Subject:  Source language/"Taliban"


I was wondering which language "Taliban" comes from. I believe it is
Farsi/Persian but am not sure. It was certainly borrowed from Arabic
but is the plural ending Farsi or Pushto?

Please respond directly to me at: rbeard at bucknell.edu.

Thanks.

- RB

Robert Beard, Professor Emeritus
Russian & Linguistics
Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837
Telephone: 570-524-9240
rbeard at bucknell.edu
http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard

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