Re: ProtoWorld

Glen Gordon wrote:

> The most rational solution is that it must have evolved slowly from a less
> abstract form - gestural language. Therefore, vocal language has bubbled
> forth in different populations in different areas independantly, giving rise
> to many Proto-Worlds over a vast period of time amongst a vocal but
> predominantly signing population. In this muddle, it would be quite
> impossible with comparative linguistics to work back to any early sign
> language form, nor to pick apart the intermediary but partially
> sign-dependant forms of vocal language from the gestural signs themselves.
>
> However, despite the certainty of polygenesis, we cannot pretend to know in
> our present knowledge whether the languages that have survived to the
> present day are or are not derived from some common ancestor (even though
> this is assuredly not THE Proto-World). Thus, it is still quite possible for
> a monogenetic origin of modern languages (a kind of "Eve hypothesis" in
> linguistic terms) but it is not possible for vocal language to have been
> anything other than polygenic.
>
> Soon everyone will be assimilated into Glen's World Order of Linguistic
> Theory.... HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
>
> - gLeN
>

Don't laugh so loudly! You just might be correct. Linguistic
analysis seems to point to the fact that all modern languages aren't
really related one to another. And whether they share a common ancestor
is still problematic and could continue being problematic forever. Most
folks believe that the Eve hypothesis relates to the term "Eve" in a
generic sense i.e. there were many Eves and here we again have both mono
and poly. BOTH, BOTH, BOTH. Ah yes Glen. The answer to your
ProtoWorld is both yes and no. Question: how do we get beyond
relativism?
Gerry


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--

Gerald Reinhart
Independent Scholar
(650) 321-7378
waluk@...
http://www.alekseevmanuscript.com