From: ehlsmith
Message: 16197
Date: 2002-10-12
--- In cybalist@..., "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
...[snip]...
> Let me suggest that in English book learning is prevalent east of
the
> farmer/peasant line, ie the river Rhine, named thus since in the
> English language, people living by agriculture west of the river
> Rhine are called 'farmers', east of it 'peasants', a distinction
> unique to that language. ...[snip]...
What is the source of your assertion about the "farmer/peasant line"?
I have seen innumerable references to French "peasants". Is the
distinction supposed to apply only to contemporary farmers? While it
is true that modern French farmers are rarely called peasants,
neither are modern German farmers.
Ned Smith