Re: [cybalist] Example: Burushaski, a dialect or language?

Dennis Poulter wrote:

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Gerry Reinhart-Waller <waluk@...>
> To: <cybalist@egroups.com>; Dennis Poulter <dpoulter@...>
> Sent: Thursday, 20 April, 2000 10:46 PM
> Subject: Re: [cybalist] Example: Burushaski, a dialect or language?
>
> > Dennis Poulter wrote on Tue, 18 Apr 2000 12:32:56
> > >
> > > So, in conclusion, there seems no hard and fast rule over what
> constitutes a
> > > dialect as opposed to a language. In normal usage, a dialect is
> considered a
> > > variant of a standard language, without being too precise over the exact
> > > relationship. So, what would Burushaski a dialect of?
> > >
> > > Cheers
> > > Dennis
> >
> > Since for the moment Dennis I have no answer to your question regarding
> > which language Burushaski would be a dialect of, let me ask you another
> > question or two. How many word stems are needed to *prove* a
> > correlation between two languages? Ten, twenty, several hundred? And
> > why can't Burushaski be correlated with one or several of the American
> > Indian languages?
> >
> > Gerry
> > --
> >
> I can't answer your second question, Gerry. I know nothing about Burushaski
> or native American languages.
> As to your first, proof is a very elusive thing in linguistics.
> Nevertheless, to postulate a relationship between any two languages, one has
> to consider syntax, morphology and the languages' (and their speakers')
> histories as well as finding common word stems. In the obvious case, the
> high degree of similarity in vocabulary and grammar between English and
> French is primarily a result of our common history. The two languages are
> only "related" at the level where Proto-Germanic is related to Proto-Italic.
>
> Cheers
> Dennis
>

Based on what you have just said, it seems that similarities between
languages are in the eye of the beholder. So being "similar" is
different from being "related" and yes, I agree. What about Russian and
English? One major difference is the alphabet used. But still, there
are similarities, correct? Now back to Burushaski. Is a correlation
with an American Indian language a logical are of study to pursue?

Gerry