--- Sergejus Tarasovas <
S.Tarasovas@...>
wrote:
> You mentioned 'the linguists you respect'.
*****GK: You are among them Sergejus. I'm a fairly
decent mediaeval textologist and political historian
(with the inevitable large gaps in specific areas),
but as a linguist, well... perhaps a little stronger
than Abbot Sylvester when he came up with his
understanding of "Polany", but not by much (:=))*****
(ST) To avoid
> any confusion, I
> repeat what I've already said on that list nearly
> two years ago: I'm
> not a professional linguist (though I have plans to
> take my
> bachelor's degree in Baltistics if the circumstances
> let me do it) so
> you can ignore my messages just on that ground if
> you prefer.
*****GK: I would never do any such thing. I think you
have more than demonstrated your linguistic
competence. You are right far more frequently then
not, in the opinion of other notables, and, where I
understand the technicalities involved, in mine also.
Hey being right 95% or more of the time is not bad
(all right 98%)(:=)).******
(ST)Anyway,
> I guess I can provide you with reliable first-hand
> information on
> colloquial Lithuanian if you happen to be interested
> :)
*****GK: Thank you. But about more exalted levels of
speech hermeneutics too.=== I though I would make
these comments to clear the air fully after our little
polemic interplays. I'll try to focus on the other
points in your last message as time allows. They are
all quite important it seems to me, and quite
difficult. But if there were no mysteries and problems
left to solve would life be more interesting?
Actually, let me take you up on your offer right away.
To clear up something I already mentioned in passing.
Ukrainians have two special "poetic" names for their
Dnipro: SLAVUTA and SLAVUTYCH (sometimes the spelling
is not SLA- but SLO-). Is this not related to Baltic
roots having to do with flowing streams or rivers, and
if so, could it not represent an early name for the
Dnipro in its Proto-Baltic, subsequently Slavicized
area? All the major analyses of "DNIPRO" "DNEPR" seem
to agree that it is a complex form of the river+river
type, with one name (BORIS- going back to the Gr
witness) representing a "Thracian" name and -THENES an
Iranic one (specifically pronounced). But since
Proto-Balts lived along the river for quite a distance
they surely would have had a name for it also. What do
you think?*****
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