Re: Real or Spurious Root Matches? (was OE *picga)

--- In cybalist@..., "Richard Wordingham" <richard.wordingham@...>
wrote:

> --- In cybalist@..., "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
> Torsten:
> That's not fair. You're supposed to analyse each language back to

the

> earliest stage reachable with your ability. I don't think you've

done

> that for the English set of roots.
>
> Richard:
> Doesn't that rule only apply to valid searches for genetic cognates?
>
> The Sundaland argument for comparing Bagirmi and English is weak;
> what the argument would justify is doing a Bagirmi-Austronesian
> comparison. (Any Bagirmi speakers on the list?)
>
> Torsten:
> I think behind your 'valid' is a wish to introduce a reasonability
> metric to be applied on the locations of the two languages in
> question before one considers actually comparing roots. All I say

is

> that the shortest actual travel time (by sea for the periods in
> question) instead of mere terrestrial contiguity should be part of
> that metric.
>
> Richard:
> No. My ideal is to compare a language (or proto-language) for

which

> you would not argue a Sundaland connection with Austronesian.

Right. You introduced a accessibility metric.

> Unfortunately, my knowledge is probably not good enough. That is

why

> I asked for a location that wasn't reachable. I though non-Niger-
> Kordafanian non-coastal sub-Saharan Central or West Africa

(Timbuktu

> way) would do. If not, where? Central Asia is of little use, for

we

> don't have Swadesh 100-word lists for any Altaic language but

Turkish!

>
> Incidentally, how do _you_ explain the Chadic-Austronesian links.
>
> Richard.

Chadic is AfroAsiatic. Some argue it has a special connection to
Egyptian. What I am arguing is that somehow Austronesian (?) trade
reached the Mediterranean very early and left linguistic traces in
AfroAsiatic and (through AA?) in IE. Perhaps trade around Africa
(Asian genes in Cameroun, *t-r-, *t-t-r/l "three" in various Niger-
Congo languages to an island (AA-speaking, cf Guanche) outside the
strait of Gibraltar (much larger than the present Canary Islands,
disappeared like Cumbre Vieja will). More likely via the Red Sea. Now
fire away.

Torsten