Okay, I know this is getting further and further from IE, but I just
have to respond to this.
> > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...>
> wrote:
> It struck me when I travelled in the USA and Canada in 1979 that
the
> various 'nations' fell into two categories: Either they'd given up
> their language and their society was in shambles as they were
> themselves (Crows), or they were well-organised in an almost
Chinese
> or Japanese fashion (Navahos).
Actually, Crow is often considered to be in a better position than
most American languages. I have no personal experience with it, so I
can't say for sure, though. Navajo, on the other hand, is in by far
the best position of any American language in the US, and as such is
not a good basis of comparison for any of the others. I have no idea
what you mean, though, by "well-organised"; the Navajo Nation has
myriad positive qualities, but organization is definitely not one of
them. Or does this somehow refer to language use? Either way, it
doesn't seem accurate to me.
Jedediah