This, indeed, seems to be so. However, this may be just a tradition.
When calendar was created, then-Chinese speakers used "sun" for "day".
Now they also use "sky" for "day", but calendar terminology is already
set and they do not feel need of changing it.
If modern Chinese can use "sky" for "day", why couldn't some people 5-6
millenia ago do the same? When creating a calendar, whouldn't they use
"sky" as time unit of measure?
You claimed: "Most languages (eg: Sumerian /ud/, Chinese /ri/) use "sun"
to mean "day"".
Two examples do not count for "most" in my opinion and now one of them
can prove only that people pick any term for the "day", exisiting at the
time of creating the calendar but not necessarily "sun".
BTW, since this is an IE forum, which IE languagues use "sun" for "day"?
Andrei
> -----Original Message-----
> From: enlil@... [mailto:enlil@...]
> Sent: Monday, October 25, 2004 1:51 PM
> To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [tied] Re: Venus [was: Why borrow 'seven'? (was: IE right
& 10)]
>
>
> Andrei:
> > Chinese uses /tian/ as both "sky" and "day".
>
> Yes but only /ri/ 'sun' is used in _calendars_ for marking
> dates. 'Sky' is not used in calendars.
>
>
> = gLeN
>