Re: [tied] Re: Black Athena: The Afroasiatic RootsofClassicalCivili

At 4:27:58 PM on Wednesday, June 7, 2006, aquila_grande
wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "P&G" <G&P@...> wrote:

>> Alas, in the development of Greek I do not see many of
>> the changes that you claim have occurred after contact
>> with Semitic peoples..

[...]

>>> -Definite article

>> Greek had the definite article 1500 BC. This is a bit
>> earlier than the contact you seem to suggest. At least a
>> thousand years earlier.

> The earliest forms of greek before ca 1000 BC (Myceanean
> and Homeric) did not have definite article. Egyptian
> developed definitea article around 1500 BC.

Out of a demonstrative pronoun. This is also the source in
Greek. The development seems to be rather common. (Does
anyone know of a definite article that definitely does *not*
have such a source?) And precisely because it *is* common,
there seems to be no need to postulate outside influence.

> The concept of having definite article evolved in the
> middle east + Greek area, with the Middle East somewhat
> ahead.

And yet Chamicuro, a Peruvian language, has a definite
article. (Two of them, in fact, apparently coding for
tense.) Were they visited by one of the Lost Tribes?


You are attributing changes that have taken place over an
enormous span of time to a single cause that was much more
localized in time and space; so far you haven't made a case
that can be taken seriously.

Brian