On 2008-01-20 16:47, Patrick Ryan wrote:
> A very 'fair and balanced' appraisal of the state of affairs, Piotr.
>
> But forget PAA for a moment, do you not agree that sufficient data has
> been collected and analyzed to warrant a 'probable' connection between
> Semitic and PIE?
If you mean a genetic connection, I think it remains "possible" rather
than "probable". Several people have tried to establish systematic
correspondences between the two, in each case achieving what might be
construed as partial success, but there is no "consilience of
inductions" as Whewell put it, and the competing reconstructions can't
be reconciled with each other. I know how much confidence you have in
your own analysis, but so do others who have tried the same. The
strength of the subjective conviction that one is on the right track
does not mean having a strong case.
Piotr