Re: Witzel and Sautsutras (was: Mapping the Origins and Expansion of

From: Rick McCallister
Message: 70222
Date: 2012-10-19

Keep in mind that in English, shiv means "knife." But if he just read Wikipedia to start with, follow its sources, he might arrive at a linguistic understanding of the history of languages. Knowing a language as a native speaker doe not give one any special insight into its origins.
Among items that I offered, Shiv doesn't tell why retroflexed consonant sets do not show up in IE languages that are not from the subcontinent. He doesn't tell us why we have no loanwords in IE from Munda, Burushaski, Language X of Harappa, Sino-Tebetan, BMAC, etc. If Sanskrit were native to India, we would have such traces. BUT WE DON'T.


From: Brian M. Scott <bm.brian@...>
To: shivkhokra <cybalist@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2012 4:21 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] Re: Witzel and Sautsutras (was: Mapping the Origins and Expansion of...)

 
At 3:07:13 PM on Friday, October 19, 2012, shivkhokra wrote:

[...]

> We have no evidence that you understand Sanskrit.

I don't. I have never claimed otherwise. I do, however,
know something about historical linguistics, and in
particular Indo-European historical linguistics, and I'm
more than capable of recognizing that Witzel is a serious
scholar, while you're an ignoramus with an ideological axe
to grind. I don't know how good your Sanskrit is, and I
don't trust you to translate honestly anything that might
undermine your faith.

[...]

>> No, it's simply one more piece of evidence of
>> non-indigenous origin of the Indo-Aryan languages of
>> South Asia.

> And what might be "other" pieces of evidence be since B.
> Sutra 18.44 is not one of them.

I rather think that it is. Others are extremely well known,
and I refuse to play your game: if you actually wanted to
know, you could have discovered some of the answers to your
question years ago. You don't care: you already know THE
TRUTH, and any actual evidence would be inconvenient.

>>> Yet the opposite is true. Sanskrit works have no memory
>>> of an arrival into India.

>> So you say. But we've no reason to believe you.

> Getting a bit boring now.

You've been more than a bit boring for as long as I can
remember.

[...]

> Look we have heard your myriad claims but seen no evidence
> to back them up. Same with Brighenti.

'We'? You have a tapeworm?

Those claims are standard, and the evidence is readily
available. If you want to dispute them, learn enough of the
subject to discuss it intelligently. As it is, you're a bad
joke, complete waste of time and electrons, and everyone
here whose opinion is worth a damn knows it. I just happen
to have the time and (occasionally) the inclination to point
it out.

Brian