Dear Jacques and Nostraticists:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Guillaume JACQUES" <xiang@...>
To: <nostratic@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 08, 2001 4:48 AM
Subject: [nostratic] ouralique et IE



<snip>

> Finalement, quelaue chose me gene chez certains qui cherchent a demontrer que le semitique et l'IE sont apparente (voir le chinois, comme Pulleyblank). Il y a la derriere une idee quasi-raciste que tous les peuples qui ont construit des grandes civilisations ont une origine commune. Moi, je prefere croire que les peres des grandes civilisations n'ont rien a voir entre eux - j'aime trop la diversite pour apprecie l'idee d'une origine unique - mais bon, nous tombons dans l'ideologie, et nous eloignons d'un debat serieux.

<snip>

[PR]
The idea of a unique origin for each ancient civilization must explain satisfactorily why, after millenia of stasis, at about the same time, cities began to be established. It beggars credulity to assume that parallel enlightenment brightened so many places at roughly the same time.

As for labeling something "quasi-raciste", it is a very poor argument to attempt to discount an idea by 'calling it names' rather than showing why it does not fit with the facts.

From my perspective, it looks probable that speakers of AA came into contact with Caucasian speakers, who enslaved them. The Caucasian speakers adopted AA as well as they could, creating two major varieties: Semitic in the south, and IE in the north.

This enslavement provided the necessary condition for the establishment of cities (enforced, regular agriculture and agricultural surpluses), and the accumulation of wealth that is a prequisite for higher culture (writing came from memory-unmanageable accumulations of goods).

It is a little like Western technology today. Though the non-Western world resents the West for originating it, they are not too proud to be glad to benefit from it.



Pat

PATRICK C. RYAN | PROTO-LANGUAGE@... (501) 227-9947 * 9115 W. 34th St. Little Rock, AR 72204-4441 USA WEBPAGES: PROTO-LANGUAGE: http://www.geocities.com/proto-language/ and PROTO-RELIGION: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/2803/proto-religion/indexR.html "Veit ec at ec hecc, vindgá meiði a netr allar nío, geiri vndaþr . . . a þeim meiþi, er mangi veit, hvers hann af rótom renn." (Hávamál 138)