--- In nostratic@yahoogroups.com, "Geraldine Reinhardt" <waluk@...>
wrote:

>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Marco Moretti
> To: nostratic@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 4:56 AM
> Subject: [nostratic] Re: extinction of a list
>
>
> Hello, dear Gerry!
>
> *** Yo to you Marco.
>
> I've read somewhere that native dialect of J. F. Kennedy has the

same

> identical features. He used to pronounce /idea/ and similar words
> with a final /-r/, and to have a plenty of /-ah-/.
> *** JFK's accent was educated and elite, two factors I did

mention in my assessment of dialects. His pitch was also higher,
smoother, and softer.

> Dialect is definitely a product of environment. Ah, yes, here it

is:

Hello, dear Gerry!

Is dialect a product of environment? Once again a similar word has
two different meanings in two languages. For you dialect variety is
simply diversity of voice inflexions or realization of phonemes.
In Italy we had dialects that differ in a significant way, and in all
website in English about this topic I found them mentioned as
different languages. Not only accent but also phonotactics and
lexical items don't fit each other.

> >> In order to assess accent similarities and differences, one

needs first of all to draw an ethnic map. Then upon this map one
needs to allow for social

> > distinction as well as economic differences. <<
>
> I already guessed that you are from US seeing you amazed by my
> description of Europe barren population. I can guess from your
> surname that you are of German origin. How this origin is remote
> and how it still infuences your speech? Do you remember something
> of the language of your ancestors or is it alien to you like
> Enochian?
>
> *** Yes, Haverhill was named after a town somewhere in England.

The Merrimack Valley is along the Merrimack River in the North East
corner

> of Massachusetts. My surname is actually my married name and

German is the

> ethnicity of my husband. My maiden name is Walukevich which is

of Polish and Lithuanian heritage. Polish was a language that my
mother and aunt (who lived in our household) would speak when they
had "private" matters to discuss. The only things I remember in
Polish are a few Catholic prayers and some "off color" words.

>

Yiiips!!! So you probably found my invectives somewhat scabrous.
Probably you were offended by my fierce anti-Catholicism.
I'm very sorry for all this, but I cannot brake my turbolent
nature. Nothing personal.
About Haverhill, from your description I imagine it like a place in
Hobbits' County.

> It is quite interesting, but apparently you speak
> of "microdifferences". All kind of English spoken in your valley

are

> mutually understandable or there is some difficulty of

communication?

>
> *** You are absolutely correct that all people in my valley

could converse with others, even though some might choose not to.
For example, someonw whose occupation was that of an uneducated
factory worker would find it difficult to converse with the Kennedys
for example. Somewhere, however, I did mention that a speaker of
Haverhillian would find understanding Creole (as spoken in Louisiana)
incomprehensible.

>

Now in Milan all people could converse with others in common Italian,
but when I was a child things were more difficult. A Sicilian
couldn't understand a native. And all this not only for intonation of
voice.

>
> As for me, language and species origins are all but clear and
> understandable. We know almost nothing about this topic, and all
> models of macro-families are still very feeble and uncapable to

go

> back to the ultimate source of human language.
> So reconstruct precise paths in the history of language change
> is terribly hard and all this despite of Glen's opinion.
> Glen uses Occam's Razor in a terrible way. Once Einstein said

that

> things are the most possible easy, but not easier than possible,

and

> I agree.
>
> *** Finding the "ultimate source" for language-origins is a moot

endeavor. So is searching for origins of species. A spoken
language is the assimilation of education, geography, class,
religion, and social group to which a person belongs (i.e. the
environment). A species likewise is the product of its environment.

>
> Best wishes,
>
> Gerry

As for me, it's not only environment, but I cannot deeply understand
all this.

Best wishes

Marco