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From: robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison)
Newsgroups: net.ai,net.nlang
Subject: Re: Re: Sanskrit (actually natural languages deficiencies)
Message-ID: <1233@eosp1.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 5-Nov-84 18:11:18 EST
Article-I.D.: eosp1.1233
Posted: Mon Nov  5 18:11:18 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 6-Nov-84 05:30:55 EST
References: <12582@sri-arpa.UUCP> <12300003@uicsl.UUCP> <194@oliveb.UUCP> <189@scc.UUCP>
Reply-To: robison@eosp1.UUCP (Tobias D. Robison)
Organization: Exxon Office Systems, Princeton
Lines: 32
Xref: princeton net.ai:332 net.nlang:203
Summary: 

NOTE: This memo contains a SPOILER regarding one of Peter Dickenson's
novels!!!!!!!

I think it's silly to talk of deficiencies, but to those who worry
about a language that is "deficient":   what happens when the native
speakers of that language are asked to deal with the inability of their
language to express something?  Many languages easily adapt and fill in
the deficiency.  Most European languages easily borrow words as needed
from each other, and even grammatical constructions.  I'm going to
use "gezellig" at the next genuine opportunity, now that I have some
idea of what it means.

Peter Dickenson has a fascinating novel (sorry, as usual I can't give
the name) in which a linguist is dealing with an Aboriginal tribe
that, as a feature of their language, cannot express things that are
contrary to fact.  He is eventually taken prisoner by them, and his
method of escape is to attack their system of witchcraft.  He utters
the statement: "there is no witching", which is comprehensible by the
aborigines, but forces them to consider the possibity that although
they can discuss witchcraft, it may not actually exist.  He does this
with great regret, KNOWING THAT IT WILL CHANGE THE LANGUAGE AND THE
CULTURE.

I'm mentioning all this here to support a simple point -- languages can
adapt.  If a language is incapable of expressing something, perhaps
it never really needed to.  When it has to, perhaps it will.


	- Toby Robison (not Robinson!)
	allegra!eosp1!robison
	or: decvax!ittvax!eosp1!robison
	or (emergency): princeton!eosp1!robison