Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Andrew C Smith <a.c.smith AT juno.com>]

Vince,

You wrote that the "standard view" says:

>while all languages started out
>with a "simpler tense distinction" (not tenseless in 1826!), only
>sanskrit, thence greek and latin developed the true, advanced "three
>tense" system.... at least on that view. every other noneuropean system
>therefore is "arrested" and "primitive" compared to the advanced
>european system

But the Sanskrit branch of the Indo-European family was primarily the
Hindus in India. If this system were motivated by racism, why would
German and English linguists attribute an "advanced" language to the
Hindus who were subjugated to the British Empire? And, if, as you say,
"only Sanskrit, Greek, and Latin" had the "advanced" tense distinction,
where does that leave the Germanic family? And it was the Germans who
invented systematic and comparative indo-european philology!

There is no doubt that there were many racists and imperialists in Europe
in those days, and that some of them were probably linguists. But to say
that the whole system of indo-european linguistics was driven by racism
is to go beyond the available evidence.

I would rather return to your other argument, which was that there were
certain theological interpretations which benefitted from the concept of
a "tenseless" Hebrew.

- A.C. Smith





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