Biblical Hebrew Forum

[James Read <J.Read-2 AT sms.ed.ac.uk>]

Hi Yitzhak,

you wrote:

> I just applied a linguistic analysis of the English language according to
> email evidence. The results of my find showed that the English language
> has two definite articles 'the' and 'teh'. ... it would seem that  
> the article 'teh'
> comes from language X. I therefore conclude the English were invaders of
> the British isles and that their original language was language X

No, you didn't apply a linguistic analysis.  You applied an analysis that you
think is linguistic but which makes no use of any principles of linguistics.
First, linguistics can't tell you if people invaded another country,
were natives,
etc.  Linguistics can tell you about the relationship of languages, and
historians may use some of these relationships along with other data in
attempting to describe population movements and invasions.  Linguistics
says nothing about population movements.  I am surprised you don't know
this because I said this just the other day.  Also, linguistics does not
discern relationships between languages on the basis of a single word in
one or two language.  Languages are related in a family on the basis of
many words that form cognates.  Within a family, sub-classifications are
made on the basis of shared innovations.  Also, linguists do not make
up languages ("Language X").  Finally, linguists recognize that writing
is an imperfect medium to convey speech.  Linguists study language
(the set of all possible grammatical and meaningful utterances of
speech).  They recognize that if a person writes a word, the word may
not correspond exactly to the way he would speak it.  Moreover, it may
be a spelling error.  So, if you really want to apply a linguistic analysis,
try to follow standard principles of linguistics.  Don't make up counter-
examples that have no relationship to linguistics as if they do.

JC

Now, I'm glad you agree to the shortcomings of the <cough>linguistic  
method<end cough> I employed above.

So now, without looking like a total hypocrite would you like to  
expound to myself and the list members the 'mainstream' view of the  
origin of the Philistines as presented in the literature that you  
evidently very familiar with?

James Christian







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