To: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org, joel AT exc.com
Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] "irregularities" in Ancient/Modern Hebrew,
Date: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 12:25:50 -0500 (CDT)
Joel,
>The almost universal observation that ancient languages had fewer
>irregularities that modern ones do (Classical Latin vs. Italian,
>Biblical Hebrew vs. Modern Hebrew, Classical Greek vs. Modern Greek,
>etc.) probably simply refelct our poorer knowledge of the ancient
>languages compared to the modern ones.
>
You make a great point here. I have always wondered why this seems to be the
case. Could it have something to do with the fact that the written specimens
we have correspond more to "formal language" - which would have selectively
reflected the use of language by those who actually could read and write?