Re: [Ltru] my technical position on extlang

Gerard Meijssen scripsit:

> In my understanding it is only in the ISO-639-6 that a true hierarchy of
> linguistic entities becomes available. 

It's a true hierarchy, all right, but it's a genetic hierarchy, which is
only loosely connected with mutual intelligibility.  Sometimes closely
related languages are mutually intelligible with only small adjustments,
sometimes the barriers between them are absolute.  Consider my comments
about English/Scots and the Frisian languages, which form a sister group in
genetic terms:

	Evidence from earlier stages of the languages would lead us
	to expect all three Frisians to be quite similar and the most
	similar language outside the group to be English -- but West
	Frisian has been so influenced by Dutch, North Frisian by High
	German and Low Saxon and Danish, Saterfrisian by High German and
	Low Saxon, and English by French and Latin that the connections
	are pretty much obscured.

-- 
In my last lifetime,                            John Cowan
I believed in reincarnation;                    http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
in this lifetime,                               cowan@ccil.org
I don't.  --Thiagi
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