[Ltru] The true meaning of "macrolanguage" (was: Re: John Cowan...)

Peter Constable <petercon at microsoft dot com> wrote:

> If Kwanyama and Ndonga are distinct languages and if "Oshiwambo" can 
> refer to either and is in some contexts used as though it were a 
> single language rather than a collection, then it can be considered a 
> macrolanguage. But if Oshiwambo refers to a distinct variety that is 
> not the same as either Kwanyama or Ndonga but is used or coming into 
> use by speakers of both Kwanyama and Ndonga communities, then it might 
> make more sense to consider Oshiwambo an individual language.

Peter has always been very clear and consistent in his explanation of 
the term "macrolanguage," and the paragraph above is no exception. 
However, I fear there is still a great deal of misunderstanding 
surrounding this term, and I hope Peter and the ISO 639-3/RA are bold in 
explaining and promoting the correct use of this term, which is not 
synonymous with "language family," "language collection," "dominant 
language," or any other term.

--
Doug Ewell  *  Fullerton, California, USA  *  RFC 4645  *  UTN #14
http://home.roadrunner.com/~dewell
http://www1.ietf.org/html.charters/ltru-charter.html
http://www.alvestrand.no/mailman/listinfo/ietf-languages  ˆ

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