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From: dcs2e@darwin.clas.virginia.edu (David Swanson)
Subject: Re: Languages: Hard, Harder, Hardest
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In article <rte-2407960952310001@135.25.40.118>
rte@elmo.lz.att.com (Ralph T. Edwards) writes:

> In article <Dv15BB.2BF@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>,
> dcs2e@darwin.clas.virginia.edu (David Swanson) wrote:
> 
> > In article <rte-2307961444410001@135.25.40.118>
> > rte@elmo.lz.att.com (Ralph T. Edwards) writes:
> > 
> > > 
> > > Because Russian has pretty much one symbol for one sound system of
> > > representation, fewer characters are required than, say Dutch, English or
> > > Finnish which often use digraphs like th, ea, aa. This is an artifact of
> > > the writing system and does not reflect the complexity of the real
> > > (spoken) language.  French has many silent letters.
> > 
> > 
> > You are posting to alt.postmodern and referring to oral language as
> > "real".  Care to explain yourself?
> 
> Is "real" tabu there?  Odd.  We learn our first language orally.  Written
> language is derived from oral language.  "Primary" might have been a
> better word.


Agreed.

> 
> > 
> > For what it's worth I'd wager the variation for oral length would
> > exceed 30%.
> > 
> 
> What evidence can you offer?  

This: I hearby bet you five flowering asterisks -(*)- that the
variation in oral length would exceed 30%.


That's the essence of the difference between
> scientists and philosophers.


What is?  And which are you?  I happen to be neither.

> 
> -- 
> R.T.Edwards rte@elmo.att.com 908 576-3031


David

"Heideggerian hope comes into question." J.D.
