Newsgroups: talk.origins,sci.skeptic,alt.religion.christian,alt.christnet,talk.religion.misc,alt.postmodern,sci.lang
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!bb3.andrew.cmu.edu!newsfeed.pitt.edu!scramble.lm.com!news.math.psu.edu!news.cse.psu.edu!uwm.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!newsfeed.internetmci.com!in2.uu.net!hearst.acc.Virginia.EDU!murdoch!usenet
From: dcs2e@darwin.clas.virginia.edu (David Swanson)
Subject: Re: Languages: Hard, Harder, Hardest
X-Nntp-Posting-Host: ara-mac-247.itc.virginia.edu
Message-ID: <DuwsDJ.BAr@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU>
X-Posted-From: InterNews 1.0.1@ara-mac-247.itc.virginia.edu
Sender: -Not-Authenticated-[9087]
Organization: University of Virginia
References: <4s9otl$1pt@dfw-ixnews6.ix.netcom.com> 
 <705.6771T494T2133@gulf.net> <31EFCDC5.1629@trl.telstra.com.au> 
 <31EF1E8A.3440@frontiernet.net> <31f09c4b.25641454@news.airmail.net>  
 <4squgi$318@dfw-ixnews10.ix.netcom.com>
Date: Sun, 21 Jul 1996 19:48:54 GMT
Xdisclaimer: No attempt was made to authenticate the sender's name.
Lines: 21
Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu sci.skeptic:191125 sci.lang:57971

In article <4squgi$318@dfw-ixnews10.ix.netcom.com>
matts2@ix.netcom.com (Matt Silberstein) writes:

> It is my understanding that all human languages are equally complex. They
> all have the ability to talk about the world and to add new words when
> needed. I can't post a reference for this, but I have few ideas to
> illustrate it. People have been able to translate the Bible into every
> language they have tried. If nothing else, the Bible is sufficiently long
> and complex to act as a good test case. This shows that every language is
> capable of making at least that statement. I have been told, but don't
> have any reference for this, that each of these translations are roughly
> the same size. This would also seem to support the equal complexity
> issues. If laguage A were more complex than language B then the
> translation should be much smaller.

It must be pleasant.  Are you allowed visitors in there?


David

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