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From: deb5@midway.uchicago.edu (Daniel von Brighoff)
Subject: Re: CAPITAL LETTERS
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References: <31E6545B.167EB0E7@ren.er.usgs.gov> <piD4iVA8ps6xEwLD@kindness.demon.co.uk> <4sg8au$oif@lyra.csx.cam.ac.uk>
Date: Sun, 21 Jul 1996 21:48:06 GMT
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In article <4sg8au$oif@lyra.csx.cam.ac.uk>,
Simon Buck <Simon.Buck@Computing-Service.Cambridge.AC.UK> wrote:
>Ysgrifennodd Colin Fine (colin@kindness.demon.co.uk):
>   In article <4sdp78$o7v@kralle.zdv.Uni-Mainz.DE>,
>   knappen@iphcip1.physik.uni-mainz.de writes
>   >In article <31E6545B.167EB0E7@ren.er.usgs.gov>, Peter Bromfield
>   ><peter@ren.er.usgs.gov> writes:
>   >:the only laguages using capitals are european, correct? i was wondering
>   >
>   >If you aren't really strict on the meaning of `european', you may be right.
>   >Capital letters are a feature of the writing system, not of the language, and
>   >occur in the following ones: latin, greek, cyrillic, georgian, armenian.
>
>Unless you are thinking of the Greeks who lived in Asia, all these
>originate strictly in Europe (Georgia and Armenia are in this
>continent).
[rest deleted]

Now this is *really* nitpicking, but I suppose by "Greeks who lived in
Asia", you're referring to the inhabitants of Asia Minor, now the
nation of Turkey.  Until the most recent round of massacres (beginning 
in 1896 and culminating during WW1), most Armenians lived in Asia Minor; 
it is only during this century that Armenia has been reduced to the con-
fines of Transcaucasia.  Exact details of the invention of the Armenian 
script are uncertain, but it was definitely in the 5th century A.D. when 
the cultural centre was Ani, located within the borders of modern Turkey.  
It is, therefore, not only possible but also likely that Mesrop's script 
was devised in Asia and not Europe (although the role of Greek script as
a model is obvious).

The language itself is Indo-European, but probably became distinct some
time after the proto-Armenians had left the Balkans for "Little Armenia"
in central Asia Minor.  Therefore, depending on one's point of view, 
Armenian could be considered an Asian rather than a European language.


-- 
	 Daniel "Da" von Brighoff    /\          Dilettanten
	(deb5@midway.uchicago.edu)  /__\         erhebt Euch
				   /____\      gegen die Kunst!
