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From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Subject: Re: Hungarian / Czecho-Slovakian
Message-ID: <D3306B.Dzt@cogsci.ed.ac.uk>
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK
References: <1995Jan24.180453.11939@midway.uchicago.edu> <D2ytHs.Jqr@cogsci.ed.ac.uk> <cagalj.16.0030E3D1@mailer.uni-Marburg.de>
Date: Fri, 27 Jan 1995 20:42:08 GMT
Lines: 50

In article <cagalj.15.002B19EA@mailer.uni-Marburg.de> cagalj@mailer.uni-Marburg.de (Skull MacBone) writes:
>ivan, you have so many terrific educational sources in britain - why
>don't you use them ?

I *am* using them, and they all confirm my opinion.  Or do you have
some specific educational sources in mind?

>luckily, your opinion is out-of-date, dude.

Luckily?  What's lucky about it?


In article <cagalj.16.0030E3D1@mailer.uni-Marburg.de> cagalj@mailer.uni-Marburg.de (Skull MacBone) writes:
>In article <D2ytHs.Jqr@cogsci.ed.ac.uk> iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski) writes:
>>It seems absurd to talk about the opposition between Czech and Slovak
>>and the one between Serbian and Croat in the same breath.
>
>it seems absurd to deny the particular features as you do.

I'm not denying any features, Skull.  I'm just claiming that they
don't justify calling Serbian and Croat separate languages.

>>[...] it takes someone with a political agenda to claim that
>>Serbo-Croat is not a single language.
>
>it rather takes someone to stress that they are one and the same
>language, since the communist party declared it to be one language at
>the summit in novi sad in the fifties.

Oh.  What did they decide at the summit?  That from now on Serbian
and Croatian would have the same phonology, nouns would decline and
verbs would conjugate in exactly the same way, the bulk of the lexicon
and virtually all means for lexical innovation would be shared?
Rather powerful party, that.

>so, your thesis bases upon a communist declaration
>....very "apolitical" and "scientific", indeed. :))))))

My thesis is based upon observation of linguistic facts, not on
anyone's declaration.  Thanks for playing, though.

>Tomislav Cagalj - some guys don't even deserve to get flamed...

True.  What's the point of flaming someone who calls himself Skull MacBone?

-- 
`Don't know whit ye're bletherin aboot', said Peter.    (The Glasgow Gospel)
Ivan A Derzhanski (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk, iad@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,   Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House E113, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Pk Rd, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
