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From: petrich@netcom.com (Loren Petrich)
Subject: Re: Halloran's Sumerian
Message-ID: <petrichDyKMLL.JLA@netcom.com>
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References: <52njar$s5p@scream.auckland.ac.nz> <seagoat.590.00107D7A@primenet.com>
Date: Tue, 1 Oct 1996 00:27:21 GMT
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In article <seagoat.590.00107D7A@primenet.com>,
John A. Halloran <seagoat@primenet.com> wrote:
>In article <52njar$s5p@scream.auckland.ac.nz> drc@antnov1.auckland.ac.nz writes:

>>In any case, how does "earth" = "red/brown" + "crushed" square with the
>>theory that the monosyllabic words represent the earliest, most basic
>>concepts, and the compounds later additions to the vocabulary?

>sahar was not the main word for 'earth', but has as its principal meaning 
>'sand', a more specialized concept. 

	But most of the sand I've ever seen is yellow, rather than 
reddish or brownish.

... To the Sumerians, the universe 
consisted >of 'an' and 'ki', sky and earth.

	There goes your wonderful idea :-)

>'an' could also mean 'to be high'.

	So?

-- 
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