Re: tlug: kanji or romaji for Japanese? (was: parallel-port IDE)

[Scott Perlman <perlman@example.com>]

I'm not a linguist, but I think we're looking at different tings in teh
languages diverging/converging.

Among disparate communities languages diverge, however withing a
community the language converges/maintains a common level.

What is really happening is that the size and type of communities are
changing throughout the world.

The language extinctions are from small populations that are not
self-sufficent in the global nature of todays world.  Therefore inteh
community they find themselves, they speak the dominant language.

There are definitely effects from Technology slowing Language change
within a community,  But the change is not stopped.  We can all
understand Rebroadcasts from 50 or 60 years ago, but they don't sound
normal anymore, the language has evolved.

The English of someone who speaks with a group of people from various
places is a far cry from the Enlighs of someone who has never spoken
with someone from further than the next village.  Even if they grew up
in the same place.

Our language communities are changin.  They are no longer strictly
geographically dependant, but have stronger ties to jobs, and behaviour
patterns.

Everyone on this list has probably been accused of talking to much tech
stuff.  There is a different vocabulary used by people who do a lot
with computers than those who don't.  window, text, jump, log, all have
differnt meanings.  Is this turly a seperate dialect?

Not yet, but it could become one.

-Scott

Scott Stone did state upon Mon, Oct 19, 1998 at 06:27:24PM +0900:
> On Mon, 19 Oct 1998, Jonathan Byrne wrote:
> 
> > On Mon, 19 Oct 1998, Scott Stone wrote:
> > 
> > > I'm not talking about languages WRT computers, I'm talking about languages
> > > in general.  Look at all the different dialects of German spoken in
> > > Germany, and the different dialects of English spoken in America.  Human
> > > language is divergent, I tell you.
> > 
> > Sorry, but all the evidence is against you on this one.  Dialects
> > of German and English may not ever disappear, but they are becoming more
> > regularized, as are the regional dialects of Japanese.  Where is was once
> > the case that a typical native speaker from a given area spoke only the
> > regional dialect, among younger Japanese today, most of them speak standard
> > Japanese as well as the regional dialect, and there may well be some who
> > speak only standard Japanese, even if they understand the regional dialect
> > (I've met a few).
> > 
> > Jonathan
> 
> well, I suppose you're right - but it *does* seem that languages USED to
> diverge, and now they're converging due to better information technology.
> 

-- 
Beware hot fudge sundae!                |  perlman@example.com
Especially when it comes on Tuesdae.	|  Scott Perlman
One Day I will control the lightning! 
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