Alexis Manaster Ramer | School of Hard knocks (original) (raw)
Papers by Alexis Manaster Ramer
Since a few readers have now "discovered" my 1997 article on this subject, I am posting the much ... more Since a few readers have now "discovered" my 1997 article on this subject, I am posting the much more recent article, which provides both a refined theory (namely, that Messerschmidt copied his most important work before surrendering it to the Russian academy and sent some of it to Strahlenberg so that it could see the light of day if, as in fact happened, the Academy locked the stuff away) and evidence, based on careful analysis of a 1720 ms by Messerschmidt in comparison to the Harmonia, that the revolutionary linguistics was his and was never properly understood by Strahlenberg (or it seems anyone else at the time). I am almost done with an English translation of this and several detailed studies of M's material on certain particularly interesting languages such as Mandarin and Koryak.
Fs Röhrborn, 2023
The endless nonsense about Altaic and about a few sound correspondences within Turkic that are se... more The endless nonsense about Altaic and about a few sound correspondences within Turkic that are seen as bearing on this (even if some of them don't and others are absolutely clear so there is NOTHING to keep writing about) continues. Here I review a recent claim by Erdal that the change of *-d- to -r- occurred much earlier in Lir (or as I like to call it Lirical) Turkic than anyone had dreamed based on one Mongolic loan word that seems to have -r- for Turkic -d-. I am mostly concerned as always with the methodological issues such as why f.ex. my work is ignored in this field too, why someone would even think that this issue has any relevance to Altaic (it doesnt,), why anyone would even begin to write about this issue without considering HUNGARIAN data (which are usually crucial and in this case too), why other etymologies of the Mongolic word are not even considered, and why there should be just ONE word with this alleged -r- < -d-? Is not more sensible, given that there is just one, given that Hungarian shows the -d- retained and not changed to -r-, and given that tehre are various other etymologies possible, to at least admit that maybe one should not posit extraordinary claims without unassailable evidence? No? Of course not. The way things work when i offer unassiable evidence, it is ignored, and others are lauded and applauded and cited when they have NO evidence. Amusez-vous bien!
Journal of Phonetics, Oct 1, 1996
Reumatologia, Apr 30, 2020
Transactions of the Philological Society, Nov 1, 1995
Computational Linguistics, Mar 1, 1992
Phonology, Aug 1, 1994
Ever since Baudouin de Courtenay (e.g. 1917 [1990: 500]), the founder of phonology, it has been c... more Ever since Baudouin de Courtenay (e.g. 1917 [1990: 500]), the founder of phonology, it has been customary for every new phonological theory to make claims about the particular level(s) at which rules of versification may refer to phonological representations. Baudouin himself, for example, took rhyming to be evidence of phonemic identity. The birth of generative phonology thus led to a series of claims that rules of versification may have access to underlying representations – or to various intermediate levels of representation more shallow than the underlying but still deeper than phonemic. Starting with Zeps (1963) and for the next twenty-odd years a certain number of such arguments have been published, and it appears that their validity is widely assumed in the field, as reflected in such survey articles as O&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;Connor (1982: 155–156) and Hayes (1988: 228–229). Presumably it is precisely the widespread acceptance of these arguments that explains the relative lull in the debate recently (but see Malone 1982,1983, 1988a, b).
Sorry this is the 12-year old version that had hitherto been blow off by the specialists. There ... more Sorry this is the 12-year old version that had hitherto been blow off by the specialists. There is a new one that I will upload later.
Fs Macuch, 2019
This is the first publication referring to a tiny bit of my "decipherment" of Scythian, made poss... more This is the first publication referring to a tiny bit of my "decipherment" of Scythian, made possible by the substantive help provided by Martin Schwartz (to one who at the time did not even know the Iranian roots for 'cry' and 'rule' or have a clear idea where to look them up) and his unexpected invitation for me to coauthor a contribution honoring a leader of his field (Maria Macuch)-not to mention that of course the article contains a sample of his ideas as well as mine. Speaking of which, the etymology Martin Schwartz proposes here for the name Idanthyrsus is not the same as mine, and at some point (Deo volente) I propose to discuss the difference. It is not, however (so totally unlike what you, Gentle Reader, are you used to), a matter of arguing that mine is better, much less trying to humiliate another scholar, but rather of showing that, when dealing with individual words, it is often difficult (or outright even impossible) to decide which analysis is right (yes, I do realize this totally upsets the Applecart of Error you are so used to). This may well be the case with this name, at least at present. The situation is quite different from the case of SETS of names (such as Lipoxaïs, Arpoxaïs, and Kolaxaïs), where because it is a set, because it is a set of items that occur in one and the same story (like Shariyar and Shahzaman or Scheherazade and Dunyazade), and especially because (as it happens, because of course such things cannot be known in advance and indeed rarely happen) these three are what Aristotle called FITTING names (a term forever mistranslated as the absurd "talking" or "speaking names" by generations of scholars who do know Greek but not quite as well as they think and anyway whose goal in life is to keep others, like me, who may know more from being heard) we can be virtually certain about their etymologies. And this is all methodologically crucial-in any field of science (and outside of science too), being an inherent, mathematical property of … well … of EVERYTHING. So, now, Idanthyrsus is just a name, and apart from our having some limited idea of the language and a general set of expectations about what kind names Ancient Iranian kings might be likely to have, we are at the mercy of the Iranian lexicon and word-formation rules (which may provide multiple analyses) and of the occasional distortions (such as Martin Schwartz suggests here) by the Greek writers we depend on. In some cases, of course, like Protothyes, we can be virtually certain that the prepound IS such a distortion, but is the postpound of Idanthyrsus one as well? This is less clear. Finally, note that whereas I deliberately avoided discussing the massive sound changes I posit for Scythian (which are one of the several reasons why this language has been so badly mishandled by earlier scholars and especially by Iranists, the others being the massive use of kennings by Scythians and the even more massive scholarly arrogance and turf-protection by Modern scholars), and so my own specific proposal involved a word play that does not depend (unlike many others) on these sound changes, Martin Schwartz's etymology of Idanthyrsus' name presupposes one of these (the voicing of-t-to-d-, which is a part of a set of what I call Crimm's Laws, which in fact are very similar to the Lautgesetze that separate Germanic as well as Armenian from the rest of Indo-European or High German as well as Danish from the rest of Germanic). These, and others (perhaps most strikingly the loss of-š-and-θ-), make it possible to actually identify most Scythian words and of course show that, while closely related to Sarmatian, this language was not the ancestor of Sarmatian but its first cousin or even sister-contrary to the obsessive assertions of the "professionals", professional territorymarkers and at least one professional hypernationalist, that is.
For those who can't read Russian, I have prepared a bilingual version, so it is that much more co... more For those who can't read Russian, I have prepared a bilingual version, so it is that much more convenient to ignore it.
Unpublished, 2023
Scythian is a close relative of Sarmatian but NOT its ancestor much less the same thing. It is a... more Scythian is a close relative of Sarmatian but NOT its ancestor much less the same thing. It is approximately the same SORT of thing as Danish or High German vs. the rest of Germanic, so a close relative distinguished by a set of sound laws that make almost all word unrecognizable (eg Tanai- with a short first vowel vs. *dānawya-). Moreover, most of the words we have are KENNINGS, e.g. antakaioi = 'those who eggs don't float', tarandos 'one whose hide (people) wear', etc.
Folia Linguistica Historica, 1995
American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 1992
... poor quality; for example, he did not transcribe vowel lengths, had trouble distinguishing vo... more ... poor quality; for example, he did not transcribe vowel lengths, had trouble distinguishing voiced ... Beyond that, the history of this semantic phenom-enon remains largely an open question ... of the areal semantic phenomenon of equat-ing great-grandrelatives with younger siblings. ...
Oceanic Linguistics, Jun 1, 1995
L'A. examine la syntaxe et les categories grammaticales du malgache, telles qu'elles se r... more L'A. examine la syntaxe et les categories grammaticales du malgache, telles qu'elles se refletent dans les imperatives, et en comparaison avec celles du tagalog
International Journal of American Linguistics, Apr 1, 1996
... [IJAL, vol. ... as the absolutive suffix -tl - -tli, tle-tl 'fire' (in some... more ... [IJAL, vol. ... as the absolutive suffix -tl - -tli, tle-tl 'fire' (in some compounds 'heat'), tlehkoo 'to ascend', tle(h) 'what', tleyoo-tl 'fame', tlekoo-tl 'line traced in [the] middle of [a] ball court', tlekotia 'to grant a delay or stay of time', tlolololtin 'gathering, group', tloh-tli '(sparrow) hawk', tlok 'near ...
International Journal of American Linguistics, Oct 1, 1992
International Journal of American Linguistics, Jul 1, 1996
... and for which I have found no Na-Dene connec-tions, to wit, H12 BEAR (V.) katwe, H24 BREAST1 ... more ... and for which I have found no Na-Dene connec-tions, to wit, H12 BEAR (V.) katwe, H24 BREAST1 yacax, H33 CRY1 maka, H36 DEER ao, H58 FINISH1 tooxa 'finish, destroy', H68 FULL1 nes-pece 'to fill', H70 GIVE1 eke, H75 GOOD henex, H95 LIGHTNING m'etan (see above ...
International Journal of American Linguistics, Jul 1, 1992
... explain at the moment. Thus, while both 00 and Na clearly point to an alternation between *ma... more ... explain at the moment. Thus, while both 00 and Na clearly point to an alternation between *mac-tia--- **macV-tia-'to teach' and *mati 'to know' in PSUA, I cannot begin to guess at the precise rule involved. For our purposes it ...
Since a few readers have now "discovered" my 1997 article on this subject, I am posting the much ... more Since a few readers have now "discovered" my 1997 article on this subject, I am posting the much more recent article, which provides both a refined theory (namely, that Messerschmidt copied his most important work before surrendering it to the Russian academy and sent some of it to Strahlenberg so that it could see the light of day if, as in fact happened, the Academy locked the stuff away) and evidence, based on careful analysis of a 1720 ms by Messerschmidt in comparison to the Harmonia, that the revolutionary linguistics was his and was never properly understood by Strahlenberg (or it seems anyone else at the time). I am almost done with an English translation of this and several detailed studies of M's material on certain particularly interesting languages such as Mandarin and Koryak.
Fs Röhrborn, 2023
The endless nonsense about Altaic and about a few sound correspondences within Turkic that are se... more The endless nonsense about Altaic and about a few sound correspondences within Turkic that are seen as bearing on this (even if some of them don't and others are absolutely clear so there is NOTHING to keep writing about) continues. Here I review a recent claim by Erdal that the change of *-d- to -r- occurred much earlier in Lir (or as I like to call it Lirical) Turkic than anyone had dreamed based on one Mongolic loan word that seems to have -r- for Turkic -d-. I am mostly concerned as always with the methodological issues such as why f.ex. my work is ignored in this field too, why someone would even think that this issue has any relevance to Altaic (it doesnt,), why anyone would even begin to write about this issue without considering HUNGARIAN data (which are usually crucial and in this case too), why other etymologies of the Mongolic word are not even considered, and why there should be just ONE word with this alleged -r- < -d-? Is not more sensible, given that there is just one, given that Hungarian shows the -d- retained and not changed to -r-, and given that tehre are various other etymologies possible, to at least admit that maybe one should not posit extraordinary claims without unassailable evidence? No? Of course not. The way things work when i offer unassiable evidence, it is ignored, and others are lauded and applauded and cited when they have NO evidence. Amusez-vous bien!
Journal of Phonetics, Oct 1, 1996
Reumatologia, Apr 30, 2020
Transactions of the Philological Society, Nov 1, 1995
Computational Linguistics, Mar 1, 1992
Phonology, Aug 1, 1994
Ever since Baudouin de Courtenay (e.g. 1917 [1990: 500]), the founder of phonology, it has been c... more Ever since Baudouin de Courtenay (e.g. 1917 [1990: 500]), the founder of phonology, it has been customary for every new phonological theory to make claims about the particular level(s) at which rules of versification may refer to phonological representations. Baudouin himself, for example, took rhyming to be evidence of phonemic identity. The birth of generative phonology thus led to a series of claims that rules of versification may have access to underlying representations – or to various intermediate levels of representation more shallow than the underlying but still deeper than phonemic. Starting with Zeps (1963) and for the next twenty-odd years a certain number of such arguments have been published, and it appears that their validity is widely assumed in the field, as reflected in such survey articles as O&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;Connor (1982: 155–156) and Hayes (1988: 228–229). Presumably it is precisely the widespread acceptance of these arguments that explains the relative lull in the debate recently (but see Malone 1982,1983, 1988a, b).
Sorry this is the 12-year old version that had hitherto been blow off by the specialists. There ... more Sorry this is the 12-year old version that had hitherto been blow off by the specialists. There is a new one that I will upload later.
Fs Macuch, 2019
This is the first publication referring to a tiny bit of my "decipherment" of Scythian, made poss... more This is the first publication referring to a tiny bit of my "decipherment" of Scythian, made possible by the substantive help provided by Martin Schwartz (to one who at the time did not even know the Iranian roots for 'cry' and 'rule' or have a clear idea where to look them up) and his unexpected invitation for me to coauthor a contribution honoring a leader of his field (Maria Macuch)-not to mention that of course the article contains a sample of his ideas as well as mine. Speaking of which, the etymology Martin Schwartz proposes here for the name Idanthyrsus is not the same as mine, and at some point (Deo volente) I propose to discuss the difference. It is not, however (so totally unlike what you, Gentle Reader, are you used to), a matter of arguing that mine is better, much less trying to humiliate another scholar, but rather of showing that, when dealing with individual words, it is often difficult (or outright even impossible) to decide which analysis is right (yes, I do realize this totally upsets the Applecart of Error you are so used to). This may well be the case with this name, at least at present. The situation is quite different from the case of SETS of names (such as Lipoxaïs, Arpoxaïs, and Kolaxaïs), where because it is a set, because it is a set of items that occur in one and the same story (like Shariyar and Shahzaman or Scheherazade and Dunyazade), and especially because (as it happens, because of course such things cannot be known in advance and indeed rarely happen) these three are what Aristotle called FITTING names (a term forever mistranslated as the absurd "talking" or "speaking names" by generations of scholars who do know Greek but not quite as well as they think and anyway whose goal in life is to keep others, like me, who may know more from being heard) we can be virtually certain about their etymologies. And this is all methodologically crucial-in any field of science (and outside of science too), being an inherent, mathematical property of … well … of EVERYTHING. So, now, Idanthyrsus is just a name, and apart from our having some limited idea of the language and a general set of expectations about what kind names Ancient Iranian kings might be likely to have, we are at the mercy of the Iranian lexicon and word-formation rules (which may provide multiple analyses) and of the occasional distortions (such as Martin Schwartz suggests here) by the Greek writers we depend on. In some cases, of course, like Protothyes, we can be virtually certain that the prepound IS such a distortion, but is the postpound of Idanthyrsus one as well? This is less clear. Finally, note that whereas I deliberately avoided discussing the massive sound changes I posit for Scythian (which are one of the several reasons why this language has been so badly mishandled by earlier scholars and especially by Iranists, the others being the massive use of kennings by Scythians and the even more massive scholarly arrogance and turf-protection by Modern scholars), and so my own specific proposal involved a word play that does not depend (unlike many others) on these sound changes, Martin Schwartz's etymology of Idanthyrsus' name presupposes one of these (the voicing of-t-to-d-, which is a part of a set of what I call Crimm's Laws, which in fact are very similar to the Lautgesetze that separate Germanic as well as Armenian from the rest of Indo-European or High German as well as Danish from the rest of Germanic). These, and others (perhaps most strikingly the loss of-š-and-θ-), make it possible to actually identify most Scythian words and of course show that, while closely related to Sarmatian, this language was not the ancestor of Sarmatian but its first cousin or even sister-contrary to the obsessive assertions of the "professionals", professional territorymarkers and at least one professional hypernationalist, that is.
For those who can't read Russian, I have prepared a bilingual version, so it is that much more co... more For those who can't read Russian, I have prepared a bilingual version, so it is that much more convenient to ignore it.
Unpublished, 2023
Scythian is a close relative of Sarmatian but NOT its ancestor much less the same thing. It is a... more Scythian is a close relative of Sarmatian but NOT its ancestor much less the same thing. It is approximately the same SORT of thing as Danish or High German vs. the rest of Germanic, so a close relative distinguished by a set of sound laws that make almost all word unrecognizable (eg Tanai- with a short first vowel vs. *dānawya-). Moreover, most of the words we have are KENNINGS, e.g. antakaioi = 'those who eggs don't float', tarandos 'one whose hide (people) wear', etc.
Folia Linguistica Historica, 1995
American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 1992
... poor quality; for example, he did not transcribe vowel lengths, had trouble distinguishing vo... more ... poor quality; for example, he did not transcribe vowel lengths, had trouble distinguishing voiced ... Beyond that, the history of this semantic phenom-enon remains largely an open question ... of the areal semantic phenomenon of equat-ing great-grandrelatives with younger siblings. ...
Oceanic Linguistics, Jun 1, 1995
L'A. examine la syntaxe et les categories grammaticales du malgache, telles qu'elles se r... more L'A. examine la syntaxe et les categories grammaticales du malgache, telles qu'elles se refletent dans les imperatives, et en comparaison avec celles du tagalog
International Journal of American Linguistics, Apr 1, 1996
... [IJAL, vol. ... as the absolutive suffix -tl - -tli, tle-tl 'fire' (in some... more ... [IJAL, vol. ... as the absolutive suffix -tl - -tli, tle-tl 'fire' (in some compounds 'heat'), tlehkoo 'to ascend', tle(h) 'what', tleyoo-tl 'fame', tlekoo-tl 'line traced in [the] middle of [a] ball court', tlekotia 'to grant a delay or stay of time', tlolololtin 'gathering, group', tloh-tli '(sparrow) hawk', tlok 'near ...
International Journal of American Linguistics, Oct 1, 1992
International Journal of American Linguistics, Jul 1, 1996
... and for which I have found no Na-Dene connec-tions, to wit, H12 BEAR (V.) katwe, H24 BREAST1 ... more ... and for which I have found no Na-Dene connec-tions, to wit, H12 BEAR (V.) katwe, H24 BREAST1 yacax, H33 CRY1 maka, H36 DEER ao, H58 FINISH1 tooxa 'finish, destroy', H68 FULL1 nes-pece 'to fill', H70 GIVE1 eke, H75 GOOD henex, H95 LIGHTNING m'etan (see above ...
International Journal of American Linguistics, Jul 1, 1992
... explain at the moment. Thus, while both 00 and Na clearly point to an alternation between *ma... more ... explain at the moment. Thus, while both 00 and Na clearly point to an alternation between *mac-tia--- **macV-tia-'to teach' and *mati 'to know' in PSUA, I cannot begin to guess at the precise rule involved. For our purposes it ...
Der Grund der Benennung dieses Königs mit dem ... more Der Grund der Benennung dieses Königs mit dem
Namen Hōros bleibt mir aber unerklärlich (Helck).
In this, first in a series (but only if I am either as usual ignored or at the very least attacked by Stefan Georg and the other usual suspects, coz I don't work without my due reward!), study of various METHODOLOGICALLY interesting (to me, of course the Gentle Reader need not agree) issues in Egyptian history, I argue that the name recorded by Manetho as Õros and generally (though not universally) identified as belonging to Akhenaten represents a late pronunciation of Akhenaten's favorite name Waenre. The key issue is what happened to the -n-. It turns out that in the corpus of Egyptian names in Greek transcription there is no example of an -nr- cluster. And more to the point on 14 August (and even though I am an idiot created for Stefan Georg to wipe his feet on and other academics to ignore) I found what seems to be the only other example of such a name in Manetho--and this again shows a long vowel and no nasal. So I propose a sound law [nr]> [:r]. And again even though I have two examples and no counterexamples, I will be ignored, whereas other historical linguists are lionized when they posit sound laws with ZERO examples AND with counterexamples. That's coz there is a difference between them (and you all) and me, which Vivat!
And so here is more for Stefan Georg, Rémy Viredaz, Eugen Hill and the rest of you to dismiss or ... more And so here is more for Stefan Georg, Rémy Viredaz, Eugen Hill and the rest of you to dismiss or trivalize or simply ignore. It has long been realized that the people know in Chinese sources as what today in Beijing is propunced as Yuezhi were the Tocharians, and Henning (as usually prescient) saw they are likely the same as the Guti of Mesopotamia. However all attempts to explain the NAME as an ethnonym have been less than successful (even Henning's and Aydemir's, both clever) or outright nonsense (all the others)--playing fast and loose with Chinese, as scholars who don't know the subject often do. I propose that (as one Chinese anyway tells us explicitly) this word was not an ethnonym as such but a title of the rulers, namely, the word we know as ñakte vel sim. (title both of gods and kings) in later Tocharian. If you compare the Proto-Tocharian to the Old Chinese, you will see they are very close, and if you consider that the Pre-Tocharian (Indo-European) might have been just a little different than we tend to assume (and esp as Barnes recently assumed) then the fit is even better. I do not however offer a complete IE etymology, because I have given you all more than enough to dismiss, trivialize, ignore, or indeed sneer at for one time. I will give you the IE later so you can do it again.
Give me a word, any word, and I [s]ow you how the root of that word is Greek! OK? ["Gus Portokalo... more Give me a word, any word, and I [s]ow you how the root of that word is Greek! OK? ["Gus Portokalos", played by Michael Constantine, My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL9whwwTK6I]
Obviously this too will be ignored and at best received a few "likes" from those lacking the brain, heart and courage to join me but at least having enough to realize that the Evil System needs to be torn down. This is part 2 of a series dealing with the Ancient Macedonian language. There is a flagrant falsehood being published in reference and handbooks claiming that all specialists accept the (Doric Greek) Pella curse tablet represents the vernacular of Macedonia, and that this was Doric Greek. Even the first and principal investigator of this text does not claim this and rejects the feeble attempts to make this text Macedonian. And many prominent linguists absolutely disagree. However, we will get to that later. In pt. 1 (ignored of course) I showed that aliza (whose z would prove the language is not Greek) is what it is and not something else (you can read that but you won't). In pt. 2 I give three etymologies of words begininng with ab- from *Hmbhh(i)-, which would be amph- in Greek, so one more and an entirely new kind of evidence that Macedonian was not Greek. Keep ignoring me.
This is yet another and a particular gruesome case study of the basic principles I have been expo... more This is yet another and a particular gruesome case study of the basic principles I have been expounding (the way the Grand Unified Theory of Everything Else = GUTOEE applies to the special case of academia and in particular the very special subcase of Indo-European historical linguistics. Teratological reconstructions are propounded without a proper statement either of who the author or what the alleged etyma are supposed to have MEANT--and no one objects. No, on the contrary, this is richly rewarded, and my protests are as usual ignored. Ghost forms are repeated decades after they were given up, and that too is just fine, and again no one will say that once again Monstrous Rumor is right and the Nomenklatura has been caught. On the other hand, the actual reconstructions provide us with another example of where the same basic PRAGMATICS (the fact that a man or boy looking for a wife does NOTHING himself and watches others act on his behalf), not of course in our culture but in those at issue here, underlies two entirely different SEMANTICS (one refers to listening in silence, the other to watching others intently). The same principle as in some languages washing the head and others the hair, and zillions of other such examples, incl. those I have discovered and keep being ignored, e.g., recently words for 'island' referring to these as small patches of soil in the middle of streams or rivers that make it possible to cross them (PRAGMATICS), but in each case with utterly different SEMANTICS.
The Armenian p'esay paper will be posted separately.
A very rough and slightly updated English tr. of the 2019 Russian article by Larisa D. Bondar' an... more A very rough and slightly updated English tr. of the 2019 Russian article by Larisa D. Bondar' and me. This way a much wider, in fact world-wide, readership can now get busy to their favorite task (well paid too I am given to understand) of ignoring the facts and ignoring me.
Will it make any difference that once again I have solved what none of you could? It can't make ... more Will it make any difference that once again I have solved what none of you could? It can't make you ignore me anymore than you already do. I suppose there is no limit on how much you can hate me. But what does that matter? Will someone send a hired killer? Doubtful and anyway I live with a time bomb in my chest. Oh btw I solve some other problems here too, both Armenian and Iranian. And no you will NEVER make me cry.
Contrary to what the highly audible smirking sneering giggling authorities have claimed, the new ... more Contrary to what the highly audible smirking sneering giggling authorities have claimed, the new sheriff shows how all these words are simply and elegantly related. Go ahead and ignore this too.
One more example of what is wrong during the continuing Reign (Rain?) of Error, defended by the r... more One more example of what is wrong during the continuing Reign (Rain?) of Error, defended by the robust Wall of Silence. So just keep ignoring me.
Nothing left to do When you know that you've been taken Nothing left to do When you're begging fo... more Nothing left to do When you know that you've been taken Nothing left to do When you're begging for a crumb Nothing left to do When you've got to go on waiting Waiting for the miracle to come [Leonard Cohen].
An Irano-Armenian etymology for all you oh-so-superior experts to ignore. And for everyone else to enjoy watching my work being ignored--and hoping I will die before it is shown any sort of regard.
I make ruthless fun of the claims of two linguists that this word, which is given as meaning 'cat... more I make ruthless fun of the claims of two linguists that this word, which is given as meaning 'catterpillar', must mean larva or specifically maggot in order to fit their bizarre pseudo-etymologies. Of course, since 2011 I have not been able to get a hearing for this, and I do not expect much this time either, though as I say the idea is that as some point the accumulation of what I will call critical MESS by the professionals MAY (or not, we will see) get someone to realize that not only is the existing system is EVIL (which is obvious) but there exists ready to hand (and has existed for decades) an ALTERNATIVE.
These words are constantly used in hist. ling. as terms of reproof, censorship, warning--specific... more These words are constantly used in hist. ling. as terms of reproof, censorship, warning--specifically they are used to try to discourage or indeed prevent the expression of ideas and in particular of new and correct ideas. This usage is so ingrained that apparently many linguists do not realize that for human kind at large these words are NOT negative but quite the reverse. Is there no one as yet ready to wake up from the intellectual anesthesia? If there is, maybe this will make some slight difference. There IS a life after you get off from the Juggernaut of Error. And there is a new Sheriff in Town.
![Research paper thumbnail of Sweet Tears and Foul Toads: Indo-European *[h3]d--h2ekŕu and English toad < tádighe < *taidige < *[h 3 ]d-ei-dhgh-e/o](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/116097206/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](The first word has troubled the self-appointed experts, while the second I think even the highest... more The first word has troubled the self-appointed experts, while the second I think even the highest of the highest gave up on as entirely beyond them. And I say again the fact that (without any training in this field and now without so much as access to a library) I can solve these problems and the nomenklatura cannot is a very good sign that the long-oppressed mankind CAN if it chooses reclaim the possession of knowledge. La science est une chose trop grave pour laisser à des .... well, you know. Of course, you know but something stops you from shouting it from the rooftops. Don't be scared. I got your back.
This was written in early 2010 and I believe remains the final and correct interpretation of the ... more This was written in early 2010 and I believe remains the final and correct interpretation of the Nagy Szent Miklos inscription (the title of course is a pun, for those who either dont understand Hungarian or puns. Or both). It continues of course to be simply know ignored by the "owners" of the field. And how could it not? If I am right, the job is done so that's the end of their endless twists and turns. And further if I am right, how is that not embarrassing? To be sure, I have know an occasional doctor or attorney who was happy (or at least acted happy) to learn something new from me--but not many. And academics? The point anyway is not this inscription any more than the point of any science is this or that EXAMPLE. Once again, contrary to what all of you seem to believe, the color and cultivar of Newton's apple do NOT matter--and in fact (even if rarely) a pear or plum may fall to Earth too, and not just an apple. Go figure. So the point of this was study was supposed to be the METHOD. Now of course the point is to see who will be the first (if any) to break with the OMERTÀ, tear down the Wall of Silence, join me on board the Avrora.... Obviously not any of the oh-so-deep commentators I have had so far. But at 68 I have some hope (not much but some) that there are others, in fact chomping at the bit. Viva Zapata.
It is amazing to me (no it is not because academics write exactly this kind of nonsense) that al... more It is amazing to me (no it is not because academics write exactly this kind of nonsense) that all experts agree that a Greek word with t- and s- in different dialects is therefore a borrowing, as if that were not the most typical Greek dialect variation. Anyway have fun ignoring this too.
An unexamined lie is not worth believing Give me a word, any word, and I [X]ow you how the root... more An unexamined lie is not worth believing
Give me a word, any word, and I [X]ow you how the root of that word is Greek!
There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the LIV free world and the communis opinionated world
In the early 20th century it was realized that the -z- in this Macedonian word, if it comes from *-s-, would tend to show that this was NOT a trivial Greek dialect. Ever since then there have been those who claim that Hesychius did not mean a tree whose name obviously is from *-s- but supposedly a LEUCYSTIC DISEASE of trees and there are those who claim he did but that his text has to be emended to make it mean the former. The issue is the meaning of the Greek phrase aliza tōn dendrōn. And the simple fact is that this double crime, which goes back to none other than Stephanus, is in fact worse than a crime, it is a simple mistake. Stephanus apparently did not realize, and no one has had the gumption to point it out since (and instead his mistake is sacramentally repeated by generations of scholars paid to know Greek) that the phrase is perfectly good Greek (moreover, Greek of the sort Hesychius himself uses several times) as it is referring to the tree--and that on the other hand the alleged disease of trees is not a word of Greek either in Hesychius or ANYWHERE in the entire corpus of Greek. At issue of course is a particular usage of the genitive plural that you will find in any half-way decent Greek grammar.
In short, while Greek hypernationalism IS a real disease affecting the study of Macedonian, a much more serious disease, a cancer, that affects the study of any and all subjects is the ideology of scholarly superciliousness and supersiliousness, the very ideology of course that those familiar with my work see at work here and elsewhere every day, as the various mafias either simply ignore or seek to dismiss (as if they were the judge and jury) what I say on every topic.
In Pt. I will discuss the second Macedonian word with -z- from *-s-, and at some point a number of other Macedonian etymologies that show that this was a language quite different from all Greek dialects. It is in fact entirely possible that Phrygian was closer to Greek than Macedonian was.
![Research paper thumbnail of A Handful of Buddhist Tocharian B Nonpareils: (1a) aṅkānmitstse- (b) aṅkānmi (2) m[änt]- (3) snai aṅkānmi (4) ṣäñ śaumo (5) wilyu-](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/115979491/thumbnails/1.jpg)
]([…] the Trevelyans of 2050 […] will doubtless find it strange that so few sociologists (and histo... more […] the Trevelyans of 2050 […] will doubtless find it strange that so few sociologists (and historians) of the twentieth century could bring themselves, in their work, to treat science as one of the great social institutions of the time. […] Like other social institutions, the institution of science has its characteristic values, norms, and organization. […] Like other institutions also, science has its system of allocating rewards for performance of roles. […] (Merton 1957).
The ideology of professionalism that is so appealing to occupational groups and their practitioners includes aspects such as exclusive ownership of an area of expertise and knowledge, and the power to define the nature of problems in that area as well as the control of access to potential solutions (Evetts 2013).
They sentenced me to 20 years of boredom / For trying' to change the system from within. I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them (Leonard Cohen, First we take Manhattan, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTTC_fD598A).
And yes once again the pariah has solved problems that the "generals" did not. And of course the Gentle Readers will once again either ignore me or in a few cases (forgetting what the whole point of the Great Boycott is) will try to argue with me on Academia, while absolutely refusing to do debate with me on a level playing field in the real world.
Get this straight. I do not NEED any of you, and I certainly will NOT expect a rational discussion in the kind of forum that you people reserve for yourselves your litte friends and your little games. I am strictly posting things here and publishing in such journals and collections as invite me for the sake of the UNKNOWN READER. Of course, if anyone can prove me wrong by actually treating my work and me with respect, I am open to suggestions. And if I have to die before that happens, so be it. You all have locked yourselves behind the Walls of Silence in an Echo Chamber of Errrors. It is YOU who need ME to lead you out of there. Or not. Your choice. You can continue to support the kind of scholarship that confuses Buddhism with Midwestern US Christianity-and feel very proud of yourselves doing it.
Anyway the only thing of any value in this article is the last Wortspiel.
Just trying to show that Clemenceau and JFK were right. Ike too. The industriously militant com... more Just trying to show that Clemenceau and JFK were right. Ike too. The industriously militant complex of scholars boycotting me are not a danger to me. I am immune. They are a danger to YOU. And I am only 68 so I can afford to wait another 50 or 100 years for NONE of you to realize that and jump ship. In the meantime I am busy trying with the theory of lower back pain. Much as happened with my earlier etymology of buzagu, the curernt theory does not work very well at all. But the new etymology of buzagu does--and the lower back pain one -- I dont know yet but I do know one thing: Rémy Viredaz and Stefan Georg and their heroes will never solve lower back pain with their attitude. I at least have a shot.
My proposal explains everything, none of the competition explain anything. So the choice is clea... more My proposal explains everything, none of the competition explain anything. So the choice is clear. Keep ignoring me. This etymology dates back to 2010, and I had hoped that by now the wall of silence would have fallen. There is I think no point waiting for that. It certainly wont fall on its own. Maybe if we help it, though? What do YOU think?
Celtic *menādo-'awl' (a word for which Matasović-and who am I to disagree with an authority such ... more Celtic *menādo-'awl' (a word for which Matasović-and who am I to disagree with an authority such as Matasović?-says that "[n]o plausible IE etymology exists") in fact has a pointedly IE etymology-though of course you have ask Alex for it. Oh my, how horrible is that? Having to treat Alex as if he existed, as an equal even? It is simply the COMPOUND (I am so sorry, I know you live in perpetual fear of compounds) *menV-ado-. The root of the postpound is *h 2 ed-(= h 2 adin a saner notiation or indeed *aad-in the EffficientTheory), found in many words referring to the sharp ends of thing (yes, including, despite the Hetze against this comparison, the prepound 1 of English adze and Hitt. ates(sa)too). The prepound in principle could be harder because of the many *(H)me(H)n(H)-roots. Still, *men-'to stick out' pops into a MIND 2 that asks itself whether the word does not after awl refer to a tool with a projecting sharp end. No, really? I had no idea. As Olsen (????, ????) used to have (before she also decided to boycott me) the goodness to write about another result of mine, this is just "painfully simply". A CHEEKy etymology, too, whose MENTal reality will one day be seen as obvious, maybe not today or tomorrow and certainly not here, but in some other galaxy long, long into the future, a time and a galaxy where someone will finally admit that Alex was not such a totally DULL boy. And yes that is the only point really. How long must I wait? Or will even such trivial results as this too have to be recognized only posthumously?
How time flies when you keep brainwashing each other and yourselves and ignoring what I published... more How time flies when you keep brainwashing each other and yourselves and ignoring what I published in 2020--pretending to believe that I am being ignored because supposedly I dont publish (I didnt for 20 years but it makes no difference whether I do or not, you are all scared of my results and hope that by hiding from them you will suppress them--and so far you have been proven right). So now two more arguments (both from c. 2002 and since at various times Fabrice Cavoto and Joshua Katz said they understood them, I have to assume that they are not beyond the ken of anyone else with basic knowledge of hist lx, so there has to be another reason for the stonewalling). The first is that there ARE roots with a long vowel followed by a sonorant, which refutes THE KEY assumption of de Saussure's and specifically *mēn = *meh1n 'remain' is implied by the participle suffix *-mh1n-o-. The second is that the accentual/apophonic paradox of sanskrit krtvā noted by Schindler, Rasmussen, and Nikolaev proves that at that very early time when accent and ablaut were still automatic and not morphophonemic the inst. ending was not -VH i.e. a short vowel followed by a CONSONANT but rather -VV i.e. a long VOWEL, which the way human lgs work would be heavier than -VC and hence predictably more likely to attract the stress.
This is where I tried to show .... wait ... more interesting is that being by nature sick of the ... more This is where I tried to show .... wait ... more interesting is that being by nature sick of the academic verbosity that says nothing and having read that the great Alfred Kroeber refused to even read a thesis longer than 100 pages (this is in the book by his widow I think) and so feeling I had an academic superhero of the past in my corner, I originally wrote this thesis to have just under 100 pages. I do not unfortunantely have a copy of that classic. But Prof. Darden, my actual advisor (officially Prof. Gragg was my chairman), called me in and told me they could not have a PhD thesis of less than 100 pages. O tempora, o more is, I should have responded but just thought of that now. Anyway you CAN fight city hall but only if you have sufficient backing or resources. So I wrote some extra prose. So anyway here is where I tried, no where I did, show
that generative phonology in general fails from the very beginning in a number of quite spectacular respects, including every example cited of supposed evidence from versification, speech errors, secret languages, loan phonology, patterns of phononological change, etc. for the reality of the representations it posited (which are apparently still widely accepted) was either plainly wrong or at best could be equally well be analyzed in terms of a much more constrained theory. It seems to me that I was right on all these points, with subsequent research adding considerably to the argument. Among the highlights are discussions of French, Vedic Sanskrit, Kalevala Finnish, Old Norse, Latvian, etc. poetry, loan word phonology in the African language Nupe, and many of the other arguments that supposedly showed the psychological reality of the representations and derivations posited in generative phonology--but on close analysis show just the opposite. Yes, I am talking to YOU.
(Some of the other arguments were published later).
Fifth Meeting on Mathematics of Language Schloss Dagstuhl Germany August 25-28, 1997 Sponsored by The Association for Mathematics of Language (A Special Interest Group of the Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL)), 1997
We discuss the relevance of mathematical results on weak generative capacity. We contend that su... more We discuss the relevance of mathematical results on weak generative capacity. We contend that such results can (still) be relevant but that they must be handled with more subtle attention to detail than they normally receive. In particular, we show a recent [at the time] example of a model of morphology by Creider that involved a sharp increase in generative capacity that was completely unmotivated (which was essentially the same sort of thing that had happened in the 1950s in syntax, when transformational grammar was offered, complete with unconstrained generative capacity). We then show a modification of Creider's system that does not have the undesirable extra generative capacity--and argue that this is (part of) the right approach to this sort of problem.
The basic idea including the example and the automaton that can write only once (to mark the root of a word) were mine. The proof and all or almost of the writing were done by Walt, who also presented the thing at the conference. I wasn't even there so I couldn't have done. And, your honor, if I was and did, it was self-defense. And if it wasn't, they deserved what they got.