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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!floyd!whuxlb!pyuxll!eisx!npoiv!npois!hogpc!houxm!ihnp4!ihuxr!stanwyck
From: stanwyck@ihuxr.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: Foreign Words
Message-ID: <650@ihuxr.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 19-Sep-83 10:16:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxr.650
Posted: Mon Sep 19 10:16:01 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 20-Sep-83 22:37:39 EDT
References: <525@sdcrdcf.UUCP>
Organization: BTL Naperville, Il.
Lines: 27


The author of the original article suggested that oriental languages have
tones.  While that is true for some oriental languages (i.e.Chinese, Thai,
etc) it is not true for Japanese.  Japanese is a strange language from the
linguistic point of view.  It is not related language-family wise to any
of it's neighbors.  It is usually classed with Afganistani (sp?) and is
perhaps related to one or two of the minor south pacific island languages.

It is not related at all to Chinese or any of the south-east Asia languages.
No tones in Japanese, but lots of synonyms that serve to make the language
an interesting one.

My qualifications on Japanese are not the greatest.  I graduated from a 
Japanese high school in 1973, but have not used the language since about
late '73 except for occasional conversations here in the U.S.  I have
also studied Chinese, and worked as a Chinese linguist from 1974-78, 
doing Chinese-English translations.  Both languages have become very rusty,
but I still remember most of the concepts of the languages, though not all of
the vocabulary.

don stanwyck : 312-979-6667 : ihnp4!ihuxr!stanwyck : bell labs @ naperville 

p.s.  I gave up on natural languages when I decided I wanted to be able to 
	support my family.  I now specialize in formal (unnatural?)
	languages, and probably make a better salary than I ever could have
	as a Japanese or Chinese (or both) linguist.  But I still find
	the field of linguistics fascinating, even if I can't spell.