http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2005/09/26/against-homogenisation/ Everyone has a right to my opinions Sun, 20 Jul 2008 16:49:11 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/2005/09/26/against-homogenisation/#comment-130478 Robert Sharp » Blog Archive » The Extinction of a Language Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:07:34 +0000 http://www.robertsharp.co.uk/?p=33#comment-130478 [...] I doubt very much that my inital thought, that the Eyaks of Alaska are some kind of Eskimo (or Esquimaux, as Chesterton has it), is correct. Nevertheless, their Northerly homeland does remind me of the story about how Eskimo’s have fourty words for snow (or is it fifty? Or a hundred?) What special, specific thoughts and words have we lost now that Mrs Smith Jones has passed away? Matthew Parris, writing in the Spectator last week, says “I know exactly what I mean. I just can’t think of the word for it” referring to those Meaning of Liff or Meaning of Tingo type words that should exist, but do not. How many words, phrases and thoughts could the Eyak have taught him? [...] [...] I doubt very much that my inital thought, that the Eyaks of Alaska are some kind of Eskimo (or Esquimaux, as Chesterton has it), is correct. Nevertheless, their Northerly homeland does remind me of the story about how Eskimo’s have fourty words for snow (or is it fifty? Or a hundred?) What special, specific thoughts and words have we lost now that Mrs Smith Jones has passed away? Matthew Parris, writing in the Spectator last week, says “I know exactly what I mean. I just can’t think of the word for it” referring to those Meaning of Liff or Meaning of Tingo type words that should exist, but do not. How many words, phrases and thoughts could the Eyak have taught him? [...]

]]>