Search found 17 matches

In all this nobody has mentioned how it is the Normans themselves gave up speaking Norse and started to speak French and how long that took and whose theory that supports. Would be interested to know ...

I think "rational" was probably a favourite word of eugenicists. Of course it has a respectable meaning but it is often used as a weasel word by anoraks who prefer to overlook emotional con ...

Eugenics went out of fashion after the second world war because of revulsion at the way the Nazis pursued it. There were motions passed in international bodies like the UN condemning it. However measu ...

Seems to me you have got into evolution-denial Mick and where does that put you or leave you?

It is difficult to conceive of whales, for example, evolving from land dwelling creatures but there is ...

"I was doing some thinking this morning about how every meal in every culture involves some mix of protein and carbs. Everyone eats carbs, everywhere, which is why I find it hard to believe there ...

I have been rather tied up trying to finish something and haven't had time to log on very often. Sorry.

'scientific' researchers from one discipline are under the impression that the assumptions they draw on from another discipline are equally 'scientific'.
Very true - I have found that this has been a ...

What Geoff says makes a great deal of sense. An earlier suggestion that languages had somehow originated in the Americas seems to me completely off the wall when we know as certainly as we know anythi ...

and I have several times been told that Scots and Welsh Gaelic speakers can't understand a thing the other says.

does anybody know whether it is true today?
I have been told by Gaelic speakers on the West coast of Scotland that it can be quite difficult for them to understand a Gaelic speaker from a different s ...

Hatty says: "I was under the impression that surnames are a relatively recent introduction and that people were known by first names plus moniker referring to personal attributes."

Accord ...

Is this the Danelaw?

Have you looked at the distribution of surnames as a way of studying regions and testing some of your ideas or extending them - Mick or anybody else? There has been quite a bit ...

"I still think the north of the Humber thing is a bit odd"

There are a number of factors about the north of England that don't seem to have been mentioned yet and may be relevant here.
...

Sometimes epistemology is no help. Knowledge is needed - at least as the starting point. Can anyone assist?

Good point - Burns was probably writing for the Edinburgh ladies and their daughters who had been given elocution lessons - so he needed to emphasise the difference in pronunication and so establish a ...

Author	Message
Topic: How Fast Do Languages Change?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 735 Views: 533145	Forum: Linguistics Posted: 1:29 pm Subject: Normans
Oliver Gillie Replies: 735 Views: 533145	In all this nobody has mentioned how it is the Normans themselves gave up speaking Norse and started to speak French and how long that took and whose theory that supports. Would be interested to know ...
Topic: Inside Every Fat Person
Oliver Gillie Replies: 183 Views: 248387	Forum: Health Posted: 1:02 pm Subject: Inside Every Fat Person
Oliver Gillie Replies: 183 Views: 248387	I think "rational" was probably a favourite word of eugenicists. Of course it has a respectable meaning but it is often used as a weasel word by anoraks who prefer to overlook emotional con ...
Topic: Inside Every Fat Person
Oliver Gillie Replies: 183 Views: 248387	Forum: Health Posted: 1:05 pm Subject: Inside Every Fat Person
Oliver Gillie Replies: 183 Views: 248387	Eugenics went out of fashion after the second world war because of revulsion at the way the Nazis pursued it. There were motions passed in international bodies like the UN condemning it. However measu ...
Topic: Inside Every Fat Person
Oliver Gillie Replies: 183 Views: 248387	Forum: Health Posted: 6:52 am Subject: Inside Every Fat Person
Oliver Gillie Replies: 183 Views: 248387	Seems to me you have got into evolution-denial Mick and where does that put you or leave you? It is difficult to conceive of whales, for example, evolving from land dwelling creatures but there is ...
Topic: Inside Every Fat Person
Oliver Gillie Replies: 183 Views: 248387	Forum: Health Posted: 10:28 am Subject: Inside Every Fat Person
Oliver Gillie Replies: 183 Views: 248387	"I was doing some thinking this morning about how every meal in every culture involves some mix of protein and carbs. Everyone eats carbs, everywhere, which is why I find it hard to believe there ...
Topic: How Fast Do Languages Change?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 735 Views: 533145	Forum: Linguistics Posted: 8:47 am Subject: How Fast Do Languages Change?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 735 Views: 533145	I have been rather tied up trying to finish something and haven't had time to log on very often. Sorry.
Topic: How Fast Do Languages Change?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 735 Views: 533145	Forum: Linguistics Posted: 7:16 pm Subject: How Fast Do Languages Change?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 735 Views: 533145	'scientific' researchers from one discipline are under the impression that the assumptions they draw on from another discipline are equally 'scientific'. Very true - I have found that this has been a ...
Topic: How Fast Do Languages Change?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 735 Views: 533145	Forum: Linguistics Posted: 6:52 am Subject: How Fast Do Languages Change?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 735 Views: 533145	What Geoff says makes a great deal of sense. An earlier suggestion that languages had somehow originated in the Americas seems to me completely off the wall when we know as certainly as we know anythi ...
Topic: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Forum: British History Posted: 6:24 pm Subject: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	and I have several times been told that Scots and Welsh Gaelic speakers can't understand a thing the other says.
Topic: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Forum: British History Posted: 5:53 pm Subject: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	does anybody know whether it is true today? I have been told by Gaelic speakers on the West coast of Scotland that it can be quite difficult for them to understand a Gaelic speaker from a different s ...
Topic: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Forum: British History Posted: 7:45 am Subject: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Hatty says: "I was under the impression that surnames are a relatively recent introduction and that people were known by first names plus moniker referring to personal attributes." Accord ...
Topic: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Forum: British History Posted: 6:38 pm Subject: Danelaw
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Is this the Danelaw? Have you looked at the distribution of surnames as a way of studying regions and testing some of your ideas or extending them - Mick or anybody else? There has been quite a bit ...
Topic: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Forum: British History Posted: 12:32 pm Subject: .
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	"I still think the north of the Humber thing is a bit odd" There are a number of factors about the north of England that don't seem to have been mentioned yet and may be relevant here. ...
Topic: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Forum: British History Posted: 2:46 pm Subject: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Sometimes epistemology is no help. Knowledge is needed - at least as the starting point. Can anyone assist?
Topic: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Forum: British History Posted: 11:11 am Subject: Scotching the Scotch : from the east or from the west?
Oliver Gillie Replies: 186 Views: 216009	Good point - Burns was probably writing for the Edinburgh ladies and their daughters who had been given elocution lessons - so he needed to emphasise the difference in pronunication and so establish a ...