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Is "ma" Proto-World? (Re: Re: Comparison of philosophical languages)

From:Danny Wier <dawier@...>
Date:Wednesday, January 22, 2003, 0:27
From: "Joe" <joe@...>

> Yes, but the probability of it actually staying phonologically similar
over
> 20,000 years or so is very low. I could draw an origin to this obsession > with 'ma' as a feminine marker of some kind, which seems to be common to > nearly all languages, and the obvious connection with breasts.
That's another word that's common in many languages for "mother". (But |mama| is "father" in Georgian!) That is probably because "ma" might be the easiest syllable to utter for an infant beginning to learn to speak. The theoretical word *maliq'a- seems to be a combination of the "ma" utterance and onomatopoeia, the sound of sucking. Which leads me to this question... there's a belief among some that there is a single language, spoken by God or angels in heaven (and the Devil if applicable), that's a "primordial" tongue spoken by the first humans. Obviously the story of the Tower of Babel in the OT is a clear case, but what about other mythologies (and con-mythologies)? Is there, say, a Proto-Middle Earth perhaps? ~Danny~

Replies

Bryan Maloney <slimehoo@yahoo.com> <slimehoo@...>
Peter Bleackley <peter.bleackley@...>