RE: [Y-Indology] Explaining discontinuities in culture

[Guest guest]

naga_ganesan on Friday, May 18, 2001 1:28 PM wrote:

 

"Incidentally, does the TKS systems include Dravidologists from reputed

universities from India and the West? Very detailed explanations of

trees, plants, flowers - for 100s of them can be found in 2000+ years

old sangam poetry. In fact, sangam poetry is nothing else except

Nature. When the bhakti tradition starts in Shaivism and Srivashnavism

that sweeps across entire India, the stalavrikshams of each shaiva and

vaishnava temples are told elaborately in the massive corpus of Tamil

bhakti poems....... When TKS study gains strength, the importance of

Classical Tamil texts

will become readily apparent."

 

RESPONSE:

 

Its very important that Tamil texts be studied for TKS. In fact, ALL

languages are important to include in this re-discovery of intellectual

property that is indigenous but that got either appropriated or fell into

disuse/abuse. Indologists should consider this a great opportunity to become

pragmatic about applications of their skills in the real world lives of

millions today. Any sources and contacts you have should be referred to us

offline, as we wish to collect such skill centers.

 

On your other comment, I agree that diffusion is a complex matter. My

examples were meant to show that different items transmit in different ways.

Often scholars give an example here and there of words that got transmitted.

While the entire grammar might not transmit based on casual contact,

individual words could. Even complex grammar - in case of Tibetan language

its Sanskrit grammar but there no migration of DNA.

 

RM

[Guest guest]

>-Arun Gupta: wrote:

>> > Counter-question : how much non-IE influence is discernable

>> > in Vedic Sanskrit ? How much non-IE influence is discernable

>> > in ancient Greek ? Quantify this, and then explain how the

>> > same model can apply.

>> > -Arun Gupta

 

>.... post implies that it is either the Greek model or OIT

>with no other possibilities. But is not the correct test of

>a language replacement model that it explains the observed

>outcomes ?

 

The model of language replacement/acculturation/substrates applies both in

Greece and in S. Asia, as well as, e.g., in the Germanic language area

(words such as "sheep/schaap/schaf"!) Or, ancient Japan...

 

In Greece, e.g. the name of the chariot (!) harmat-, not *rot(h)-, for

king (basileus), or note that pottery tends to remain local and non-IE,

keramos, keramion, kantharos, aryballos, lekythos, depas, phiale.... and

many place names, e.g. in -nthos...

 

 

Similar story in India, see EJVS Sept. 1999 and in a few days, EJVS 7-3:

http://nautilus.shore.net/~india/ejvs/

 

Will annnounce it when ready.

 

 

 

 

========================================================

Michael Witzel

Department of Sanskrit & Indian Studies, Harvard University

2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138, USA

 

ph. 1- 617-496 2990 (also messages)

home page: http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm

 

Elect. Journ. of Vedic Studies: http://nautilus.shore.net/~india/ejvs/