LINGUIST List 5.1234

Sat 05 Nov 1994

Qs: Lang change, Bijection principle, Urdu, Writing systems

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. "Christopher A. Johnson", Query: Inflected and Positional Languages
2. , Bijection Principle
3. Vincent DeCaen, urdu tense-aspect
4. , QUERY: List About Writing Systems

I have been wondering about the evolution of inflected and positional
languages. How and why did English evolve from a mainly inflected language
into a mainly positional one? The same question applies to most of the
Romance languages as well. Are there any living or dead Sino-Tibetan
languages that are inflected? Has a positional language ever involved
into an inflected language?

I'm sorry if the topic seems basic or the terms are not used properly. I
am only beginning my study of linguistics. Any responses and/or
references would be most appreciated.

Chris Johnson cjohnsonbronze.coil.com

On page 6 of _Barriers_ Chomsky refers to the 'Bijection Principle' but
gives no explanation. My memory has failed me and I cannot remember the
specifics of the principle he refers to. Can any of you refer me to a
concise description of the principle? I've checked all of the
dictionaries of linguistics I can think of as well as Chomsky's other
writings and have found nothing.

Micheal Palmer
Mellon Research Fellow in Greek Linguistics
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

According to grammars, the Urdu present tense is compositional:
present participle plus present of to be. According to Bailey (1956),
this construction can only be used for the English simple present
tense. According to Bailey p.139, the English present progressive
must be rendered by V raha (stay) plus to be. Yet other grammars do
not mention this construction or this aspectual problem, viz. that the
Urdu present is also somehow perfective, i.e. excluding the progressive.
 Any clarification in this matter would be appreciated.

Would anyone know of a list that would deal with writing systems either in
general (i.e. hyeroglyphic, syllabic, etc...) or in relation with specific
languages (ex: Japanese - Katakana, Hiragana, Kanji) ??

Thanks in advance,

Marie Claude
MARIECALVIN.DGBT.DOC.CA