LINGUIST List 7.664

Mon May 6 1996

Qs: Referentiality, Millenium, Yiddish, Maldives

Editor for this issue: Ann Dizdar <dizdartam2000.tamu.edu>

Directory

1. Ziv Yael, evidentials and referentiality
2. Hartmut Haberland, Re: Millenium
3. "Mr. Brown", Yiddish
4. Gregor Erbach, Maldives

I am trying to get information on the potential linguistic
codification of the attributive / referntial distinction (a la
Donnellan). Specifically, do languages exemplifying evidentiality
markers codify this distinction? Are there special pronominal
codifications such as the English: WHOEVER WHATEVER ? Any other
codification ? Modality, aspectuality - relevant? Will post a summary
if anything interesting comes up. Yael Ziv zivhum.huji.ac.il

A related question to Corey Miller's query about the first years of the
upcoming millenium:

The years from 1990-1999 are, of course, called the nineties. The years from
2020-2029, will, in due course, be the twenties. (Although one might wonder:
the 'twenties were really the nineteentwenties. Are we heading for the
twentytwenties?) But what will the decades in between be called?

What were the first decades of this century called? Does anybody have data
about this? Maybe the usage is not old enough to have been applied then?

The problem is not only one in English. I was, actually, made aware of it
when a friend of mine brought up the question with regard to Danish. In
German, you could at least try to say 'die zehner Jahre' in analogy to 'die
zwanziger Jahre', but even German must admit defeat if it come to first
decades of centuries. Any other cross-linguistic data available?

Hartmut Haberland
hartmutruc.dk

I have a poem in english that I would like translated into Yiddish. Can
anyone help me?

Swimgirl55aol.com
Subject: divehi

I received the following question. Can anyone help?

> From: Swimgirl55aol.com
> Date: Wed, 1 May 1996 20:14:11 -0400
> To: erbachcluster.dfki.uni-sb.de
> Subject: divehi
>
> HELLO, I AM DOING A PROJECT ON THE MALDIVES. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO
> FIND A COPY OF THE THAANA AKURU SCRIPT. I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD TELL
> WHERE I MIGHT FIND A COPY OF IT!?
>
> SINCERELY,
> KERRI A. :)