Re: what is etymology? (linguistics and biology)

(Owing to a systematic killrating campain and a new wave
of attacks against me in sci.lang I make an exception by
writing a message on an Easter morning)

Summary of the work done so far

One year ago I reconstructed an amazing lunisolar
calendar from symbols in the Lascaux cave. All the
calculations can be done by laying our patterns of
pebbles, and pleasing patterns they are. Developing,
handling, using and teaching such a calendar requires
a well developed language. Being a fan of experimental
archaeology I went for an experimental reconstruction
of Guyan (ghee-an) or Magdalenian, the language that
may have been spoken some 15,000 years ago in the
Guyenne (more generally in the Franco-Cantabrian
space, where those marvellous cave paintings are
found). First I worked on a more intuitive basis, mining
word fields in the some eight languages I learned, among
them ancient Greek and Latin. To my amazement a lot
can be said by means of very short words of two or three
letters. Soon I found a first law: inverse forms have closely
related meanings. Then followed a more general law:
permutations of three letters yield words around the same
meme (a term coined by the eminent evolutionary biologist
Richard Dawkins, combining gene with memory, and in
itself a very good meme, as Dawkins proudly says.)

This thread is devoted to parallels of biology and language.
I follow the model of evolution proposed by Nils Eldredge
and Stephen Jay Gould (and others before them): a new
species arises in a relatively short period of time, and can
then persist basially unchanged for eons. Also words have
a long live, the different meanings revolving around the same
meme. My probings into deep etymology encouraged me to
reconsider my attempt at reconstructing Magdalenian from
last year. I found two more laws: D-forms are comparated
in S-forms / important words can have a cluster of lateral
associations.

My fix points are words of an onomatopoetic build.
Once a word was established, inverse forms and further
permutations occured and had been given related meanings.
Thus the verbal morphospace (a term borrowed from biology)
was by and by filled up. Using my four laws of Magdalenian
I systematically mined ancient Greek, also Latin and other
languages, for groups of 6 or 12 or more words. I found many
of them, even a cluster of 72 related words. Tracing back one
single word is difficult, often impossible, while groups of 6 or
12 or even 72 words can't simply disappear. Mataphorically
speaking: one single animal may pass unobserved, while
a herd leaves traces ...

The traditional approach of understanding early language
relies on phonemes, but has the paradox effect that words
are noted in ever more complicated ways the farther one
goes back in time. One can soundly assume that early
words were very simple. Phonemes don't serve my purpose,
I study words on the physiological level, considering each
word a performance of the Tongue, the Lips, the Jaw and the
Throat. Apparently I am the only one who studies words that
way, and it amazes me.

It also amazes me how easily I can explain some names
that whithstood classical philology. David --- DA PAD --
away from activity of feet, delivered from the paw of the lion,
delivered from the feet of the bear, delivered from the hand
of Goliath. Poseidon -- PAS TON -- he who goes everywhere,
as easily as water does, overcoming each obstacle the way
rivers do, and makes himself heard wherever he comes to.
Arthur the dragon slayer -- ARC TYR -- the one who overcomes
even a cave bear (skulls and other bones of the long exctinct
animal have been misunderstood as remains of dragons).

Everybody is welcome to point out mistakes of mine, as long
as it is done in the scientific way, by means of scientific
arguments. Whereas I don't accept a prioris. There is no such
a thing as nobility in the scientific community. Everybody has
to argue. The rules of the scientific game are very simple.
Better arguments win, if not immediately then in the long run.

When I end a message of mine by "Regards" I am greeting
open-mineded readers, and if there are none of them around
here by now, then those who may come across my messages
later on in the archive.

Regards Franz Gnaedinger www.seshat.ch



GYN NYG, NGY YGN, YNG GNY --- woman
MAN NAM, MNA ANM, NMA AMN --- man

Last year I gave GYN for woman, and MHAYN for
the right hand. This year I go for the permutations
of GYN, while simplifying mhayn to MAN.

GYN --- woman; ancient Greek gynae for woman

NYG --- night, time one spends with a woman,
when the woman has the say; ancient Greek nyx
for night, Nyx was a powerful goddess, alter ego
of Gaia, her priestesses gave oracles, Latin niger
for black (color of the night, nectar for something
sweet (a drink, a fragrance)

NGY --- pretty and clean; ancient Greek naegateos
for clean, splendid, nakae for fleece (a fleece one
wears for cloth, or a fleece one sleeps upon)

YGN --- hygiene; from Greek

YNG --- a pregnant woman; ancient Greek enegkein
for to bear, bring, aorist of phero for I bring, having
brought, a woman who has brought a child into the
world, then, so GYN may have been a woman in
general, but more specifically a bearing woman or
a mother

GNY --- child; ancient Greek gnaesios for legitimate
(child), genuine, true (consider the old saying of truth
being the child of time)

MAN --- hand, especially the right hand, pars pro toto
for a man; Latin manus for hand, English hand for
a helping hand, a worker

NAM --- name, someone worth being named and
remembered by a name; Latin nomen for name

MNA --- virility; ancient Greek menos for (strong)
desire, eagerness, will, purpose, intention, anger,
vitality, strength

ANM --- to carry out, effect, case, bring about;
ancient Greek anymi anuo with the same meanings

NMA --- to make rules; ancient Greek nomaion for
custom, usus

AMN --- to sacrifice; ancient Greek amnion for
the sacrifical bowl


PS. to my previous message: CIL was a provisional
camp in an abri, while KOD was a permanent camp.
The female given name Lucille might come from
LIC CIL, light / luck plus fire of a camp in an abri,
the shine of a fire of a camp in an abri, a pleasant
sight, welcoming a group of returning hunters


LIC CIL, CLI ILC, LCI ICL --- fire in an abri

Last year I gave LIC for light, luck. Now I had a look
at the permutations and can make it more precise:
LIC was the fire in an abri, a provisional camp used
by a hunting party:

LIC --- light, luck

CIL --- fire in a camp, used for cooking, for giving warm,
for warding off animals such as bears, light given by the
fire, the lucky feeling of having a good fire burning; Latin
culina for kitchen, English kiln. Last year I mentioned
French cil for eyelash - we may think of an upshooting
flame sengein the eyelashes (a well-known phenomenon
to those who make camp fires). If also English kill should
come from hypothetical CIL we may think of torches that
were used as weapons: poles of green wood whose
sharpened ends were coated with birch pitch; an array
of flaming spears would have frightened even a cave bear

CLI --- abri; ancient Greek klisia for hut, tent, shelter,
seat, group of guests, klitus for slope, hill, klino for I bend,
turn, ward off, lean on, sink down, sit or lie down at a table,
perf. to be situated, live, dwell, English cliff

ILC --- an abri lighted up by camp fires; ancient Greek
aelektor for shining

LCI --- a site of an abri, land around an abri; ancient Greek
laxis for a lot of land, laxeutos for hewn into stone or rock

ICL --- to choose an abri for camping; ancient Greek
eklaesis for choice (another ek-word, then)

.

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    ... here this week in Routt National Forest for the annual Rainbow Family ... and drought than at any time in at least 120 years, fire experts say. ... heavily wooded Rainbow camp. ... management officer for the Forest Service in Steamboat Springs, ...
    (alt.gathering.rainbow)
  • Re: Does anyone have a copy of the NY Times article?
    ... here this week in Routt National Forest for the annual Rainbow Family ... and drought than at any time in at least 120 years, fire experts say. ... heavily wooded Rainbow camp. ... management officer for the Forest Service in Steamboat Springs, ...
    (alt.gathering.rainbow)
  • Re: Does anyone have a copy of the NY Times article?
    ... here this week in Routt National Forest for the annual Rainbow Family ... and drought than at any time in at least 120 years, fire experts say. ... heavily wooded Rainbow camp. ... management officer for the Forest Service in Steamboat Springs, ...
    (alt.gathering.rainbow)