Tuesday, April 04, 2017
Question about genomes
Following on thoughts about Macedonian.....
The linguistic genome, like the biological genome, began with enormous complexity and then simplified over time. Each 'primitive' language is meant to protect private communication within the tribe or family, so it's fantastically complex. Outsiders can't hope to master it. As a tribe broadens, the language simplifies. Sometimes a language or creature gets too simple to handle the existing circumstances, so it adds more complexity.
Q: Can we ascribe any meaning to the choice of simplification? When Macedonian loses noun cases, does that mean the people feel the need for more precision in action and less precision in describing things?
The same question for biological genes is easy to answer. After turtles grew a shell they didn't need speed or agility, so they didn't bother to regenerate speed or agility. After humans learned how to build nests we didn't need hair, so we didn't bother to keep it.
Labels: Grand Blueprint
¶ 1:26 AM
