Re: [OT] Re: the Ethnologue

[Doug Ewell]

Marion Gunn <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>>   Hindi, Hindustani, Urdu could be considered co-dialects...
>
> Mm. Maybe a more polite (more PC) turn of phrase might be found than
> "could be considered co-dialects", which more than implies, it
> postulates the existence of a standard language referent of which the
> above "could" be considered dialects.

Mmm.  I hadn't thought of it that way.  The impression I got from the
prefix "co-" was one of equality among peers, as in "co-author" or
"co-champion"; but now I recognize a separate, contrasting sense of
"co-" to denote subsidiary status, as in "co-pilot."  I suspect the
Ethnologue staff intended the former (polite?) sense, but it could be
intepreted either way as desired.

What fun language is!

-Doug Ewell
 Fullerton, California