In a message dated 2001-02-28 01:59:18 Pacific Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes (regarding Serbian and Croatian):
> I think that the difference between the two is comparable to the difference
> between British and American English. (Oops! I am a Latino, not an Anglo,
so
> change last 4 words to "Spanish and American Castillian" :-)
To the extent this is true, it does clear things up quite a bit for me (both
the English and Spanish analogies). Others on this list have pointed out
cultural, literary, and religious differences, but of course these do not
necessarily make separate languages. American and British English definitely
have their own distinct literary heritages.
I understand that John's sentence was an abbreviated form and he meant to
speak of Serbian writers and Croat writers using what he considers to be
essentially the same language. I also understand that "are these two
languages the same?" is a loaded question and one that cannot really be
answered. So perhaps I should drop this ill-advised digression.
> (Oops! I am a Latino...)
FYI, in the U.S. or at least in Southern California (with its large Mexican
population), "Latino" is commonly understood to mean "Latin-American" or
specifically "Mexican."
-Doug Ewell
Fullerton, California
