[Glorantha] Re: Otherworld non-specific terminology

[Donald R. Oddy]

In message <01d901c67552$a2182fe0$0200000a at malkhome02> "Malk Williams" writes:

>>> What about "Anima"?
>>> Latin is our common forefather, after all.
>
>> Oh?  I speak a Germanic tongue, and the Finns do not even (natively)
>> speak an Indo-European one.  Not to mention that the Japanese Digest
>> readers use one that has no relation to either the Indo-Europen or
>> Finno-Ugaric groups.
>
>English is the common language being used on this list, 

Which means we should use English words unless there's a very
good reason not to. I'm sure those who's first language is not
English don't need obscure words they won't find in an English
dictionary.

>> It is quite consequential.  When they started developing "scientific"
>> names for everything, the English used Latin or Greek because they were
>> different enough from common speech that they had no connotations, let
>> alone denotations. 
>
>I don't know for sure, but I very much doubt that.  There are an 
>abundance of English words that are easily traced back to their 
>Latin origins.

It isn't true, for centuries the common language for most of Europe 
was Latin and up until the 20th Century both Latin and Greek were 
required to study at university level. So a scholar in one country
could write to one in another country in Latin and expect to be read 
and understood. The use of Latin and Greek terms followed naturally 
from that.

-- 
Donald Oddy
http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/