Comparative linguistics--advantage--criteria desired

[Michael Witzel]

PK Manansala:
>For example, someone writes
>"it came straight from the horse's mouth."  Herr Witzel, in a future
>life still as an historical linguist, might interpret this as meaning
>present day rishis were able to actually talk to horses.


Tuan/Señor Manansala is wrong, comme l'habitude:

rather, a philologist -- (I am not a linguist by profession, incidentally,
though I have a
lot of training in that area) --  will soon find out that this is a saying.

Derived, no doubt, like all Anguli-sthaana speech and folklore, from the
real horse's mouth, given by the ancient Rishi Dadhyanc Atharvana, to the
Ashvins.

These, incidentally, are the ancestors of the English subgroup of the Druhyu
that emigrated from India. Too bad that  Talageri etc. did not notice it: the
first Englishmen are  Hengist ('stud', German: Hengst) and Horsa...

All Hail to these Thanes!

MW



===========================================================================
Michael Witzel                          Elect. Journ. of Vedic Studies
Harvard University                  www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs
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my direct line (also for messages) :  617- 496 2990
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Michael Witzel
Department of Sanskrit & Indian Studies, Harvard University
2 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge MA 02138

ph. 617-496 2990 (also messages)
home page:     www.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/mwpage.htm

Elect. Journ. of Vedic Studies:         www1.shore.net/~india/ejvs