Comparative linguistics

[Sam Garg]

Thank you for clarifying. Your credentials certainly are impeccable.
Contrary to the tone of my post, I did not intend any disrespect towards you
and do admire/ respect every scholar on this list.

My objection is based on your insistence, as evidenced from your posts of
the last few days, that comparative ligusitics is/ must be/ should be the
final arbiter of things Indological.  Here is a brief background which will
serve as my rationale for my objection.

Born in India and living in Canada for the last 25 years, I've fed my
passion for Indology by reading every available history/ analysis book or
article on India (ancient, medieval and modern).  In order to get answers on
some key 'open' issues, I brought myself up to date on the histories of Sri
Lanka, Iran, Iraq, the Gulf area, Middle East, Turkey and Europe.
Unfortunately, most of those questions remain unanswered.  Comparative
lingusitics has had over two centuries to prove their Indological models but
have been unable to do so.  How much more time will be needed?

In the meanwhile, we amateur Indologists (here I speak only for my own
group) have become increasingly sceptical of 'classic' interpretations of
Indian history.  I do not use the word 'classic' pejoratively as I have no
political axe to grind and have only recently become aware of the 'paradigm
shift movement' 2 months ago.  Since it is we 'amateurs' who, in turn,
actually disseminate this down to the 'masses', this scepticism will also be
pushed down.  It is then that Comparative lingusitics risks becoming
irrelevant.

Sanjay


>From: Robert Zydenbos <zydenbos at GMX.LI>
>Reply-To: Indology <INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK>
>To: INDOLOGY at LISTSERV.LIV.AC.UK
>Subject: Re: Comparative linguistics
>Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 21:48:51 +0100
>
>Am Sun, 19 Mar 2000 schrieb Sam Garg:
>
> > BTW, would you also not classify as an 'amateur Indologist'?  I presume
>you
> > are NOT a PhD in Indology?
> >
> > Sanjay
>
>Just for your information, because you asked: no, I am a D.Litt. As for
>professionalism, I have taught Indological subjects at universities on
>three
>continents, including the University of Madras.
>
>--
>
>Dr. Robert J. Zydenbos       ( <-- maybe I should add this more often)

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