What's the difference between Arabic and Sanskrit

[George Thompson]

I mistakenly sent this note only to Dominik yesterday.  Perhaps it
will be of some small interest to others.

George

On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 8:44 PM, George Thompson <gthomgt at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear Dominik, et al.,
>
> It is worse than you think.  I have been an occasional visiting
> lecturer at a "university" campus in my forlorn New England state.
> Over the past few years I have gotten phone calls from students
> wanting to study Arabic with me.  These students were given my phone
> number by FACULTY MEMBERS who did not know the difference between
> Sanskrit and Arabic!
>
> It is not just tattoo parlors that badly need our help.  Other
> so-called scholars need us too.  This is a "university", by the way,
> that has no language programs, beyond a little Spanish.  No French or
> German.  No Latin or Greek.  No Arabic or Sanskrit.  Nothing. And yet
> it still  chooses to call itself a university.
>
> Well, a good sign is that some of the students are starting to
> complain.  I have been helping them.
>
> George
>
> On Sun, Oct 2, 2011 at 4:09 PM, Dominik Wujastyk <wujastyk at gmail.com> wrote:
>> I came across this post in a Yahoo site just now.  It made me gasp aloud.
>>
>> Jennifer asks,
>>
>>> What is the difference between sanskrit and Arabic?
>>>
>>> I wanted to get a tattoo in Arabic because I have an egyptian fascination
>>> and want a consistent flow of relativity on my body seeing as how I already
>>> have an ankh. A friend of mine told me I should get sanskrit because it is
>>> more closely related to egypt. And I think Arabic is prettier.
>>
>> In fact, Jennifer has received five informative answers, setting her
>> straight, one even explaining Panini and the Astadhyayi.  The correspondent
>> "Z" makes an unassailable truth claim by asserting "I am arabic."
>>
>> The conclusion we must draw is that tatoo parlours badly need more
>> Indologists.  And Arabists, and Egyptologists.
>>
>> Dominik
>>
>>
>