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October 22, 2005

Some Good Advice

As part of my effort to regain whatever skills I may have once had in interpreting those ancient texts from Ugarit, I have been working my way through Patrick Bennett's Comparative Semitic Linguistics: A Manual. On page 24 Bennett gives six principles on how to make the task of comparative linguistics manageable. It occurs to me that these six principles are very good advice for anyone doing comparative analysis in almost any field. Of course, one would need to substitute appropriate examples and details for say paleoanthropology, art, religion or literature but Flexibility, Economy, Understanding, Redundancy, Judgment and Fairness seem good principles to live by in almost any intellectual endeavor.

Here is how Bennett applies his six principles to comparative linguistics:

  • FLEXIBILITY: If you are aiming for a 100-word comparative list, begin with 150 entries to allow for items that need to be dropped. If you want Tigre as your representative of modern Ethiopic, be prepared to switch to Amharic if you find you cannot locate enough of the type of material you need.
  • ECONOMY: Since the size and complexity of a comparative study will be limited by the least-documented languages, do not begin by comparing the two best-documented. First extract all available information from your smallest sources.
  • UNDERSTANDING: Before using a source for comparative purposes, get to know it. How is it arranged? What does it include and exclude? How does its transcription system compare with other sources? Practice locating information in it.
  • REDUNDANCY: Whenever practical, consult multiple sources for each language. One will make up for deficiencies in the other.
  • JUDGMENT: Check alternative sources for compatibility and accuracy. Use the most complete, up-to-date, and reliable sources available, recognizing that in some cases the most up-to-date may not also be the most reliable.
  • FAIRNESS: Avoid the temptation to choose between alternatives on the basis of how well one suits your needs. The word drawn from a source because it matches entries from other languages may well reflect the author's misinterpretation.

Posted by Duane Smith at October 22, 2005 4:23 PM | Read more on Odds and Ends |

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