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Minhast/Dialectology: Difference between revisions
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The reclassification of Classical Minhast has received especially scathing criticism from native Minhast grammarians and linguists. Dr. Tashunka proposed in another paper, "On the Position of Classical Minhast and the Modern Languages", that Classical Minhast was actually a prestige dialect spoken by another nomadic northern Minhast tribe, similar in lifestyle and social structure to today's modern Horse Speakers. He argues that this northern Minhast tribe, like the Horse Speakers, were extremely warlike and at one time may have united all of the Minhast groups under their rule, essentially forming a tribal empire. As a result, the speech of this northern tribe became a prestige dialect throughout all the Minhast groups. | The reclassification of Classical Minhast has received especially scathing criticism from native Minhast grammarians and linguists. Dr. Tashunka proposed in another paper, "On the Position of Classical Minhast and the Modern Languages", that Classical Minhast was actually a prestige dialect spoken by another nomadic northern Minhast tribe, similar in lifestyle and social structure to today's modern Horse Speakers. He argues that this northern Minhast tribe, like the Horse Speakers, were extremely warlike and at one time may have united all of the Minhast groups under their rule, essentially forming a tribal empire. As a result, the speech of this northern tribe became a prestige dialect throughout all the Minhast groups. | ||
There are two sources that suggest that a powerful tribe did gain political and military ascendancy in ancient Minhay. One is from the ''Anyaddaddaram'' (The Epic of Anyar), passed orally from generation to generation before finally being written down in Classical Minhast in the indigenous poetic genre known as the ''seksarambāt''. With close to 40,000 words, the epic tells of a young man named Anyar who fled the army of an invading empire and convinced all of the Minhast tribes to unite and drive away the invader. Anyar then gathers a large fleet and sets sail to attack the empire on its own soil. The poem abruptly ends, ''"Annūyikmammā tamaššuhapmakikman"'', "And they set sail in pursuit of the enemy". Another source comes from an outside nation, the Rajahnate of Kirmay. An anonymous court historian wrote ''Dagitoy a Sursurat ti Amianan a Pag'arian'' (The Book of the Northern Kingdom), widely regarded as an ancient treatise about the Empire of Yamato. However, various passages suggest that the kingdom in question was not Japan, as illustrated by the following passage: ''Dagiti kawes dagiti tatta'u dutdút a nalamúyut gapú ta ti ul'ulida nakalalam'ek, ket ti danúm nagbalbalin kasta ti batú. Ngem | There are two sources that suggest that a powerful tribe did gain political and military ascendancy in ancient Minhay. One is from the ''Anyaddaddaram'' (The Epic of Anyar), passed orally from generation to generation before finally being written down in Classical Minhast in the indigenous poetic genre known as the ''seksarambāt''. With close to 40,000 words, the epic tells of a young man named Anyar who fled the army of an invading empire and convinced all of the Minhast tribes to unite and drive away the invader. Anyar then gathers a large fleet and sets sail to attack the empire on its own soil. The poem abruptly ends, ''"Annūyikmammā tamaššuhapmakikman"'', "And they set sail in pursuit of the enemy". Another source comes from an outside nation, the Rajahnate of Kirmay. An anonymous court historian wrote ''Dagitoy a Sursurat ti Amianan a Pag'arian'' (The Book of the Northern Kingdom), widely regarded as an ancient treatise about the Empire of Yamato. However, various passages suggest that the kingdom in question was not Japan, as illustrated by the following passage: ''Dagiti kawes dagiti tatta'u dutdút a nalamúyut gapú ta ti ul'ulida nakalalam'ek, ket ti danúm nagbalbalin kasta ti batú. Ngem nu agawid idiay balbalayda, napudút ta isúda dutdút a nalamúyut met'', "The men wore fur because their homeland was cold, the water becoming hard as stone; but after returning home, their houses were warm, for they too were of fur"<sup>6</sup>. This passage is especially peculiar: unless the author was referring to Ainu enclaves in the island of Honshu in northern Japan, no native Japanese home is constructed out of animal hides or fur. Nevertheless, these suggestive passages in both the ''Anyaddaddaram'' and ''Dagitoy a Sursurat ti Amianan a Pag'arian'' are not sufficient to prove that a northern tribe speaking a dialect that would later become Classical Minhast conquered the other Minhast tribes and spread their dialect. | ||
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<small><sup>5</sup> Many Minhastic linguists, including Dr. Tashunka, argue that the Stone Speaker dialect should be reclassified as an independent language, based on how divergent it is from the other dialects. See discussion above. | <small><sup>5</sup> Many Minhastic linguists, including Dr. Tashunka, argue that the Stone Speaker dialect should be reclassified as an independent language, based on how divergent it is from the other dialects. See discussion above. | ||
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<small><sup>6</sup> Presumably the author is actually referring to animal hides with regards to the construction of the homes. | |||
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<small><sup> ‡</sup>Dr. Tashunka notes, ''"Limited attestation hinders the classification of the Knife Speaker dialect. However, based on what texts we do have, we can determine which branches the Knife Speaker dialect does ''not'' belong to. The presence of Golahat words rules it out as a member of the Northern and Western Branches; the absence of ''-we-'' after application of the ''uyyi min kirim''-test rules it out as a member of the Gullic branch. Dialectal mixing between the Heron Speakers and Stone Speakers is absent, but a few Stone Speaker words crop up in the Knife Speaker texts; this provides evidence that the Knife Speaker dialect should not be considered a member of the Insular Branch. This leaves only two other candidates, the Coastal and Montaigne groups, which the Knife Speaker dialect may grouped under, or it may even constitute a separate branch."'' </small> | <small><sup> ‡</sup>Dr. Tashunka notes, ''"Limited attestation hinders the classification of the Knife Speaker dialect. However, based on what texts we do have, we can determine which branches the Knife Speaker dialect does ''not'' belong to. The presence of Golahat words rules it out as a member of the Northern and Western Branches; the absence of ''-we-'' after application of the ''uyyi min kirim''-test rules it out as a member of the Gullic branch. Dialectal mixing between the Heron Speakers and Stone Speakers is absent, but a few Stone Speaker words crop up in the Knife Speaker texts; this provides evidence that the Knife Speaker dialect should not be considered a member of the Insular Branch. This leaves only two other candidates, the Coastal and Montaigne groups, which the Knife Speaker dialect may grouped under, or it may even constitute a separate branch."'' </small> | ||