Linguistics on Quora

Q I

Can a language lose a whole word permanently through sound changes, for example, if a word consists of only a single sound and that sound is lost?
https://www.quora.com/Can-a-language-lose-a-whole-word-permanently-through-sound-changes-for-example-if-a-word-consists-of-only-a-single-sound-and-that-sound-is-lost/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl

Hans-Georg Lundahl

I speak two langs, Latin and Germanic. In a few dialects.

Answered just now

If a word consists of only a vowel, the vowel will not be lost.

Even if the vowel is lost in other positions, it will not be lost in that one.

Other examples, more realistic, can a language by sound changes lose distinctions between two words and the answer is yes.

In the Latin of Gaul - what is now known as French - solum (the soil) and solem (the sun) were losing the distinctions between last syllables, both would become “sol”, if continuing.

Now, “sol” is only used for solum, the soil, while solem is replaced with the modern equivalent if soliculum “the little sun”.

Of the soil and the sun, the sun is (to the naked eye, without reference to astronomy) the smaller of the two. Hence this preservation of a useful distinction by intelligent design countering the language devolution.

Q II

Can bilinguals think in their less dominant language?
https://www.quora.com/Can-bilinguals-think-in-their-less-dominant-language/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl

Same user and credential

Answered just now

Yes, otherwise they would not be truly bilinguals.

Q III

Do bilingual people dream in their first language or their second language?
https://www.quora.com/Do-bilingual-people-dream-in-their-first-language-or-their-second-language/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl

Same user and credential

Answered 11m ago

In the one they use most often, or the ones they use most often.

Q IV

How do you think in a foreign language?
https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-think-in-a-foreign-language/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl

Same user and credential

Answered 50m ago

Like I speak or write or read in it : by getting used to it.

Q V

How can one tell the difference between a grammatical case and some other kind of morpheme? In some languages the difference isn't always very clear?
https://www.quora.com/How-can-one-tell-the-difference-between-a-grammatical-case-and-some-other-kind-of-morpheme-In-some-languages-the-difference-isnt-always-very-clear/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl

Same user and credential

Answered 46m ago

Case is clearly one of the grammatical categories of morphemes.

In some languages the case morpheme fuses with the singular or plural morpheme, so that for instance -um is accusative singular and -os is accusative plural for some Latin words.

This does not mean the difference is not clear, but that the same morpheme has two purposes in one, both case and number.

Case is the morpheme which decides how a word is used in a sentence, which of course means that in some languages (including even Latin) the number of prepositions is a minimal estimate of microcases, and in some (notably English, but in some cases! Latin) word order functions as a case morpheme.

Q VI

If only one language was spoken around the world (different languages wouldn't have emerged) would there be a positive or negative result?
https://www.quora.com/If-only-one-language-was-spoken-around-the-world-different-languages-wouldnt-have-emerged-would-there-be-a-positive-or-negative-result/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl

Same user and credential

Answered 17m ago

Since Nimrod’s time, the result would have been evil.

That is why God made the first 70 or 72 languages other than Hebrew emerge.

Language facilitates collaboration, and collaboration over the whole globe can be a very totalitarian thing.

Q VII

Is Persian (aka Farsi) an up-to-date language? Can someone use Persian and discuss medical and technological subjects easily?
https://www.quora.com/Is-Persian-aka-Farsi-an-up-to-date-language-Can-someone-use-Persian-and-discuss-medical-and-technological-subjects-easily/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl

Same user and credential

Answered 1h ago

Any language can be so with a little notice.

As Farsi is not loangiving language for modern terminology, it has somewhat less problems than Latin, which sometimes has conflicting meanings between a word in Latin per se and its use as a loan in modern contexts.

Discriminare is for instance not “discriminate” in the PC connection, but more like a cook needs to be “discriminating” in his raw materials and hence to do the act of discriminare.

In Latin, the basic idea would be “iniustum discrimen facere”.

Farsi only needs to adapt “discriminate” to Farsi sound system.