Thor! (Grice Gets Anglo-Saxonist)

Kramer, somewhere, criticises me for honouring Latin too much.

(Grice honoured Grecian more)

"Surely you are not expecting", Kramer writes, "that your beloved Lingua Latina was spawned from the brains of Juspiter like that".

No. But I think some of their distinctions were lost on the Etrurians. Perhaps it's the way they dressed? (The Etrurians, I mean).

I'm pretty sure the Anglo-Saxons (such as Grice was) had similar problems. Consider Quirk/Wrenn, OE Grammar, p. 38





sing. pl.

he she it they


nom he heo hit hi

acc hine hi hit hi

gen his hire his hira

dat him hire him him



"Hi are there"

could mean, to an Anglo-Saxon (talk of Grice's timeless meaning is otiose here, seeing that William killed them all):

i. 'They-male are there'

ii. 'They-female are there'

iii. 'They-neither male nor female are there'.

Not to mention:

iv. They -- I mean, everybody, hes, shes and its,
were there.

Most confusing.

Etc.