Friday, October 31, 2003

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Quotes - The Quotations Page


Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Quotes - The Quotations Page:

"A word is not a crystal, transparent and unchanging, it is the skin of a living thought and may vary greatly in colour and content according to the circumstances and time in which it is used.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr."

Thursday, October 30, 2003

Occitania and the Occitan Language


One of the readers of my LexiLine site sent me a question for information about the Occitan language.

Here is a link to the best short general online site I could find on Occitania and the Occitan, including a map of the territory in which the language is spoken.

A fine scholarly treatment is found at the Stanford Rosetta Project.

See also
Folkworld
Provencal
The Occitan Language vs. the French State

Wednesday, October 08, 2003

Word Herders


We read at Word Herders.net: Word Herders:

"The stark contrast of black ink on white paper occasionally lead some to believe that words are static, passive animals, frozen in the lines of their imprinting. This is a misconception.
Words are mobile creatures. They come in a variety of forms - angry sputtering, sighed eloquence, sharp wit. Their crisp outlines belie their intricate, puzzling interiors. Words are reports, tidings, news, information. Rumors, promises, undertakings. Utterances, inscriptions. Maxims and proverbs. They prefer the fine line of inference, confusion, and misconception, all given with a steady gaze. They pay as little attention to the intentions of meaning as they do to the wagging discipline of taxonomy. "