Visualising Infinity: The Trouble With Languages : The problem I have is not with the observation that these catego

» pseudoerasmus - The problem I have is not with the observation that these catego

The problem I have is not with the observation that these categories called languages and dialects are taxonomic conventions (as opposed to facts of nature), but with calling them "fictions". That word implies that these classifications are useless, mendacious and even nefarious. Anyone who says that "dialects" and "languages" don't really exist just because they're conventions should really brush up on their philosophy of language (in the sense of Wittgeinstein).

Also, I still find it amusing and ironic that the very Henderson who piously intones that the "dialect model" is a weapon, recently toed the abominable Beijing propaganda line that Cantonese, Fujianese and Wu (the language of Shanghai) are "dialects". This, despite the fact that these languages differ from one another at least as much as do the French of Paris and the Spanish of Madrid.

Also, would Henderson please cite a source for the claim that Hitler made claims on England, Norway, Holland and other countries "on the grounds that these countries speak dialects of German"? As far as I know, Hitler had no territorial claims on England (as opposed to merely seeking the defeat or withdrawal of Britain from the war), and his claims to Germanic countries were based on a common "race", not language.

-- posted by pseudoerasmus