From: naddy@mips.inka.de   
      
   On 2024-04-20, Aidan Kehoe  wrote:   
      
   > > "The most difficult step in the study of language is the first step. Again   
   > > and again, scholarship has approached the study of language without   
   actually   
   > > entering upon it. Linguistic science arose from relatively practical   
   > > preoccupations, such as the use of writing, the study of literature and   
   > > especially of older records, and the prescription of elegant speech, but   
   > > people can spend any amount of time on these things without actually   
   > > entering into linguistic study."   
   >   
   > A very small-tent approach, odd to take it as someone academically senior,   
   who   
   > might be thought to have reason to increase his area of interest. Rules out   
   > PTD’s ‘The World’s Writing Systems’ for one.   
      
   It's not clear to me that the systematic study of writing systems   
   is covered by the preoccupations listed above.  I think it translates   
   to "people's musings about language before 1800 or so", with a few   
   notable exceptions (Pāṇini, First Grammarian).   
      
   --   
   Christian "naddy" Weisgerber                          naddy@mips.inka.de   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)