CRISTIANOS, CRISTIANOU
Paul O. Wendland
wendlanp at wls.wels.net
Fri Oct 25 06:56:50 EDT 2002
Jim:
You wrote:
> nor is it likely that the common herd wandering the
> marketplace
> in rome or the common herd in the agora of athens used word
> endings with such
> precision as we are being led to believe.
>
> hence, there are two errors being committed here. first, the
> generalization
> stating that latin and greek endings are identical and second the
> false or at
> least unsubstantiated belief that the average person of the first
> century (in
> rome or athens) was as grammatically adept as carl or waldo appear to be.
I don't believe there's anything in Carl's or Waldo's answers to suggest
that they a) thought of the average marketplace lounger as a GRAMMATISTHS or
b) believe that Latin and Greek are identical.
One doesn't have to be a grammarian to use loanwords. One doesn't have to
be a grammarian to use words whose formation is not native to your language.
I believe that in the mosaic of cultures that was the 1st Century Roman
empire, it is certain that Greek borrowed from Latin, and Latin borrowed
from Greek. Looking in Moulton/Howard volume on accidence, I read, "-IANOS
Latin is also responsible for [this] extended suffix -IANOS. Stems in -i-
took the normal Latin termination -anus to denote a follower of a party
leader." (p. 357).
Blessings!
Paul
===============================
Paul O. Wendland
Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
wendlanp at wls.wels.net
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