[lit-ideas] Re: Borgesiana
- From: david ritchie <profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2015 09:56:06 -0800
On Nov 23, 2015, at 9:26 AM, (Redacted sender "Jlsperanza" for DMARC)
<dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Spain was once a colony of Rome, and I love the story of the Gibraltar
gate, as made by Hercules in one of his days! The way to the pillars was a
favourite sport for Romans (who of course, as the etymology goes, loved to
roam).
But after the Romans left, the Goths came, and oddly, they were not able to
leave ONE word of Goth origin in the lingo! (except, as I recall, 'gain',
and perhaps 'guerre'). In this respect, it may do to compare the Germanic
influence left by the Franks (who spoke Low Franconian) on French and the
Germanic influence left by the Goths in Iberia.
I would think there is, linguististically, a continuum between the Roman of
Rome and the Gibraltarian of Gibraltar -- and the funny thing is that this
continuum crosses three or four lingos in between: Italian, French,
Provençal, and Catalonian, before you get to Spanish! (And don't dare call a
Catalonian a Spaniard!) --. So Borges is probably overgeneralising.
Don’t forget Hannibal’s dad. I’m currently reading Andreas Kluth, “Hannibal
and Me.” When I heard that Hannibal’s family name was Barca I quipped to my
daughter that Cartheginians were Barcelona supporters. Turns out they were;
they invented the place. I wonder what linguistic legacy they left. We’re
forever reading that this or that piece of language is leftover from the
Romans. What about the Phoenecians then? Didn’t they scatter words about? I
know they were a little backward in their reading and their alphabet was
lacking (only twenty-two letters). I have done extensive research on the
subject (checked *two* websites), and so I know that the alphabet went, by way
of Greece, through the Etruscans to Rome.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the thing we most miss from Phoenician
culture—we can do without sacrificing first borns to Baal—is elephant farms.
Surely somewhere there’s a first rate novel about Hasdrubal the Elephant
Farmer? Maybe Borges wrote one?
David Ritchie,
would-be elephant farmer in
Portland, Oregon
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