3 ms·

Very disappointing article, and a reminder to me that, when the headline is a question, the article rarely contains the answer. It's as though the author went

Very disappointing article, and a reminder to me that, when the headline is a question, the article rarely contains the answer. It's as though the author went down a rabbit hole of her own curiosity for a couple hours, came up with next to nothing, but had to justify the time spent.

politelemon 3y ago
Yes I was thinking a better title would be, "It is difficult to determine the oldest language"
- linguistics__ 3y ago
  Well, the question is in reality either unanswerable (we don't know - and may never know - how many and when the first proto-language(s) emerged) or meaningless (all live natural languages go back as far as we can reconstruct or attest to).
  - detourdog 3y ago
    I have started to plan some earth mounds. I keep walking over the same ground contemplating the optimal setting. Once I figured that out it occurred to me that it would be fun to make them 3 sizes small, medium, and large. The idea has evolved to the point where I'm now estimating quantity of stones and relative size based on seating capacity of the mound. I won't it even get in to site the entrances towards the east... My point, I think is that a simple tweaks to earth mound can evolve a complex language by using similar shaped river stones at different scales. The final result of the first phase will 7 mounds of 3 sizes and one large elevated platform. I realized doing planing the easiest way to communicate my idea to landscapers was to find a stone of each size to use a reference. I could then describe how many of which type go where. before covering with earth. Once they are done we start to mark celestial events with special stones from far away places to mark the significance...
flir 3y ago
> It's as though the author went down a rabbit hole of her own curiosity for a couple hours, came up with next to nothing, but had to justify the time spent. Authors have daily standups too?
xbar 3y ago
I felt the author was justified in failing to yield an answer by posing the title in the form of a question. You were not going to get an answer, you were going to explore a question. An article that gives an answer would have said "<insert language> Is The World's Oldest Language." My suspicion is that we have been clickbait-trained to expect answers when the title is a question. I prefer this structure.
- blueyes 3y ago
  Speaking as a former journalist, I would say: It's the job of reporters to do more than explore a question. Their job is to surface new and useful information for readers, and then prioritize it. And the job of the headline is to telegraph to readers what that information may be, reflecting their priorities. It is a sign of a failed process of reporting if one can do no more than explore a question, and present a collection of dead ends. If the reporter can't name the oldest language, then she might write a piece focused on why it's so hard to determine which language is oldest. Or she might tell the story of how nationalism drives scholars of Chinese, Sanskrit and Tamil to stake the claims they do. There are probably several great stories there. That is, part of the process of reporting is framing a question that can be answered in a way that allows her to present new and relevant information. The reporter of this piece, and her editors, did not meet that standard.

politelemon 3y ago

Yes I was thinking a better title would be, "It is difficult to determine the oldest language"

linguistics__ 3y ago
Well, the question is in reality either unanswerable (we don't know - and may never know - how many and when the first proto-language(s) emerged) or meaningless (all live natural languages go back as far as we can reconstruct or attest to).
- detourdog 3y ago
  I have started to plan some earth mounds. I keep walking over the same ground contemplating the optimal setting. Once I figured that out it occurred to me that it would be fun to make them 3 sizes small, medium, and large. The idea has evolved to the point where I'm now estimating quantity of stones and relative size based on seating capacity of the mound. I won't it even get in to site the entrances towards the east... My point, I think is that a simple tweaks to earth mound can evolve a complex language by using similar shaped river stones at different scales. The final result of the first phase will 7 mounds of 3 sizes and one large elevated platform. I realized doing planing the easiest way to communicate my idea to landscapers was to find a stone of each size to use a reference. I could then describe how many of which type go where. before covering with earth. Once they are done we start to mark celestial events with special stones from far away places to mark the significance...

flir 3y ago

> It's as though the author went down a rabbit hole of her own curiosity for a couple hours, came up with next to nothing, but had to justify the time spent. Authors have daily standups too?

xbar 3y ago

I felt the author was justified in failing to yield an answer by posing the title in the form of a question. You were not going to get an answer, you were going to explore a question. An article that gives an answer would have said "<insert language> Is The World's Oldest Language." My suspicion is that we have been clickbait-trained to expect answers when the title is a question. I prefer this structure.

blueyes 3y ago
Speaking as a former journalist, I would say: It's the job of reporters to do more than explore a question. Their job is to surface new and useful information for readers, and then prioritize it. And the job of the headline is to telegraph to readers what that information may be, reflecting their priorities. It is a sign of a failed process of reporting if one can do no more than explore a question, and present a collection of dead ends. If the reporter can't name the oldest language, then she might write a piece focused on why it's so hard to determine which language is oldest. Or she might tell the story of how nationalism drives scholars of Chinese, Sanskrit and Tamil to stake the claims they do. There are probably several great stories there. That is, part of the process of reporting is framing a question that can be answered in a way that allows her to present new and relevant information. The reporter of this piece, and her editors, did not meet that standard.