"Fall" derives from the Greek "sfallo" (Philological Room) Language Learning Forum

"Fall" derives from the Greek "sfallo"
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GibberMeister Bilingual Pentaglot Groupie Scotland Joined 5808 days ago 61 posts - 67 votes Speaks: Spanish, Catalan, Lowland Scots, English, Portuguese	Message 2 of 7 05 January 2009 at 11:09am \| IP Logged
	More likely to be a cognate than the origin I think. 1 person has voted this message useful
Marc Frisch Heptaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6665 days ago 1001 posts - 1169 votes Speaks: German*, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian Studies: Persian, Tamil	Message 3 of 7 05 January 2009 at 1:30pm \| IP Logged
	As are many of the etymologies Neos has posted here. I have consulted several etymological dictionaries to verify his claims, but more often than not, they didn't concur with him. 1 person has voted this message useful
Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7156 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish	Message 5 of 7 05 January 2009 at 5:32pm \| IP Logged
	Umm... You do realize that etymological research didn't totally stop in the 19th century. Your inflating of Greek's contribution to English vocabulary is a good prodding for some more rational users (e.g. Marc Frisch) to consult more updated and reputable works to see that your ancestors' tongue is not as mighty in its contribution to English etymology as you would like for the uninitiated to believe. You should also realize that European philologists of the 18th and 19th century tried hard to show that their cultures had direct lineage with Greco-Roman culture. It was all part of an European culture that held idealized views of Greco-Roman culture and lusted for a connection to the days of Alexander the Great or Augustus. Whether that connection was as strong in reality was beside the point. This fetish was (and still seems to be) a source of national pride or nationalism for natives of the eastern Mediterranean, yet it did comparative linguistics a disservice as it ruined the integrity of intellectuals interested in languages as they were already carrying prejudices of which languages should be related to their own. It was a surprise for these intellectuals to have seen similarities between the "untouchable" Greek with Sanskrit - the ancestral language of (in colonialists' eyes) the supposedly inferior people of India. It should be added that these similarities between European languages and Sanskrit were first noted accidentally by a judge - no intellectual interested in linguistics at that time seemed to have bothered or seriously considered the idea of a connection because it was culturally abhorrent to Europeans. Thankfully, comparative linguistics today has moved away somewhat from the fanciful days and it continues to develop and make new discoveries - some of which cast doubt on the ideas of yesteryear. 1 person has voted this message useful
GibberMeister Bilingual Pentaglot Groupie Scotland Joined 5808 days ago 61 posts - 67 votes Speaks: Spanish, Catalan, Lowland Scots, English, Portuguese	Message 6 of 7 05 January 2009 at 6:28pm \| IP Logged
	My point is this particular case. Apart from the fact that there seems to be an agenda on the go to make EVERYTHING come from Greek, rather than leaving it in its rightful sister branch place. Why would Germanic borrow a Greek term in the cednturies preceding Christ? Little logic there. They may be cognate terms but yet again 'fall' may come from a root like 'PALL-' or something similar. Just seems very doubtful to me. 1 person has voted this message useful
Giordano Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 7174 days ago 213 posts - 218 votes 3 sounds Speaks: English, Italian, French Studies: Cantonese, Greek	Message 7 of 7 06 January 2009 at 3:32pm \| IP Logged
	Put windex! (Has anyone seen the Canadian movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", where the father Mr. Portokalos tries to tie everything back to Greek?) 1 person has voted this message useful

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GibberMeister Bilingual Pentaglot Groupie Scotland Joined 5808 days ago 61 posts - 67 votes Speaks: Spanish, Catalan, Lowland Scots, English, Portuguese	Message 2 of 7 05 January 2009 at 11:09am \| IP Logged
	More likely to be a cognate than the origin I think. 1 person has voted this message useful
Marc Frisch Heptaglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6665 days ago 1001 posts - 1169 votes Speaks: German*, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Turkish, Italian Studies: Persian, Tamil	Message 3 of 7 05 January 2009 at 1:30pm \| IP Logged
	As are many of the etymologies Neos has posted here. I have consulted several etymological dictionaries to verify his claims, but more often than not, they didn't concur with him. 1 person has voted this message useful
Chung Diglot Senior Member Joined 7156 days ago 4228 posts - 8259 votes 20 sounds Speaks: English*, French Studies: Polish, Slovak, Uzbek, Turkish, Korean, Finnish	Message 5 of 7 05 January 2009 at 5:32pm \| IP Logged
	Umm... You do realize that etymological research didn't totally stop in the 19th century. Your inflating of Greek's contribution to English vocabulary is a good prodding for some more rational users (e.g. Marc Frisch) to consult more updated and reputable works to see that your ancestors' tongue is not as mighty in its contribution to English etymology as you would like for the uninitiated to believe. You should also realize that European philologists of the 18th and 19th century tried hard to show that their cultures had direct lineage with Greco-Roman culture. It was all part of an European culture that held idealized views of Greco-Roman culture and lusted for a connection to the days of Alexander the Great or Augustus. Whether that connection was as strong in reality was beside the point. This fetish was (and still seems to be) a source of national pride or nationalism for natives of the eastern Mediterranean, yet it did comparative linguistics a disservice as it ruined the integrity of intellectuals interested in languages as they were already carrying prejudices of which languages should be related to their own. It was a surprise for these intellectuals to have seen similarities between the "untouchable" Greek with Sanskrit - the ancestral language of (in colonialists' eyes) the supposedly inferior people of India. It should be added that these similarities between European languages and Sanskrit were first noted accidentally by a judge - no intellectual interested in linguistics at that time seemed to have bothered or seriously considered the idea of a connection because it was culturally abhorrent to Europeans. Thankfully, comparative linguistics today has moved away somewhat from the fanciful days and it continues to develop and make new discoveries - some of which cast doubt on the ideas of yesteryear. 1 person has voted this message useful
GibberMeister Bilingual Pentaglot Groupie Scotland Joined 5808 days ago 61 posts - 67 votes Speaks: Spanish, Catalan, Lowland Scots, English, Portuguese	Message 6 of 7 05 January 2009 at 6:28pm \| IP Logged
	My point is this particular case. Apart from the fact that there seems to be an agenda on the go to make EVERYTHING come from Greek, rather than leaving it in its rightful sister branch place. Why would Germanic borrow a Greek term in the cednturies preceding Christ? Little logic there. They may be cognate terms but yet again 'fall' may come from a root like 'PALL-' or something similar. Just seems very doubtful to me. 1 person has voted this message useful
Giordano Bilingual Triglot Senior Member Canada Joined 7174 days ago 213 posts - 218 votes 3 sounds Speaks: English, Italian, French Studies: Cantonese, Greek	Message 7 of 7 06 January 2009 at 3:32pm \| IP Logged
	Put windex! (Has anyone seen the Canadian movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", where the father Mr. Portokalos tries to tie everything back to Greek?) 1 person has voted this message useful