Nassim Nicholas Taleb

@nntaleb ↗

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Last Checked May 26, 2022

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Wed May 11 11:47:02 +0000 2022

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Nassim Nicholas Taleb @nntaleb

In English one cannot read a novel >200y. But between Cato I & Isaac Newton, Latin remained invariant (>1800 y). "Classical" lang. by definition must transport across time. Class. Arabic has a span of 1700 y; attracted diglossic authors who spoke at home another lang. 3/n — PolitiTweet.org

Posted May 11, 2022

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Nassim Nicholas Taleb @nntaleb

A lingua franca is needed for science & business, so requires spatial consistency. Words must have the same meaning in Oxford & Krasnodar. But a missed point is that it must also be read across generations. Syriac did not change a bit between Ephrem & Bar Hebraus (1000 y). 2/n — PolitiTweet.org

Posted May 11, 2022

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Nassim Nicholas Taleb @nntaleb

So it's a mistake to lump spoken & scholarly languages together. Scholarly languages can adapt but must remain backward-compatible. Hence they must not be spoken in casual. Diglossia: the Swiss use a dialect in private, High German in board meetings. Even in France. 4/n — PolitiTweet.org

Posted May 11, 2022