Thanks Sansahansan,

But no thanks. The traditional path outlined by yourself I leave to the professional linguists. More power to them. That's what they do. The information I have offered is not "shaky", it is simply unfamiliar, and from a different angle. I am not a linguist. Neither was Abram the Black, who was the principle Seminole interpreter for many years. (and possibly a distant relative) If I have a problem with my car, I take it to a mechanic, not an engineer. I will say this, I have made certain predictions based on my overall model which fell right into place. Actually beyond my expectations. This gives me more confidence than anything else that my basic approach is in order. I have cited a few examples above for introductory purposes. Yet it is my systematic approach that will sustain or derail my proposals.

A number of the patterns I noticed while studying the nuances of the various Muskogee dialects turned out to be patterns already known to linguists. Yet by coming into them from the "bottom up" rather than the top down, we can sometimes notice relationships that a traditional expert might miss. OTOH, I have also noticed patterns that linguists seem entirely unaware of.

Incidentally, Abram's name is consistent with an Arabic word meaning "Interpreter". Officers noted the the Indians called him Yobly, and also the "Prophet". Actually, Obali is the primary Muskogee word for 'Prophet". However, to sort of work in reverse, there was no true'R" in Muskogee. Thus a name with "R" , such as Abram (or sugar) often ends up being morphed into a l-dialect equivalent. Abram---Ablam---Obaalaam--Obaalee--Yobly. It's not rocket science. It's not "shaky". You simply have to pay attention.

there is a depiction of Abram here...

[en.wikipedia.org]









Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/2011 11:16AM by Sam.