The Spanky Show

[Spanky]

Wow - this is great. The civil war rifle question had been bugging me for years. Now I know the answer. He is another question (or questions), that I have Googled but not have found an answer to. From Morocco to Kabul there are only really four major languages in the Middle East.

1) Arabic is spoken from Morocco in the West to Syria in the Northeast down to Yemen in the south east. Although the accents get really thick, the phoenetic writing is the same through the Arab world. Someone from Yemen can barely understand someone from Morocco because the accent but everyone can pretty much understand the Egyptian accent (some say dialect). That is because of Egypts central location. They share liteature.

2) Kurdish is spoken in Southeastern turkey, Northwestern Iran, Eastern Syria and Northern Iraq.

3) Persian or Farsi is spoken in most of Persia except where Azerbaijani (Turkish), Kurdish, and Arabic (Khosistan next to Iraq) are spoken. Fifty percent of Afghanistan speaks farsi (where it is called Dari) and Tadjikistan. So farsi is spoken from a continuous strip starting in Tehran running through afghanistan and then into Tadjikistan. I have found out that the accents get thick but someone in norther Tadjikistan can understand someone from Tehran. They also share the same liteature.

4) Turkish is spoken in Turkey, Northeastern Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgistan, Uzbekistan and northwestern China (Sinkiang province where Kashgar is located).

Given the above here are my questions.

1) Each "Turkish" country has its own ethnicity - Turkmens, Kazaks, Azeris and Uighers which implies to me that they have their own language. However, they all are "Turkish". So can someone from Uzbekistan talk to someone from Kazakhstan (they are both neighbors and Turkish). Can someone from Istanbul talk to a Uigher in Kashgar which is about three thousand miles away? And do they share the same liteature like all the Arabs and the farsi speaking people do? I do know that Turkey dropped the arabic script in the 20s. Did that cut them off from the rest of the Turkish world as far as liteature. What do the Uighurs use as script?

2) There are Pan-Turks (people that want to unite all turks), Pan-Arabs (people that want to unit all arabs) and nationalist Kurds that want to unite all Kurds. Even in Eastern Afghanistan there are the Pashtuns and there are pan-pashtuns that want to unite the pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. How come there is no Pan-persians. I have not ever heard of any group or movement that wants to unite the farsi speaking people of the middle east. Even though they have the same liteature, the same language and the are the people occupy is continuous.

3) Can all Kurds talk to eachother. Do they have a common script?

[Spanky]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch


An interesting basic answer to your earlier question is found here:

David Stroud & Byron Johnson[/list]
Link.

That was amazing. Thanks for that.

For Fringy and notcasesensitive: Please take note. The above is an example of a substantive answer to a question. When someone asks a question they are looking for an answer like the response above. I know that is hard to grasp, but mindless ramblings are not what is being requested.

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Spanky
Wow - [etc.]

You've got to be fucking kidding me. I'm really glad paigow invented this board.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Spanky
Given the above here are my questions.

And here are my answers. But see the disclaimer.

1) Each "Turkish" country has its own ethnicity - Turkmens, Kazaks, Azeris and Uighers which implies to me that they have their own language. However, they all are "Turkish". So can someone from Uzbekistan talk to someone from Kazakhstan (they are both neighbors and Turkish). Can someone from Istanbul talk to a Uigher in Kashgar which is about three thousand miles away? And do they share the same liteature like all the Arabs and the farsi speaking people do? I do know that Turkey dropped the arabic script in the 20s. Did that cut them off from the rest of the Turkish world as far as liteature. What do the Uighurs use as script?

The premise of your questions is in error. Dialects of Arabic are so different that it is a mistake to assume that all Arabs can understand each other. Hell, my Roman father can't understand my Neapolitan relatives when they speak in their dialect, even though it's all supposedly "Italian."

I assume the same problem extend to dialects of Turkish, so I doubt that the average Istanbul-ian can understand the average Uigher. And I think their culture is quite different, largely because Ataturk so dramatically changed the culture of Turkey -- making it more secular, more western, less Asian.

2) There are Pan-Turks (people that want to unite all turks), Pan-Arabs (people that want to unit all arabs) and nationalist Kurds that want to unite all Kurds. Even in Eastern Afghanistan there are the Pashtuns and there are pan-pashtuns that want to unite the pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan. How come there is no Pan-persians. I have not ever heard of any group or movement that wants to unite the farsi speaking people of the middle east. Even though they have the same liteature, the same language and the are the people occupy is continuous.

No, because the pan-this-and-that movements generally result from artificial borders having been imposed by imperial powers, generally but not exclusively western powers, that drew new lines but did not impose deeper cultural changes -- the result being that people felt liked the belonged to one "nation", even if they lived in another. The same problem exists in Africa, but because the ethnic groups are so much smaller and more disparate you don't see the same sort of "pan" movements (and, politically, African leaders wisely decided after the independence movements took hold that they would keep the colonial borders. Possibly the only outbreak of collective wisdom among African leaders.)

3) Can all Kurds talk to eachother. Do they have a common script?

Yes, despite great efforts to surpress the use of the language and script in Turkey and Iraq (and possibly in other countries).



Disclaimer: I made up all of my answers. They are probably wrong. Don't use them on a test.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by Spanky
Long discussion with questions.

By the way, I'm beginning to understand why you don't get laid often.

[SlaveNoMore]

Spanky
That was amazing. Thanks for that.

For Fringy and notcasesensitive: Please take note. The above is an example of a substantive answer to a question. When someone asks a question they are looking for an answer like the response above. I know that is hard to grasp, but mindless ramblings are not what is being requested.

If Less was here, he'd say:

[notcasesensitive]

Originally posted by Spanky
That was amazing. Thanks for that.

For Fringy and notcasesensitive: Please take note. The above is an example of a substantive answer to a question. When someone asks a question they are looking for an answer like the response above. I know that is hard to grasp, but mindless ramblings are not what is being requested.

I'm afraid you've made an error on your assumptions. Maybe two.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Spanky
That was amazing. Thanks for that.

For Fringy and notcasesensitive: Please take note. The above is an example of a substantive answer to a question. When someone asks a question they are looking for an answer like the response above. I know that is hard to grasp, but mindless ramblings are not what is being requested.

My name actually has no capital letters either. I am somewhat sensitive to case. And what slave said is what I was actually saying. So you need to bitch at him too.

[Spanky]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
If Less was here, he'd say:

I already stated I tried to find the answer to these questions. Why don't you show the board wait a lame "Googler" I am.

[Spanky]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
My name actually has no capital letters either. I am somewhat sensitive to case. And what slave said is what I was actually saying. So you need to bitch at him too.

It is funny that you mention that because Slave was actually saying what LessinSF would say. And you and NCS are minor leaguers compared to LessinSF. I have never heard LessinSF say "I don't know" to a question although I have probably asked him a thousand questions he did not know the answer to.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Spanky
It is funny that you mention that because Slave was actually saying what LessinSF would say. And you and NCS are minor leaguers compared to LessinSF. I have never heard LessinSF say "I don't know" to a question although I have probably asked him a thousand questions he did not know the answer to.

I can't speak for ncs, but I for one am heartbroken that I am not even close to achieving my goal, to be the quintessential less.

[SlaveNoMore]

Spanky
It is funny that you mention that because Slave was actually saying what LessinSF would say. And you and NCS are minor leaguers compared to LessinSF. I have never heard LessinSF say "I don't know" to a question although I have probably asked him a thousand questions he did not know the answer to.

He's probably STILL answering a few of them, to those in reasonable earshot.

Originally posted by Spanky
I have never heard LessinSF say "I don't know" to a question

Really? You've never been with him in a parking lot in Vegas when the cops asked "who's your friend who just took off running?"

[Spanky]

Originally posted by ironweed
Really? You've never been with him in a parking lot in Vegas when the cops asked "who's your friend who just took off running?"

No but I was asked "who's your friend bleeding all over the craps table?".

Really

Originally posted by Spanky
No but I was asked "who's your friend bleeding all over the craps table?".

Really

Omerta