Has anyone ever truly considered the meaning behind Herodotus' claim that "all Persian words end in 's'”? Especially in light of Soviet academics scoffing at the idea—did they think he had lost his mind? After all, isn’t it common knowledge that Greek words end in "s"?
If we dismiss the notion that Herodotus was mistaken or irrational, we must acknowledge some fundamental truths:
The words of Herodotus’ language did not end in "s." However, this contradicts the Greek text of his work, where nearly every second word does end in "s." This suggests Herodotus was not writing in Greek.
Greek likely borrowed its characteristic “s” endings from Iranian languages—and did so after Herodotus’ time, let alone Homer’s.
This raises fascinating questions about linguistic evolution and the transmission of phonetic traits across cultures! Do you think this aligns with your broader research on Kartvelian linguistic influences?
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