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“SWADESH” refers to The Swadesh List, a group of 100 or so words that are are similar in most languages.
It is a list (or group of lists) showing the historical similarity in languages.
Everything in this song after the word “Glottochronology” is from the Swadesh List.
Music: Michael W. Dean
Words and speech: Phil Wormuth
LYRICS:
Speaking Swadesh
An exercise in linguistic glottochronology
Fish grease, dry claw, feather, egg –
louse-belly, knee, hand…
Bark dog! (tail what ear?)
This hair know rain, smoke, ash, sand.
Mountain cloud say cold – bite.
Tooth and tongue eat sun.
Eye see tree, seed, leaf, root –
burn the ear, eye, nose, mouth,
belly, breasts, heart, liver.
Eat yellow bird, swim; one-two…
hear dry horn bark hot.
Lie, sleep, die.
Good night. Dry moon walk black path.
your statement of what the Swadesh list is and of the properties of the words on it is quite wrong. The main thing, the music, is great though.
Thanks on the music!
I rewrote my description to remove a theory and stick with the facts. How’s it now?
MWD