Subject: (urth) Dead Languages; Literally, "Apu-Punchau"?

From: Mitchell A. Bailey <mab at lindau.net>
Date: Thu, 01 Apr 1999 21:47:06 +0000

I was hip from the first with the fact that Latin was used in BNS as a
stand-in for some language which to Severian was "dead", but from our
perspective probably has not even come into existence yet.

Until some points made in the recent "Thorn" discussions, however, it
never occured to me to question the literal authenticity of the name
"Apu-Punchau". The name is Quechua, the tongue of the Incas of Peru, and
means roughly "Lord Sun-God". I'm not a Quechua scholar, but I am
interested enough to own a book which includes a Quechua glossary. 

I'm wondering if the use of Quechua is a substitution of the same sort
for some future autochthonous language, or whether Sev actually traveled
back in time to live among the pre-imperial Inca, c. 1200 AD?

For what it's worth, Chatelaine Thea thought English, a dead language
remembered by a few scholars in her time, was amusingly ambiguous.

*More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/

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From: CRCulver <crculver at aol.com>
Date: Fri, 09 Apr 1999 22:07:05 +0000

In a message dated 4/1/99 8:23:30 PM EST, MAB at lindau.net writes:

<< For what it's worth, Chatelaine Thea thought English, a dead language
 remembered by a few scholars in her time, was amusingly ambiguous. >>

Yes, she remarked that she didn't know how a language where "present" had two 
meanings ("now" and "gift") could endure such confusion.

<<I'm wondering if the use of Quechua is a substitution of the same sort
for some future autochthonous language, or whether Sev actually traveled
back in time to live among the pre-imperial Inca, c. 1200 AD?>>

The events at the end of _Urth_ mystify me even after I have finished my 
third reading of the BotNS. However, I thought it was pretty clear that Sev 
did go to 1200 AD South America, he has spoken on the time being that of the 
dawn of man, so it was certainly pre-20th century. Regarding his eclipse, 
wasn't there an eclipse during the 13th century that was total over much of 
the world? It rings a bell.

- Christopher R. Culver <crculver at aol.com>