"
Exploring Semitic and Egyptian in Uto-Aztecan Languages" by Dr. John S. Robertson was just published in the I
nterpreter: A Journal of Mormon Scripture. This is a review of Stubbs' recent highly technical work,
Exploring the Explanatory Power of Semitic and Egyptian in Uto-Aztecan (Provo, UT: Grover Publications, 2015), a tome with 436 large pages packed with details. You may recall that I've discussed this book and Stubbs' less technical book for LDS audiences on ancient languages in the Book of Mormon (my comments began with an overview called "
Bigger Than Nahom?" and then details of the evidence were discussed in
Part 1,
Part 2, and
Part 3), and was quite impressed with the rigor and abundance of links found through use of the comparative method in linguistics. I dare say that Robertson seems to hold a similar view. After reviewing many aspects of Stubbs' work, he offers this simple conclusion:
As a practitioner of the comparative historical method for 40+ years, I believe I can say what Stubbs’s scholarship does and does not deserve: It does not deserve aprioristic dismissal given the extensive data he presents. It does deserve authoritative consideration because, from my point of view, I cannot find an easy way to challenge the breadth and depth of the data.
I would welcome thoughts from those who actually take a look at Robertson's article.
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