re comparative method ongo discussion comparative method seem anywhere achieve real consensus greenberg anti greenberg camp question valid evidence certain language family are relate large depth wonder idea hear something defender widerange largetime depth comparison preferably concern count evidence against genetic relationship concrete example fact recently cite poser muskogean evidence greenberg s book taint datum error geoffrey d kimball critique muskogean gulf yukian material language america ijal imagine one want maintain even total collapse case muskogean merely put us back state neutral priorus whether muskogean language relate amerindian language nostratic matter antus greenberg amerindianist perfectly prepare agree amerind language might descend common source lose s neutrality suppose move neutrality position assume default muskogean is amerind language south america indeed amerind relate sino tibetan both indo european thus nostratic above khoisan let us assume sake argument world s language genetically relate let us empirical assumption willingness reject closet racism poser ruhlen once allege critic yearn universal brotherhood assumption against evidence principle count sort linguistic evidence count greenberg ruhlen illich svitych disproving inclusion muskogean family conjectural though tentatively assume proto gaeic sort datum pattern configuration phonological grammatical property suffice macrocomparativist throw towel outside meet press concede defeat ought imaginable scenario end ruhlen tell group reporter stanford daily american scientist supermarket tabloid sustain whole proto gaeic thing set paradigm haida us beat ve concede haida case accord our test haida unrelate human language much scope press attention here haida indians are aliens space top expert admits sort scenario greenberg camp admit grave trouble relatedness claim fair orthodox comparativist put answer expect one argue certain methodology apply certain set datum yield evidence relatedness between burushaskus bushman refute relatedness positivist view historical linguistics maintain hypothesis verifiable relatedness particular form german pfennig earlier germanic form initial p language english history high german sound shift count support observation english speaker penny form turn twenny trouble german pfund commit something pund english great english vowel shift discovery pound news prediction indefinitely extensible set pair ger pfxxx eng pxxx falsity one conceivably refute brittle form hypothesis english cognate german pfword alway begin p nt nearly enough counterevidence whole english german relatedness claim course claim unless complete collapse evidence pound establish textually coinage novelist never hear german penny show borrow italian penne during period pasta small change sound correspondence start collapse m ask collapse greenberg s muskogean evidence allege kimball count complete collapse case muskogean include amerind hence fortiorus case proto gaeic need help understand evidence against inclusion better something g e o f f r e y k p u l l u m pullum cat ucsc edu stevenson college university californium santa cruz californium message fax 