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A familiar scene, in which parents keep silent, lest the children hear. Had they spoken Lilliputian amongst them, they could converse freely, without ever worrying about the children. 
Artist: Louis Le Nain (1593-1648)

[49]  Using the notes at the end of Mary's memoir, it was possible for me to decipher Lilliputian.

      Irving Rothman, a Professor of English at the University of Houston claims that the Lilliputian language stems from Hebrew.

      Researching this even further, I can confirm that the Lilliputians are possibly descendants of earliest "mythical" creature in all of Jewish lore: Lilith. She was rumoured to have been Adam's first "mate", before Eve, who was a mate more like unto himself. Lilith is said to have abandoned Adam to return to the wilds and live among the animals and night beings. 

      "Put Yan" literally means a small genital  (or "little fucker".) So it is plausible that given the ancient Hebrew nuances that pervade their language, "Lilith Put Yans" slowly eroded to "Lilliputian" over the aeons.

 

      For translations and Hebrew courses, see Mary and my 'Lilliputian dictionary' here. 

 

      Anyway, she was screaming at Lemuel: “He's a nothing! Away with him! Beware of him!”

What language did YOUR parents use, when they wanted you out of the conversation?

What readers say?

Xaviera Hollander

("The Happy Hooker" and dozen more books):

We've been friends  for almost half a century and enjoyed several of each others' theatrical productions, so reading your memoir of Mrs. Gulliver is a wonderful surprise: so witty, subversive, and yet, arousing... it tickled my mind as well as inspired my G-spot. Highly recommended!

© Copyrights Erga Netz. For permissions, see Contact

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