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Carpal Tunnel
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Dear Shanks: It seems to me that "vulgar" is now strongly pejorative, "vernacular" moderately so, but "demotic" still means merely "of the people". Or have I been misled?
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old hand
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old hand
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Don't ask me! Yes, I know about the pejorative connotations of vulgar and vernacular, but merely have a hint of a memory that 'demotic' was originally a word that specifically referred to the Egyptian labguage, and wasn't widely, or at all, applied to the 'common' tongue in other languages. Until, of course, recently. Hence my claim that it was inaccurately used. I could be worng though, given my reluctance to actually look anything up.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Well, sunshine, I'm going to weaken your case still further by saying that your understanding of the the situation is also mine.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Source: The Collins English Dictionary © 2000 HarperCollins Publishers:
demotic [dı'mɒtık]
adjective
1 of or relating to the common people; popular
2 of or relating to a simplified form of hieroglyphics used in ancient Egypt by the ordinary literate class outside the priesthood
Compare: hieratic
noun
3 the demotic script of ancient Egypt
[ETYMOLOGY: 19th Century: from Greek demotikos of the people, from demotes a man of the people, commoner; see demos]
de'motist noun
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old hand
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old hand
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I got there too, Doctor. But then realised that perhaps what the hint in the back of my feeble brain had been was this: that Demotic, used for a language, was originally only relevant to Egyptian. As a general term, of course, as you point out, it simply means 'of the people'.
I don't think we have an argument here. Thanks for the ref.
cheer
the sunshine warrior
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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that Demotic, used for a language, was originally only relevant to Egyptian. As a general term, of course, as you point out, it simply means 'of the people'.
All sorted? Well that's just capital!
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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'of the people'. All sorted? Well that's just capital!Yes, full Marx! 
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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full Marx
Are you sure you're Lincoln to the right historical figure?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Das Kapital? That can't be right!
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