tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post3379957878198707732..comments2024-03-22T13:57:42.835-04:00Comments on Wishydig: That'll learn yaWishydighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-329220883768002532008-05-26T06:36:00.000-04:002008-05-26T06:36:00.000-04:00There are rules.Meaning in particular is determine...There are rules.<BR/><BR/>Meaning in particular is determined by convention. (Conventions are just agreed upon rules.) If we all agree on a word then that's the right word.<BR/><BR/>If a lot of people use a word or phrase "incorrectly" then yes -- once everyone forgets the old meaning the new meaning is correct.<BR/><BR/>You know what a deer is right? If I point at a wolverine and call it a deer would you say I'm wrong? Probably. And you'd have good reason to say so. Because nobody uses 'deer' to mean an animal like a wolverine.<BR/><BR/>But 'deer' used to mean any four-legged animal. Are we using <EM>deer</EM> incorrectly now just because everyone started using it differently hundreds of years ago?<BR/><BR/>There are rules. But the rules do change.Wishydighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-31177239737868262122008-05-26T03:44:00.000-04:002008-05-26T03:44:00.000-04:00So, if everybody knows what you mean when you inco...So, if everybody knows what you mean when you incorrrectly write "comprised of" instead of correctly using "composed of," that makes it all right.<BR/><BR/>If a lot of people use a particular word or phrase incorrectly, it becomes all right to do so. <BR/><BR/>There are no rules, there is only what people feel like doing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-38511421973737976652007-07-23T17:02:00.000-04:002007-07-23T17:02:00.000-04:00Was nobody going to mention my use of "distate" an...Was nobody going to mention my use of "distate" and "curiousity" in the same comment?<BR/><BR/>Maybe I should claim to be promoting the cause of flexibility in all areas of language.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-84375061098467337652007-06-23T22:23:00.000-04:002007-06-23T22:23:00.000-04:00Daniel,Thank you. Or, I'm sorry.Daniel,<BR/><BR/>Thank you. Or, I'm sorry.Buffy Turnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01867498681528614443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-9087115841952802772007-06-22T18:37:00.000-04:002007-06-22T18:37:00.000-04:00Buffy, your last sentence kills me.Buffy, your last sentence kills me.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486681777716496640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-18468540151204682482007-06-21T23:42:00.000-04:002007-06-21T23:42:00.000-04:00I'm taking a look at that to see if it addresses a...I'm taking a look at that to see if it addresses any of the current and interesting pursuits of linguistics.<BR/><BR/>So far...Wishydighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06141057866370676641noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-24396922277329846252007-06-21T22:14:00.000-04:002007-06-21T22:14:00.000-04:00Context...mmm...yummy...<A HREF="http://www.hydra.umn.edu/derrida/sec.html" REL="nofollow">Context...mmm...yummy...</A>Insignificant Wranglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15950540902913057757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-17563799407963421652007-06-21T21:38:00.000-04:002007-06-21T21:38:00.000-04:00Wicked.Wicked.Jon Sealyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12736671769577738995noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-89984337352162764502007-06-21T18:30:00.000-04:002007-06-21T18:30:00.000-04:00(Thanks for the emendation, Michael.) And Daniel,...(Thanks for the emendation, Michael.) <BR/><BR/>And Daniel, I agree. His use of "comprise" supports the historical use of the word if we understand him to be saying that the church falls under these human sanctuaries. I, however, (perhaps wrongly) assumed he was saying the human sanctuaries make up the church, compose it, that the church compasses and subsumes the human sanctuaries. Or, at any rate, should.<BR/><BR/>Who knows? Maybe he intended the ambiguity; as much as all sanctuaries are, in a sense, churches, the church should <I>a foriori</I> take care to be just that: a sanctuary. The difference between comprising and composing is probably moot. <BR/><BR/>But he was <I>dead wrong</I> on page 92. <BR/>Next we'll be saying "bad" to mean "good."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-84356580132995024622007-06-21T18:09:00.000-04:002007-06-21T18:09:00.000-04:00C'mon irrelevant cowboy...You don't want me to ign...C'mon irrelevant cowboy...You don't want me to ignore syntax in my analysis of a phrase do you? That's a vital part of language competence and a huge part of productive ability.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-77680480000878960002007-06-21T17:56:00.000-04:002007-06-21T17:56:00.000-04:00Well I hope my post doesn't come across as a "gotc...Well I hope my post doesn't come across as a "gotcha." In fact the point is to support a realistic amount of flexibility.<BR/><BR/>And his injunction against some of these uses was actually probably more of a casual discussion observing and noting that several words are switching in meaning.<BR/><BR/>And Buffy isn't happy with "distate" to describe her reaction upon reading "comprised of." Too strong a word. Perhaps <I>curiousity</I>.<BR/><BR/>When it's part of a moving consensus (as <I>comprise</I> is) I wouldn't call semantic shift--even reversal or inversion--a mistake.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-54864588435821884472007-06-21T14:29:00.000-04:002007-06-21T14:29:00.000-04:00Haha...I LOVE catching people like professors in m...Haha...I LOVE catching people like professors in mistakes like this...it always makes me feel better to know that they make mistakes too even though some of them think they are perfect...Mrs. H in Costa Rica 2023https://www.blogger.com/profile/17906480670448043712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-43159390879941458782007-06-21T09:18:00.000-04:002007-06-21T09:18:00.000-04:00Wait. Hold on. Stop. "Allowed to use context?!?" W...Wait. Hold on. Stop. "Allowed to use context?!?" What is the world coming to. Surely, Proxima est Mors.Insignificant Wranglerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15950540902913057757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27807460.post-89229320294181083982007-06-20T16:37:00.000-04:002007-06-20T16:37:00.000-04:00What if the quote on page 82 means what it says: t...What if the quote on page 82 means what it says: that the church is part of the Human Sanctuary, of which there are many?<BR/><BR/>Then again I could just ask him.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03486681777716496640noreply@blogger.com