From: mpresser Subject: English is Crazy Language Date: Wed, 30 Jun 93 09:04:28 EDT How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can the weather be hot as hell one day and cold as hell another? This reminds me of an urban legend in the philsophical world. J.L. Austin, of the "ordinary language" school that prevailed in post WW2 England, was giving a public lecture in which he remarked that in some languages a double neegative is used for emphasis while in others it was ungrammatical, and in logic it became a positive. He could think of no example of a double positive taking on the negative meaning. >From the back of the hall, a sarcastic voice said, "Yeah, yeah!" ------------------------------------------------------------------- The voice is attributed to Sidney Morgenbesser, philosopher at Columbia University known for his quick wit. ############# Date: Wed, 30 Jun 93 11:47:24 EDT From: Nichael Cramer Cc: [REDACTED]@Think.COM Subject: Re: phil. urban legend >This reminds me of an urban legend in the philsophical world. > >J.L. Austin, of the "ordinary language" school that prevailed in post >WW2 England, was giving a public lecture in which he remarked that in >some languages a double neegative is used for emphasis while in others >it was ungrammatical, and in logic it became a positive. He could >think of no example of a double positive taking on the negative >meaning. > >>From the back of the hall, a sarcastic voice said, "Yeah, yeah!" A related (and no doubt apocryphal) story... Unnamed Famous Computer Scientist --known for his abrasive and confrontational manner-- is addressing a group of linguists. UFCS is holding forth at his usual pace and announces to the audience that "Every sentence _must_ have an explicit subject." The (same?) voice from the back of the room calls out: "Fuck you!" N