tlhIngan-Hol Archive: Sat Aug 10 08:02:19 1996
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Re: Cautions and Perspectives (WAS: An offer you shouldn't refuse!)
- From: Webslinger <[email protected]>
- Subject: Re: Cautions and Perspectives (WAS: An offer you shouldn't refuse!)
- Date: Sat, 10 Aug 1996 11:02:17 -0400 (EDT)
- In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>
On Sat, 10 Aug 1996, Andrew Strader wrote:
> nuSovmoH "'angghal":
> > This difference in perspective may well stem from different approaches. Someone
> > who studies a number of languages (e.g., a philologist or a polyglot) would
> ^^^^^^^^^^^
> > presumably approach a new language in terms of the ways it is similar and/or
> > different from the languages of his/her experience. This makes a lot of sense
> > and gives you a huge advantage over someone who has no foreign language
> > experience.
> >
> > On the other hand, someone who studies the structure and patterns of language
> > overall (e.g., a linguist or psycholinguist) operates under a less restrictive
> ^^^^^^^^
> > set of constraints and is free to notice novel patterns that would be literally
> > inconceivable to someone versed in a specific set of languages. The downside is
> > that this view is much more abstract, which becomes a liability if you're
> > looking for something concrete.
>
> That's why it pays to be both, Virginia. {{:->
>
> Guido
or maybe none at all. the anthropological approach has much to say on the
matter. For instance, and this may seem old news, but the lack of words
like "please" and "thank you" and the multitude of war-like terms clues
you into the tlhIngan Hol values system. Withthis approach in mind,
language can be more richly understood as, as some theorists claim, the
unifying factor of a people, or in this case, empire. It is what gives
them their sense of place, their identity, and consequently, forms there
code of honor.
and to point out something out, on an episode of ST: TNG Counselor Troy
lifts a cup to Captain Picard and utters a word incomprehensible to him.
When asked, he resonds that she just said "cup". she questions him to
prove her point, and concludes that most minds have siilar patterns of
thought, and make similar associations within thier own minds
this could prove a useful tool to those who wish to learn this language.
of course, if we take the case of the !Kung bushmen, where the
exclamation point stands for the clicking sounds inherent in their speech
patterns, we find many individual unable to comprehend the nuances.
so virginia raises an interesting point. however, I don't see how one
could be both, for natural tendencies cause oneself to lean towards one
method of understanding. So whichis more important? the quantity of
quality of the understanding? >
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Mr. Gideon........
You're not paying attention!"
Brandon Lee
the Crow
Maddalena Romano
[email protected]
[email protected]
http://pages.nyu.edu/~mqr9304
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++