On May 17, 11:20=A0pm, barb <xenub...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Dr. HotSalt wrote:
> > On May 15, 12:45 am, pete <pfil...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >> Dr. HotSalt wrote:
> >>> On May 14, 5:00 pm, pete <pfil...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >>>> Dr. HotSalt wrote:
> >>>>> On May 12, 10:11 pm, pete <pfil...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >>>>>> Dr. HotSalt wrote:
> >>>>>>> =A0 Perhaps you would care to examine the roots of the word
> >>>>>>> "****ography" with emphasis on the "-graphy" part.
> >>>>>> How do you feel about graphic pictures and graphic writing?
> >>>>> =A0 I feel that those who misuse words like "graphic" should be
impa=
led
> >>>>> on large rods of graphite.
> >>>> It's difficult to deal with a rapidly evolving language.
> >>>> But, "misuse" happens to be the primary mode of
> >>>> the evolution of English, and all living languages evolve.
> >>> =A0 Standard excuse of word-abusers.
> >>> =A0 Words have _meanings_. (Considering where this thread was
> >>> crossposted*, that seemed appropriate.)
> >>> =A0 The Ancient Greek root graphein was a verb with a specific
meaning=
;
> >>> to encode information in non-glyphic symbols.
> >> If you don't know what "alpha" and "beta" mean,
> >> I can see how it might seem that way.
>
> >> The ancient Greeks defined words any way that they wanted to,
> >> all the time.
>
> >> "alpha beta gamma" means "aleph beth gimel"
> >> and that means "ox house camel",
> >> and that's what those symbols represent.
>
> >>> =A0 Word-abusers will claim that "we ain't no Ancient Greeks and can
> >>> define words any way we want", completely ignoring the fact that the
> >>> task of language is to express a particular concept with a
particular
> >>> word; when a word is used to express some other concept, what
happens
> >>> to the original concept? Is it orphaned forever, or will
word-abusers
> >>> bother to reassign some other innocent bystanding word to take up
the
> >>> slack? What then happens to the meaning of the so-reassigned word?
> >>> =A0 (What word are we now expected to use to express the original
> >>> meaning of "graphein", "text"?
> >> The original meaning of "graphein"
> >> is "to inscribe on a clay tablet".
>
> > =A0 I held your side of a conversation eerily similar to this one with
> > one "Autymn DC" aka "Lysdexia" in sci.physics some time ago (Autymn
is/
> > poses as some weird sort of raving nutcase who refuses to recognize
> > any linguistic cross-fertilization as valid since apparently about 400
> > AD and posts in a REALLY bizarre version of Olde AngloFrankish,
> > constantly "corecting" her correspondents' language).
>
> > =A0 Like so very many, Autymn/Lysdexia seems to take personal affront
at=
> > Nicoll's observation about the English language's methods of
> > evolution:
>
> > =A0 "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is
> > that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just
> > borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down
> > alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new
> > vocabulary."
>
> > =A0 You might have gotten a smattering of a clue from my mention of
> > Kibo's (and hence that of His followers) occasional irony, but NOOOOO
> > you had to make me go and POINT IT OUT! And LAUGH AT IT!!
>
> > =A0 Yours in total disgust
>
> > =A0 Dr. Hot"and maybe some PeptoBismol"Salt
>
> I predict the next word to be accepted into Webster's will be....
>
> fap!
>
> --
> Barb
> Chaplain, ARSCC (wdne)
> It's Poodlin' Time!
>
> =93I think that the protections that we enjoy for freedom of wor****p
exist=
> so long as we don=92t step over the line. When religious wor****p and
> belief cross over into things like fraud, victimization of others and
> the disruption of the political arena, that protection is no longer
> appropriate.=94
>
> =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 --Robert Goff
> =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 =A0 Professor Emeritus, UCSC- Hide quoted
text=
-
>
> - Show quoted text -
OK... Enough about the language/literature wars here. Please define
****ography.
|
