Concerning linguistics,

Discussion in 'Linguistics' started by pljames, Apr 29, 2013.

  1. pljames Registered Member

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    My mind is still reeling from the term (interpreting) what another wrote. I believe in all mysteries there are hidden meanings within the mystery itself. Especially with language, the written one. In my old age I am seeing when people write they sub/unconsciously use words that they think is appropriate to the sentence or paragraph, even to, did I mean to say this, or did I see it consciously and write it un/subconsciously? I now see the complexity of understand language. The mystery is not with the language but how we use it. I am now a believer. Paul
     
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  3. Jeeves Valued Senior Member

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    A believer in what?
    Yes, language is very complex, indeed, and so is psychology. Rigorous education in the application of language - meaning, spelling, grammar, syntax, paragraph structure, and essay, poetry and fiction writing - helps to establish a common medium of communication, at least among members of a given class or caste. Internet communication in English is far more problematic, because we come from different cultures, generations, economic and educational backgrounds. The mass media have been steadily eroding; politicians, busily obfuscating language for half a century. The democratic mind-set also arrogates personal liberties with correct usage (such as my de-capitalizing I) and technology facilitates general laxity (such as texting shorthand). That's a great deal of change and diversity in a short time. Add that to psychological and political bias.

    This week, i discovered that another highly literate English-speaker and myself have no shared vocabulary on a particular topic: even after three or four cycles of explanation and clarification, we could not arrive at an understanding: we were talking about two quite different concepts under a single heading. This is a not uncommon, and very frustrating, situation.
     
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  5. pljames Registered Member

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    in interpreting ones writing.

    It's not the language it's the user. Paul
     
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  7. Fraggle Rocker Staff Member

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    Don't forget business writing. The way you write a memo or a report at the office is a pretty good style for any communication. It won't win any awards but it will be understood.

    What kind of topic? If it's philosophy or current events I can see it. But not if it's biology or music.
     
  8. Jeeves Valued Senior Member

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    Philosophy, of course. More specifically the human social contract - a very elusive mental meeting-place. Even biology can be a bit... er, a bit difficult ... with theists.
    Business Communication is a whole university course all by itself, with enormous, heavy textbooks (unless they've been replaced by electronic ones, which will spare the students' spines for office-chair ruination at the advanced age of 37) and i cannot imagine what they're filled with. How many ways can you say KISS?
     
  9. pljames Registered Member

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    Jeeves,
    In my old age I have found out the hard way, it's not what you say, it's how you say it and come across too the other person, especially a theist of any kind. I think it's wrong to force your beliefs down any ones throat, be it religion politics etc. Paul
     
  10. Jeeves Valued Senior Member

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    There are no throats on the internet*. Nobody can see your body-language or hear your intonation and emphasis. They can only see the black symbols on the grey screen: what you type is all there is. That is why i so often regret the current fashion of idiosyncratic interpretation and miss the old days when every word had an indisputable dictionary definition (or four... but not a million). In citing the dictionary definition [Oxford, for choice], one could nudge a discussion back onto topic when disingenuous debaters would steer toward partisan rapids.

    (*nor hands to reach for them - which is all to the good)
     
  11. pljames Registered Member

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    83
    Jeeves,
    You've made my year. Letter writing was in the good old days a way to communicate without e-mail and a phone. Where people get this interpret body language from writing I will never know. I write apples it's interpreted oranges. Do I know what the dog says when he "woofs/barks at me"? No. are a singing bird? I could understand body language yes, but when written no!. When I am choking my hands go to my throat. I will never understand what is gained by using body language when reading. Paul
     

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