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I remember when I first started learning German, I thought it was useless. But after getting used to it, when I switched back to English, I was like where are a
by keeganjw 9y ago
I remember when I first started learning German, I thought it was useless. But after getting used to it, when I switched back to English, I was like where are all the nouns? Why is everything lowercase? It's all about what you get used to, I guess.
- hyperpallium 9y agoTo maximize information content (entropy), we must try to use all symbols with equal likelihood - which this rule assists, employing capital symbols with closer to equal likelihood than their usual rarity. Furthermore, said symbols must convey previously unknown information - which this rule does not, as the nouns have the same meaning whether capitalized as not, and the "information" conveyed is redundant.
- mishac 9y agoHuman languages aren’t usually concerned with maximal information density though. Multiple layers of redundancy are often present. Features like noun verb agreement, grammatical gender, pleonasms, and even redundant words (last will and testament, vim and vigor etc) are used in various languages despite the redundancy, to increase clarity.
- hyperpallium 9y agoFor sure, I was makimg a haphazard joke about German efficiency. Is a pleonasm an oxymoron?
- mishac 9y agoPleonasm is more of a needless redundancy like "It's déjà vu all over again."