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I was thinking of the lack of conjunctions in the sample, which increases the complexity IMO - like a variable for each operator result in an algebraic expressi
by hyperpallium2 5y ago
I was thinking of the lack of conjunctions in the sample, which increases the complexity IMO - like a variable for each operator result in an algebraic expression, or CFG without BNF. It's needlessly tedious, it doesn't map to the concepts in mind - and I can't believe non-English speakers lack these mental concepts (nor that their languages lack them).
And this line:
[non-cross-translatable words]. These include key words of Anglo culture, such as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, ‘fair’ and ‘rude’, ‘fact’ and ‘evidence’.
Like apple-eaters, do only English-speakers know right and wrong?
I realize that that allusion itself imports the religous background of English; and I can believe that _precise_ definitions could vary between cultures - even legal systems differ in what "evidence" is permissible in court... but is the casual, non-technical meaning really that different between cultures?
Or... am I just so immersed in English that its assumptions are transparent to me, like a fish who can't understand "out of water"?
I guess I would like to see specifically how some of those 6 examples are non-cross-translatable...
- elless 5y agoIf you're up for some reading, I can highly recommend Wierzbicka's Imprisoned in English which addresses most of the examples you've mentioned https://www.amazon.com/Imprisoned-English-Hazards-Default-Language/dp/0199321507 https://www.amazon.com/Imprisoned-English-Hazards-Default-La... It's not that speakers of other languages necessarily lack the concepts (we can think of things which we don't have words for), but that the concepts map differently in the language. Wierzbicka often uses the example that in Polish, there is no exact equivalent for the English 'and' - there are several words which can be used in the same contexts, but they have overlaps with other English concepts such as 'or', 'but', etc.
- hyperpallium2 5y agoThanks, sounds interesting.