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> So his English language use of presenting things factually does not indicate certainty in the way the words would be used in everyday speech. He seems to perh

> So his English language use of presenting things factually does not indicate certainty in the way the words would be used in everyday speech. He seems to perhaps misunderstand the force of the terms He might or might not. It's also possible that academic practice in his native language is to use terms of equivalent force.

sgc 2y ago
Of course, if somebody was studied in archeology and the Greek language, and had read and was friends with a variety of Greek and many other ESL scholars working in the field, perhaps their comments would hold more weight than total speculation. Despite all the contextual clues, since the words are there as they were written, I cannot state for a fact he did not intend for them to come across exactly they way they do to the ever-so-elusive "reasonable native English speaker".
- thaumasiotes 2y ago
  That's not what I was saying. The words have a certain force by definition. The way they're used is a separate concern; it's possible that in another language, the correct academic practice is to use words indicating certainty while it's just understood that the certainty isn't really present. In such a case, he might accurately understand what the English words he's using mean - they convey total certainty - without understanding that English speakers will interpret them as conveying total certainty.
- anon84873628 2y ago
  The comment author was giving you a fresh example of how different fields portray certainty of their hypotheses for you to practice on.
rerdavies 2y ago
The force with which you express disagreement is also a general cultural issue. In some cultures, disagreement is expressed as indirectly as possible; in others, nobody really thinks you're actually disagreeing unless you're practically shouting (or so I was given to understand by Russian colleagues). And English lies somewhere in the middle, where you're expected to express your disagreement politely (while framing your obvious scathing contempt in ambiguous Jane-Austen-like wordplay).

sgc 2y ago

Of course, if somebody was studied in archeology and the Greek language, and had read and was friends with a variety of Greek and many other ESL scholars working in the field, perhaps their comments would hold more weight than total speculation. Despite all the contextual clues, since the words are there as they were written, I cannot state for a fact he did not intend for them to come across exactly they way they do to the ever-so-elusive "reasonable native English speaker".

thaumasiotes 2y ago
That's not what I was saying. The words have a certain force by definition. The way they're used is a separate concern; it's possible that in another language, the correct academic practice is to use words indicating certainty while it's just understood that the certainty isn't really present. In such a case, he might accurately understand what the English words he's using mean - they convey total certainty - without understanding that English speakers will interpret them as conveying total certainty.
anon84873628 2y ago
The comment author was giving you a fresh example of how different fields portray certainty of their hypotheses for you to practice on.

rerdavies 2y ago

The force with which you express disagreement is also a general cultural issue. In some cultures, disagreement is expressed as indirectly as possible; in others, nobody really thinks you're actually disagreeing unless you're practically shouting (or so I was given to understand by Russian colleagues). And English lies somewhere in the middle, where you're expected to express your disagreement politely (while framing your obvious scathing contempt in ambiguous Jane-Austen-like wordplay).