From: The Low Golden Willow (phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu)
Date: Mon Oct 06 1997 - 13:43:06 MDT
On Oct 6, 4:57am, Kennita Watson wrote:
} >Does this constrain the way the japanese think? If so, how are english
} >speakers constrained? Will we need some other representational method
} How about a language with no representations of past, present, and future?
} Or a language with no distinction between declarative, interrogative,
} imperative, and subjunctive (or some subset thereof)?
Gender. We've escaped the pointless chains of gender most other
Indo-Europeans languages have, but we still have it in our pronouns.
This fuels the current debate over non-sexist language and may make
trouble once we have to worry about aliens or AIs. "It" has
connotations of being dead or very weird; we're pretty used to sentients
being either male or female.
} We do, however, seem to have problems with melodic and clicking
} languages.
Yep.
Merry part,
-xx- Damien R. Sullivan X-) <*> http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~phoenix
Be not a beauty proud or vain,
For mortal maid it will be your bane.
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