Re: Phonetic alphabet[wasRe: Bill Gates]

The Low Golden Willow (phoenix@ugcs.caltech.edu)
Mon, 6 Oct 1997 12:43:06 -0700 (PDT)


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.