From: Michael Lorrey (retroman@tpk.net)
Date: Sat May 10 1997 - 19:23:16 MDT
Kathryn Aegis wrote:
>
> Dan Hook:
> >addition, are there any other natural languages without a form of to be?
>
> Many Asian languages do not accomodate the concept of an individual,
> personal 'be'.
>
> While I agree that English speakers grossly overruse the verbal
> constructions of 'be', I don't support trashing it altogether. The
> flexibility and scope of the English language creates an enormous
> toolbox for writing. E-Prime's value to me lies in its emphasis on
> utilizing the more neglected constructions.
>
I think that given a homogenous society, the verb "to be" actually is
very useful. If we share many of the same things in our lives, it is
very easy for one to infer the context of the use of the verb, thus
saving time in communication. Of course, as a society becomes diverse
and widespread, loss of context is a natural communications dysfunction,
which could explain such things as the generation gap, why guys don't
"get it", and why white guys don't rap.
--
TANSTAAFL!!!
Michael Lorrey
------------------------------------------------------------
mailto:retroman@tpk.net Inventor of the Lorrey Drive
Agent Lorrey@ThePentagon.com
Silo_1013@ThePentagon.com http://www.tpk.net/~retroman/
Mikey's Animatronic Factory
My Own Nuclear Espionage Agency (MONEA)
MIKEYMAS(tm): The New Internet Holiday
Transhumans of New Hampshire (>HNH)
------------------------------------------------------------
#!/usr/local/bin/perl-0777---export-a-crypto-system-sig-RC4-3-lines-PERL
@k=unpack('C*',pack('H*',shift));for(@t=@s=0..255){$y=($k[$_%@k]+$s[$x=$_
]+$y)%256;&S}$x=$y=0;for(unpack('C*',<>)){$x++;$y=($s[$x%=256]+$y)%256;
&S;print pack(C,$_^=$s[($s[$x]+$s[$y])%256])}sub S{@s[$x,$y]=@s[$y,$x]}
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