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And Rosta scripsit:
> And he may be right for English. That is, it is possible that English
> sentences do not encode the generic/nongeneric distinction, and that
> that distinction is inferred pragmatically. (a big shudder from John
> here)
Remember, it's semantic meaning I have problems with, not pragmatic
meaning (which I call simply "meaning"). IOW, the notion that "Would you
open the door?" is in *any* sense equivalent in meaning to "Is your opening
of the door a possible future event?" strikes me as an overheated fantasy.
(I may have this example wrong.)
> I enjoyed your message, and I enjoy you being here very much.
+1
--
My corporate data's a mess! John Cowan
It's all semi-structured, no less. http://www.ccil.org/~cowan
But I'll be carefree jcowan@hidden.email
Using XSLT http://www.reutershealth.com
In an XML DBMS.