Re: -nakereba[ikenai/naranai]

From: Don Kirkman (spambuster_at_covad.net)
Date: 08/01/04 

Date: Sun, 01 Aug 2004 12:55:56 -0700

It seems to me I heard somewhere that chance wrote in article
<2n3lkgFsuih9U1@uni-berlin.de>:

>"Bart Mathias" <bartmathias@verizon.net> wrote

>> Linguists take it as almost axiomatic that if there are two forms, then
>> there are two meanings. I remember Bernard Bloch once saying that the
>> only problem with that notion was that no one had figured out the
>> difference between "furze" and "gorse" yet. But I don't remember him
>> claiming that any particular person used both words at random.

>> (Another problem that has bothered me is the difference between, say,
>> "He's not here" and "He isn't here." I wish I could take your attitude
>> about it; it wouldn't bother me any more.)

>Are you bothered by 'What I'm gonna do!' and 'What am I going to do!'
>and also by Japanese saying 'taiyo' while Amercians say 'the sun'?

Nobody asked me, but I would be bothered if someone claimed "What I'm
gonna do" and "What am I going to do" were identical in meaning. Even
if they were both declarative sentences ("What am I going to do" is
interrogatory, even without the question mark) I would have a problem
because the emphasis and usage are at least sometimes distinguishable.

"What I'm gonna do" is give an example; "What I am going to do" is march
into that office and give that guy a piece of my mind (as opposed to
sending him an email or forgetting about the whole thing). 

-- 
Don
Old age is when you start saying "I wish I knew now what I knew then."

Relevant Pages

  • Re: -nakereba[ikenai/naranai]
    ... >>Linguists take it as almost axiomatic that if there are two forms, ... >>there are two meanings. ... I remember Bernard Bloch once saying that the ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Re: -nakereba[ikenai/naranai]
    ... > there are two meanings. ... I remember Bernard Bloch once saying that the ... it wouldn't bother me any more.) ... and also by Japanese saying 'taiyo' while Amercians say 'the sun'? ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Re: "Babylon5" Hi-def (or Higher-def) Petition
    ... That's like saying that you're not going to vote for a candidate because ... I'm not saying that a petition has a chance of getting WHV to come out ... ?Shared pain is lessened; shared joy is increased; thus do we refute entropy? ... Check out http://wedreamforjeanne.blogspot.com/ for ways to help Jeanne Robinson ...
    (rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated)
  • Page 2: Bill Simmons doesnt know jack about movies
    ... I just remember groaning midway>through and saying, ... as my stepdad kept going, "Just give it a chance, just give it a ... homophobic take on the film is that? ... acting in the same movie with this many non-actors, ...
    (alt.sports.baseball.ny-yankees)
  • Re: Science fact question: Why Y?
    ... I was not implying 'most' were saying anything. ... obviously that happened because of a chance mutation. ... recessives such as in the form of XXm where the male is not so susceptible. ... genes that remain active, and these correspond to genes on the males' Y. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)