Re: Invention of the Alphabet

Des Small <des.small@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Greg Lee <greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:

> > Des Small <des.small@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > ...
> > > I've persisted in defending Peter's very concrete and explicit test
> > > for opacity.
> > ...
> >
> > But LSD makes the points that opaque expressions are not necessarily
> > words

> They're either lexical words or idioms. Since they lack internal
> features, everyone except Chinese chauvinistes tends to call them
> words, and I continue not to see a reason not to.

What's "they"? Opaque expressions? I can't make sense of this.

> "Non-transparently decomposable morpheme-compounds with no interior
> morphological structure (other than compounding)" is usefully
> distinguishable from "word" in what way or manner?

It leaves out words that are not compounds, and it leaves out
words that are transparent compounds, like "lighthouse keeper".

> LSD had to cheat
> with "kick the bucket"; even he hasn't claimed "strawberry" isn't a
> word - would you?

> > and that compound words are not necessarily opaque.

> He's calling them compound _words_ in Chinese? News to me.

> > Therefore, a test for opacity is not a good test for words. These
> > are good points.

> You think?

> Des
> doesn't

--
Greg Lee <greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
.

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