Re: Expressiveness

Seán O'Leathlóbhair wrote:

Des Small wrote:
"Seán O'Leathlóbhair" <jwlawler@xxxxxxxxx> writes:

Please note that I was not arguing against the belief that all
languages are equally expressive. I was just exploring the
foundation of the belief and wondering why it is frequently
expressed so dogmatically.

Read Bodmer's lamentable _Loom of Langwidge_ (regrettably still in
print, but get it from a libry) and Sapir's _Langwidge_. Then you
will know.

I haven't read them but I have heard of them. The problem I see is
that the dogmatic style is liable to make the claim less convincing
rather than more.

Um, Bodmer's book is total crap. Sapir's book is a candidate for
greatest book on language ever written. (It has apparently been
abandoned by its original publisher and is now a Dover reprint.)
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Expressiveness
    ... Des Small wrote: ... languages are equally expressive. ... I was just exploring the ... but get it from a libry) and Sapir's _Langwidge_. ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Expressiveness
    ... languages are equally expressive. ... I was just exploring the ... Read Bodmer's lamentable _Loom of Langwidge_ (regrettably still in ... but get it from a libry) and Sapir's _Langwidge_. ...
    (sci.lang)