[lit-ideas] Re: Grice's Implicature
- From: Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 27 Jun 2012 20:00:35 -0700
On 6/27/12 7:12 PM, Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx wrote:
Comments on Witters as cited by R. Paul:
"When we say: "Every word in language signifies something"
we have so far said nothing whatever; unless we have explained
exactly what distinction we wish to make."
['Wen wir sagen: "jedes Wort der Sprache bezeichnet etwas"...']
Part of the problem may be the Latinate, 'signify'. It is easier if we
stick to Anglo-Saxon shorter, 'mean'. Plus, it's people who mean, not 'every
word in the language', etc.
"(It might be, of course, that
we wanted to distinguish the words of language (8) from words 'without
meaning' such as occur in Lewis Carroll's poems, or words like
"Lilliburlero" in songs.)"
Here the English refer to this as 'nonsense' as in the very meaningful
poetry by Edward Lear -- "The Owl and the Pussycat". I'm not so sure that
"Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" (one of my favourite Victorian songs) is meaningless in
the ways Witters suggests. Whereas "Lilliburlero" found sense in Gay's
Beggar's Opera.
[Interesting. The German, translated as 'lilliburlero,' by Anscombe, is
'juwiwallera.' Hacker and Schulte give 'Tra-la-la.']
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Robert Paul
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