[sotd] June 24, 2002 [Collection of Ambiguous Statements]

        Site of the Day for Monday, June 24, 2002 

        Collection of Ambiguous or Inconsistent/Incomplete Statements

English is a tricky language. Today's website from Jeff Gray of Vanderbilt
University presents a collection of some of the pitfalls of the language
which may both amuse and enlighten some of the List's gentle members.

"According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the 500 words used most in the
English language each have an average of 23 different meanings. The word
"round," for instance, has 70 distinctly different meanings. . . It is
often the case that a written statement could be interpreted in several
ways by different individuals. . . The following represents a collection of
ambiguous or inconsistent statements that I have found from various places.
While most of them provide a source of amusement, my overall goal is to
show that the cavalier use of natural language can often lead to unintended
meanings." - from the website

The section entitled the "Lexicon of Inconspicuously Ambiguous
Recommendations" or "LIAR" for short, offers 'helpful' suggestions for
those whose position often requires writing references for those with less
than stellar qualifications. Among the other sections is an alarming note
on the use of "Too" / "Nothing" / "More". A number of verses widely
circulated online are also included.

Whizz to the website for a diverting view of English at:

http://www.vuse.vanderbilt.edu/~jgray/funny.html


  A.M. Holm
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