[lit-ideas] Re: E and M
- From: "Donal McEvoy" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> (Redacted sender "donalmcevoyuk" for DMARC)
- To: "lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2017 22:15:19 +0000 (UTC)
The error is now common. One from among many examples I could choose, here is
a Guardian writer describing the life of the man who won this year’s Nobel in
Literature: "Born in Japan, Ishiguro’s family moved to the UK when he was
five.">
It would appear grammatical to say "Ish's family were born in Japan" and to say
"Ish's family moved abroad when Ish was five", so can't these statements be
combined as by the Guardian writer? There may be something slightly unclear
about the construction because "Born in Japan" could be taken as a statement
about Ish and not his family, but even then the sense seems clear enough. There
is an "implicature" that Ish moved with the family, and it would seem pedantic
to say the statement does not make this explicit (as if he may have been left
behind in Japan when he was five). As a construction it is somewhat less clumsy
than the following, which is grammatically correct, explicit but longwinded:
"Each and all having been born in Japan, Ishg' family members moved to the UK
with him when he was five."
It may not surprise Walter to learn this longwinded form may, however,
sometimes be the one best adopted in a legalistic document - to stave off
premature aggressiveness and the like.
As to the metaphor - if you were involved in a coup, it seems to me you were
more active than the grass underneath two elephants. It's a convenient
downgrading of responsibility. The fairness of trials is another matter.
DL
From: david ritchie <profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx>
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Thursday, 5 October 2017, 17:16
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: E and M
Your views on an error and a metaphor would be appreciated.
The error is now common. One from among many examples I could choose, here is
a Guardian writer describing the life of the man who won this year’s Nobel in
Literature: "Born in Japan, Ishiguro’s family moved to the UK when he was five."
And the metaphor. Gorkhan Sen, a guy commenting on receiving a life sentence
for participating in the Turkish coup said that he hadn’t expected a fair
trial. “Words don’t mean anything here…We are just the grass that elephants
trambpled on during their fight.” (NYTimes today, p.A4)
David Ritchie,Portland, Oregon
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