[lit-ideas] No ambiguity 2
- From: karltrogge@xxxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:30:04 +0200
On 12-Jul-09, at 10:10 PM, Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx wrote:
I meant "Greek".
Nice try - but I'm not letting you off the hook - your original post
is all about ENGLISH words. I quote:
"DROP" has only ONE sense.
All the other alleged 'senses' are in fact figurative 'uses'.
The word 'drop' is neither Greek nor derived from a Greek word.
So I will continue with my case. (Why stop when you're on a roll, I
say. And having fun.)
Unlike the preceding and the following, this anecdote is TRUE. There
is one word in it that has TWO DISTINCT senses, neither of which can
be derived from the other. Or would you - or anyone - care to hazard
an attempt at showing how either sense is derived from its
'counterpart'?
(Furthermore, in the postscript, you will find a case of SPOKEN
ambiguity which you will also be unable to unravel.)
More years ago than I care to calculate I used to spend some time in
an establishment bearing the name THE PROFESSIONAL ROCK SHOP. One
afternoon I entered to find the proprietor chuckling to himself as he
taped a couple of sheets of paper to the display case beside the cash
register.
'Take a look at this,' he chortled as he dried away his tears of
laughter.
The documents consisted of a survey and a covering letter, each
bearing the inscription 'Department of Energy, Mines and Resources'.
The letter commenced (something like):
Dear Sir,
We have received notification of the registration of your business THE
PROFESSIONAL ROCK SHOP. As a service to professional and amateur
mineralogists, we keep a registry of geology-oriented establishments.
If you take a moment to fill out and return the enclosed
questionnaire, we will refer interested parties to your business as
applicable.
Sincerely,
XYZ
The questionnaire contained items asking what, if any, mineralogical
specimens were offered for sale, etc., etc.
I had a good laugh myself as I turned to check out the new line of
Peavey bass amplifiers.
Karl Trogge
Hamburg
P.S. Not all language is written. The 'subject' header of this post
could be either a correct transcription of the spoken phrase 'no
ambiguity two' or an erroneous transcription of 'no ambiguity too'.
Obviously there is no ONE AND ONLY ONE sense from which the other is
(etymologically or semantically) derived.
Karl
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