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Re: The pitfall of Chinese/Mandarin

From:Cheng Zhong Su <suchengzhong@...>
Date:Friday, December 7, 2001, 22:35
 Thomas R. Wier wrote:
> > Many languages use the same word for `he' and > `she'. (Finnish and > > Swahili come to mind.) It's not a "mistake", > merely an extreme > > example of the simple fact that different > languages classify the > > universe differently. > Certainly, but why is it even extreme? How is it > more extreme > not to include that category than some languages > whose deictics > include lots of categories like plant/nonplant, > animal/nonanimal, > human/nonhuman, shape, size, and whether it's a > force of nature > or not?
Answer: I think every language has some where ambiguous. It's better improve it, not leave it alone. Su Cheng Zhong http://shopping.yahoo.com.au - Yahoo! Shopping - Free CDs for thousands of Priority Shoppers!

Replies

Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...>
Patrick Dunn <tb0pwd1@...>