Re: Making it volitional

----- Original Message -----
From: John Cowan <cowan@...>
To: <CONLANG@...>
Sent: Monday, August 27, 2001 11:38 PM
Subject: Re: Making it volitional


> Sally Caves scripsit:
>
> > The English language doesn't have a verb "ignore"
> > that expresses inattention/non-knowledge.  "Ignore"
> > always means willful "not noticing," whereas "ignorant"
> > means unintentionally unknowledgeable.
>
> In the standard language.  But in some dialects, one can
> use "ignorant" to describe someone who willfully does not
> notice as well.  This is the origin of "ignorant" as a
> pejorative: "You low-down ignorant son-of-a-bitch", e.g.
> There would be no point in condemning people for
> unintentional lack of knowledge.
Oh yes there would, John!  Think of human nature!
You low-down ugly, old, retarded son of a bitch.
Presumably, being ugly, old, and retarded, as well as
"low down," i.e., of inferior class status, or the son of
a bitch, i.e., a "bastard,"  are all unintentional conditions.
Human cruelty loves to pick on conditions that its victims
can't help, and this has been the history of human abuse.

Sally
scaves@frontiernet.net
http://www.frontiernet.net/~scaves/whatsteo.html

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