OT: To lie (jara: Trigger language?)

 --- John Cowan skrzypszy:

> > (And perhaps "to lie" (as in "tell a lie") is a better verb,
> > since it's more obviously something you can do without intent.)
>
> OT:
>
> Au contraire.  I hold that that is a misuse of "lie"; lies are intentional,
> always.  Making false statements may be unintentional, but if so it is not
> lying.
>
> Is this a cross-language issue?
As far as I am concerned, yes. Dutch "liegen" has exactly the same meaning as
English "to lie". Personally, I use the word in those cases when someone
intentionally says things that are not true. Also when someone violates the
truth by either speaking half truths, adding something to the truth, or even
stressing the unimportant aspects of something while bagatelizing the main
issue. That's why I like the formula "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth" so much.
The keyword is intention, indeed. When somebody says untrue things in
ignorance, I would rather say that he is "mistaken". Or, in certain situations,
"plain stupid". But I definitely would not call him a liar.
But like in English, the use of the word "liegen" depends also on the speaker.
Other people might very well use it in cases when the lie was told unwillingly.

Jan

=====
"Originality is the art of concealing your source." - Franklin P. Jones

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