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Re: THEORY nouns and cases (was: Verbs derived from noun cases)

From:Gary Shannon <fiziwig@...>
Date:Wednesday, April 28, 2004, 17:02
--- "Mark P. Line" <mark@...> wrote:
> Philippe Caquant said: > > A Brown Bear is an animal whose property, among > > others, is to be brown. A Brown is not an animal, > it > > is a property shared, among others, by Brown > Bears. > > Saying "A Brown" instead of "a Brown Bear" looks > very > > much like an ellipse, used to avoid repetition, > and it > > is understandable only in the case you have > introduced > > the concept of Brown Bear earlier in you speech > > (otherwise, it could refer to brown sugar for ex). > > You're still talking about things you *say* as > opposed to the concepts > that are behind what you say. No, everyday English > will not let you say "a > brown" in the way you're using it,
<snip> English usage DOES permit one to say "a brown" in that way, as in the citation I quoted earlier. If the context is established, as in a discussion of brown bears, black bears, grizzly bears, etc., it is perfectly acceptable to say something like "A brown is less agressive than a grizzly or a black." My earlier citation came from a wildlife web page and included the statement "Browns are ominverous ..." --gary

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<jcowan@...>
Tim May <butsuri@...>