Re: THEORY: Browsing at Borders Public Library

Ah, you'd mentioned Wierzbicka to me before, and the name must've been
ringing around in my mind and caused me to pick up the book off the
shelves!

Well, the thing with her "definition language" is that, darn it, it's
*ENGLISH*..  It's a very restricted English, and that makes it useful
for its intended purposes, but it *IS ENGLISH.*  And she is *doing*
all the exotic things that Langacker & Lakoff & Fauconnier & co like
to talk about with her definitions, and it is that which enables her
to write such wonderfully good definitions, but she doesn't seem to
realize it. :)

But have you any idea what Denden "key words" might be? :)

(BTW, it wasn't the book you mentioned... I believe it was
_Understanding Cultures Through Their Key Words_)

---------------------------------------------------------------
Ed doesn't know everything, but he hasn't figured that out yet.
Please break it to him gently.              edheil@postmark.net
---------------------------------------------------------------

Boudewijn Rempt wrote:

> I think the title you are looking for is:
>
> Wierzbicka, Anna. 1988. _The semantics of grammar_ Amsterdam: John
> Benjamins.
>
> I have always taken her remarks about Lakoff for truth. She says
> that he 'finds three examples, all from English, enough leavening
> for a 600 page book.', while in truth _Women, Fire and Dangerous
> Things_ is chock-full of interesting examples from all kinds of
> languages. She means the 'case studies' of course, and it is true
> that in those Lakoff delves a bit deeper than in the examples he
> uses to construe his argument, but still...
>
> Anyway, her own work is very interesting, and, as you say, somewhat
> unusual. She's almost unique in having a unique theory of herself,
> while not being a loony. She insists in rigourous methods and scholarly
> accountability. Bound to make her unpopular ;-).
>
> Boudewijn Rempt  | http://denden.conlang.org/~bsarempt
>