"To be" or not "to be"? (was Re: TRANS: something slightly moredeep)

Paul Bennett wrote:
> Are there a significant number of natlangs where there is
> no simple way to oppose (for example) "this chair exists" against "this
> chair does not exist"?
In Watakassí, they'd probably say "this chair is real" vs. "this chair
is not real" or something like that.  I'm not sure how natlangs handle
it, but I'm pretty sure there are ones without a complete equivalent of
"exist"

--
"If the stars should appear one night in a thousand years, how would men
believe and adore, and preserve for many generations the remembrance of
the city of God!" - Ralph Waldo Emerson
ICQ: 18656696
AIM Screen-Name: NikTailor