Re: THEORY: language and philosophy [was Re: A question and

>From: John Cowan <jcowan@...>
>Andy Canivet scripsit:
>
> > As for terms of address, pronouns and such - I aglso
> > agree.  These terms refer to relationships between people, and only the
>mgost
> > relevant difference or relationship will be worthy of it's own
>linguistic
> > reflection; so kinship terms on the basis of faith would seem pretty
> > bizarre.
>
>Not altogether.  English has "godfather" and "godmother", but no terms for
>"two people of whom one is the father/mother, one is the godfather/mother
>of a specific person" (Sp. "copadres/comadres") still less for "the
>social institution consisting of overlapping family relationships based
>on godparentship" (Sp. "compadrazgo").
>
This is true :)  Although there aren't really any terms that define a
relationship on the basis between a difference in faith, which is mainly
what I was getting at.  In other words, I call you my brother or my boss,
indicating family ties or status in an organization, but there is no pronoun
(well, not in English, not yet anyhow) to indicate that I am a Christian and
you are a Buddhist, or that you are a firm believer in Hegelian philosophy
while I subscribe to British Empiricism.

Andy

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