Re: Gender

J Matthew Pearson wrote:

> Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
>
> > On Thu, 7 Sep 2000, Thomas R. Wier wrote:
> >
> > > Yoon Ha Lee wrote:
> > >
> > > > On Wed, 6 Sep 2000, Mike Adams wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > Sort of like the Wofir hypotesis? I know English still has some gender
> > > > > usage, but we seem to have been loosing it over time. It maybe part of
> > > > > our international flavor and popularity?
> >
> > > Mike:  for the sake of us all, please please *please* quote what you're
> > > referring to, and cut out with the jargon! It makes you very difficult
> > > to read and interpret.
> >
> > Agreed on the quoting part, at least.  If it's jargon I figure it's
> > something I haven't learned yet.  :-/
>
> No, be comforted!  Tom is referring to Mike Adams's peculiar style, I think, like
> his use of "lingo" for "language" and his habit of writing in oblique sentence
> fragments.
Exactly.  Coining new words is always a risky venture, and when there are
already words that suffice completely to communicate an idea, the new words
only clutter up the discourse, not help it along.  "Wofir" is just a case in point.
(Hildegard of Bingen coined words in this manner, but she wasn't even trying to
communicate to any human being!)

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Tom Wier   |     "Cogito ergo sum, sed credo ergo ero."
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