Tim May scripsit:
> Mmmm, I don't agree with all of this. "To blue" is to my knowledge only
> found as a technical term in metalworking, but I think "to brown" has
> more general applicability; it's principally used in the kitchen,
I agree that in these technical uses "blue" and "brown" can be causatives.
> I find it acceptable for e.g. the action of the sun on skin.
I find it strained to call this a causative: I'd expect "His skin browned"
(became brown) rather than "The sun browned his skin" (caused to be brown).
> contrast, I'm not sure I can think of an example where I'd find "to
> purple" natural.
I think of purpling a toga.
> It's interesting that these all seem to have fairly restricted
> semantic ranges. For one thing, they all have a connotation of
> incomplete effect... "I painted the wall red" vs "I reddened the wall
> with paint" - Talmy's satellite-framed/verb-framed typology?
But "to redden a coal" means to make it red, not just to make it more
nearly red, I think.
--
John Cowan jcowan@reutershealth.com
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Humpty Dump Dublin squeaks through his norse
Humpty Dump Dublin hath a horrible vorse
But for all his kinks English / And his irismanx brogues
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