Re: Weekly Vocab 9

Sally Caves scripsit:

> "Technically" was difficult.  What does it even mean in English? as in this
> sentence?  "Theoretically? In the abstract?"
I think it means "in accordance with formal rules, but not truly".  E.g.
"Richard Nixon was technically a Quaker."  Or, "A whale is technically
a beast."  (Saying "technically a mammal" seems bogus to me, as "mammal"
is already a technical term in English.)

The term "strictly speaking" has the same denotation as "technically", but
the opposite connotative polarity: we say "technically" to denigrate what
is the case by rule, but "strictly speaking" to affirm it:  "Strictly
speaking, a quahog is not a clam."

(If y'all don't know what a quahog is, it is a New England term for an
individual of _Mercenaria mercenaria_, aka the hard clam.)

> "As the sun rises" in Teonaht
> expresses gnomic wisdom.  As the sun rises, so does one get up, feed the
> chickens, go to work, be worth something, die." Id est, common knowledge.
I think that's not quite it.  By common wisdom, human beings have plenty
of value (though how much depends on social class and culture, to be sure).
They however are not assigned a market price (at least in non-slaveholding
societies), hence are "technically not worth anything".

--
I suggest you call for help,                    John Cowan
or learn the difficult art of mud-breathing.    jcowan@reutershealth.com
        --Great-Souled Sam                      http://www.ccil.org/~cowan

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