Re: Four things: Was: Comparison of philosophical languages

Sally Caves wrote:

>And Rosta uarlo krespr:
>
>
>>France = tocaty = "proper noun middle artistic country"
>>Italy = nacaty = "proper noun religious artistic country"
>>Argentina = panuty = "proper noun cold random country"
>>Egypt = byfity = "proper noun dry old country"
>>Iraq = fibyty = "proper noun old dry country"
>>Christianity = ybonate = "noun wet religious organization"
>>Islam = yminate = "noun political religious organization"
>>Judaism = yfinate = "noun old religious organization"
>>Mormonism = yfunate = "noun new religious organization"
>>pope = ytenatu = "noun top religious manager"
>>Poland = jytoty = "proper noun dirty middle country"
>>
>>
>....you run into the obvious problem of ethnocentrism.  The above is a
>perfect example of why this system of description won't work as a "perfect"
>language to be spoken by all (if universality is a goal behind Andrew's
>project and his striving for perfection).  Mike Ellis has already responded
>with some lively remarks which I leave out, but I have to agree with him
>that applying "middle artistic" to France and "religious artistic" to Italy
>and "dirty middle" to Poland seems culturally biased.  And vague ("wet
>religious organization.").
>
Heh. At least those countries get names. Tasmanians would be relieved in
that there's no way of linking them with the mainland in this language
;) (Might I suggest for the Commonwealth of Australia something on the
lines of proper-noun-dry-oft-burnt-country (or, to (ab)use some poetry,
proper-noun-sunburnt-country). I don't know if that'll fit into the
requirements of the language... Maybe with a name like that, the Queen
will no longer be 'shocked' by natural, yearly occurences that simply
happen to go through our capital city. It's okay to be *horrified* by
it. But being shocked by it is like being shocked that it rained in
England... And I don't mean to denigrate any of the suffering of the
Canberrans and any other people affected, just *our* Queen's surprise.
Did she never notice e.g. Ash Wednesday 1983?</rant>)

In the off-chance that anyone cares, being in Melbourne, I'm safe from
the fires. I could see smoke rising out of a valley a few kilometres to
our north, but it's controlled. (Though it has jumped the only major
road between here and where it was last night.) (I live in a suburb
established in the 70s with green areas to the north and east.)

Tristan.

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