Re: Láadan

Peter Clark wrote:
>         It's not one word, but two will still do: "Room temperature." Generally
> understoood here to be approximately 72 F, or 22 C. Note that it cannot (in
> my idiolect, at least) be used to refer to other temperatures:
Which is why it's inappropriate. It's a specific temperature, not a
range.  The comfortable range depends on a number of factors, including
the general temperature of the previous couple of weeks.  In winter, at
least for me, the comfortable temperature is lower than it is in summer,
because I'm used to colder temperatures in winter.

>         That would be interesting, even though I think "That makes me hungry/thirsty"
> sufficiently conveys the thought without too much effort.
Perhaps, but it's not an adjective.  :-)  Besides, it has a different
connotation than my hungrifying/thirstifying, altho I can't quite put it
in words.

> > A midrange temperature, such that one does not feel particularly warm or
> > cool.
>         See "room temperature."
And seem my reply above.

> > Pleasantly cloudy
>         What is wrong with expressing the concept in two words? It's just a little
> longer, but still can be expressed in a succinct fashion.
Perhaps, but this would be a word that would be distinguished from
cloudy in a negative sense.  Cloudy by itself is neutral.  It can be a
positive or a negative.

> > "Truthe" (Tell the truth, analogous to the verb "lie")
>         Good one!
Thanks.  :-)

> I believe that Elgin's point was that there are concepts that are *difficult*
> to explain in English that are vitally necessary *to women*--because those
> concepts lack lexical items, women are at a severe disadvantage.
If so, I think it's less because men haven't "allowed" such words to
exist as that women's roles in our culture has changed more, thus, they
have gone further from the original culture that our language developed
in than men, and hence, find more gaps.

--
"There's no such thing as 'cool'.  Everyone's just a big dork or nerd,
you just have to find people who are dorky the same way you are." -
overheard
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