Re: brief survey

 --- Trent Pehrson skrzypszy:

> 1) Do you consider yourself a linguist?
Not really, no. Not a hard-science linguist anyway. But being a
translator an having studied quite a lot, I am at least to some
degree professionally involved with languages.

> 2) Given only the following labels, which best describes
> linguistics as a discipline for you? (a) a scientific discipline
> (b) a philosophical discipline.
(a)

> 3) Given only the following definitions, which comes closest to
> describing the purpose of linguistics for you?
> (a) learning to speak many languages.
> (b) learning the structures of languages.
> (c) learning how language works in the human mind.
> (d) defining and cataloging languages.
> (e) defining language at large.
> (e) the humanistic study of language and literature.
The last two should of course be (e1) and (e2)! ;)

Primarily (b) and (d), and to a lesser degree also (c). If you'd
force me to pick one, then (b).

> 4) Do you consider yourself a scientist?
Yes.

> 5) Given only the following definitions, which comes closest to
>    describing the purpose of science for you?
> (a) the search for truth.
> (b) use of the scientific method to create theories by proving or
>     disproving hypotheses
> (c) the process of discovering natural laws.
Essentially (a).

> 6) Do you consider yourself a philosopher?
Who, me? No.

> 7) Given only the following definitions, which comes closest to
> describing the purpose of philosophy for you?
> (a) the search for truth.
> (b) the pursuit of wisdom by intellectual means and moral
>     self-discipline.
> (c) the study of the nature of reality based on logical reasoning
>     rather than empirical methods.
> (d) a critical analysis of fundamental assumptions or beliefs.
> (e) a discipline comprising logic, ethics, aesthetics, metaphysics,
>     and epistemology.
Hmpf, difficult. I know awfully little about philosophy. (e) is not
really a definition, but seems rather part of a classification
scheme. All in all, I'd say (c) or (d), mostly (c) if I really have
to pick one.

Jan

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed
room with a mosquito."

http://steen.free.fr/







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