a 13th cent Chomsky? (was: BrSc Akuefi)
| From: | Ray Brown <ray.brown@...> |
|---|
| Date: | Saturday, June 26, 2004, 5:59 |
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On Friday, June 25, 2004, at 06:24 , Dirk Elzinga wrote:
> On Jun 24, 2004, at 12:23 PM, Ray Brown wrote:
>
>> On Wednesday, June 23, 2004, at 06:43 , Dirk Elzinga wrote:
>>> Grammatica vna et eadem est secundum substanciam in omnibus linguis,
>>> licet accidentaliter varietur. - Roger Bacon (1214-1294)
>>
>> Sounds a bit Chomskyan ;)
>
> Well, Bacon can't do anything about that :-). By the way, how would you
> translate this passage?
Always a bit risky translating out of context. Presumably we are to
understand the medieval Aristloean distinction of 'substancia' (or
'substantia' in classicizing spelling) the 'inner being' or 'essence' of a
thing ('das Ding an sich'), and the outward appearance or 'accidence'
('accidentaliter' "according to its accidence', "according to its outward
attributes").
Grammar, in its true nature, is one and the same thing in all languages,
altho it varies in its outward attributes.
Ray
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