Re: CHAT: Rumpelstiltskin (was Re: milimpulaktasin)

>Of course, "beautiful" and "ugly" connote very different value
>judgements--at least in our culture.  Perhaps in Milimpulaktasin culture,
>any sort of deviation from ordinary plain looks (whether towards the
>beautiful end or the ugly end of the spectrum) is equally praised or
>ridiculed.  An amusing idea, if implausible.
>
A rare phenomenon, though not unattested.  English "cleave" 1. split 2.
cling to (arch.) is at least one ex.   I've come across isolated cases in AN
languages, where an adjective will mean the opposite of the expected
meaning-- though both forms don't occur.  Bob Blust some years back reported
on a language of Borneo IIRC, where many common AN adjectives had undergone
reversal of meaning.

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