Re: whether

[And Rosta <a.rosta@UCLAN.AC.UK>]

Robin (working late, I observe):
> >Anyway, what can I say? Your report is false to an extent
> >so blatant that I can scarcely believe you mean it, and am
> >hard pressed to think of a way to end your delusion.
>
> .u'u .u'u
> This is what happens when you (a) introduce what you really wanted to talk
> about with a flippant comment and (b) rely too much on "native speaker
> intuition".  What often happens is that you have a particular
> extra-linguistic context in mind, search your "intuition bank" for
> appropriate sentences, and forget the other contexts.

Dead true. This is not directed at you, but one of the principal
criteria by which I accord regard to linguisticians is their
ability to overcome these difficulties and provide accurate
accounts of the facts. It is alas quite a rare skill. (Interestingly,
non-native English speaking linguists are often especially good
at it. [Hence I would trust Jorge's reports about the facts of
English more than Lojbab's. zo`oje`u])

> >As for "whether" Qs in British
> >English, you could consult, say, Quirk et al's Comprehensive
> >Grammar of the English Language.
> >
> I wasn't talking about questions but declaratives, and I'm not sure the
> same rules apply.

?

> >BTW, if you are British, where did you acquire your cognitivist
> >proclivities?
> >
> .ue ki'a

You cite Lakoff and articulate Lakoffian ideas. Not all that
common for someone schooled in the UK. If you acquired these
ideas while being schooled in the UK it might suggest that
you are an intellectual maverick (and therefore doubly welcome
in the lojbo cuntu).

--And