Re: whether (was Re: ni, jei, perfectionism)

[JORGE JOAQUIN LLAMBIAS <jorge@INTERMEDIA.COM.AR>]

>> For example, "She knows whether
>>x is true" is a perfectly sensible thing to say (especially if
>>I don't know whether x is true).
>
>But SHE knows, so why is it not "She knows the truth value of x" which is
no
>longer an indirect question,

But it is still an indirect question: "She knows what is the truth value of
x".
That English allows you to use the short form is beside the point. Shall we
continue this discussion? We're repeating ourselves.

> I don't see much difference between:
>I know where John went (indirect question).
>I know the place where John went (relative clause).

But they are different! The first one doesn't say that you know
the place, it only says that you know where it is that John went.
If you don't know Buenos Aires, you may still know that John went to
Buenos Aires. If John went to New York, and you know N.Y.,
but you don't know that John went there, you still know the place
where he went.

>Even a whether indirect question can become a relative clause
>I know the truth value that pertains to predication X.

That's short for "I know what is the truth value that pertains to ..."

co'o mi'e xorxes