Date: Tue, 11 Apr 2000 03:19:03 -0400 From: "Thomas M. Sommers" <tms2@mail.ptd.net> To: freebsd-chat@freebsd.org Subject: Re: BSDCon East Message-ID: <38F2D1E7.7119FA0F@mail.ptd.net> References: <3.0.6.32.20000407145548.008cf100@mail85.pair.com> <20000407120154.A9276@sofia.csl.sri.com> <3.0.6.32.20000407145548.008cf100@mail85.pair.com> <3.0.6.32.20000407163211.00872d00@mail85.pair.com> <8cq4lu$1o3a$1@bigeye.rhein-neckar.de>
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Christian Weisgerber wrote: > > ... this is a wide-spread belief and--excuse me--pure rubbish. > I have _A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language_ by Quirk > et al. sitting here, which explains the "non-existent" intricacies > of English grammar on nearly 1800 pages. And it's probably not > exhaustive. > > For many linguistically naive people, the simplicity of a language's > grammar seems to hinge on the degree of inflection. Having a few > noun cases, adjective/noun agreements, and a few verb conjugations > does not make for an objectively(!) difficult grammar. English has > the same complexity, it's just expressed differently. Once you get > beyond the basic level of "me Tarzan, you Jane", English syntax > becomes fiendishly difficult. In what ways is it fiendishly difficult? Many so-called grammatical rules, such as to not split infinitives, are nothing but some 18th century antiquarian's idea of what the language should be, not what it really is. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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