Re: [ontolog-forum] language ambiguity

[Pat Hayes <phayes@xxxxxxx>]

>  Talmy had a nice example "Now
> you just come right down
> out of there." Where none of the
> actual words mean much at all.

I lately dropped a preposition;

It fell, I thought, beneath my chair

Annoyed, I quickly cried, Perdition!

Come up from out of in under there!

Precision is my vade mecum

And loose constructions I abhor

But then I thought, But what should

he come up from out of in under for?

(Morris Bishop, 1947)

BTW, more to the main topic, check out Melissa Bowerman's work on spatial prepositions in a variety of European languages, which in many respects is more thoroughly grounded than Talmy's work.

Pat

-- 

---------------------------------------------------------------------
IHMC               (850)434 8903 or (650)494 3973   home
40 South Alcaniz St.       (850)202 4416   office
Pensacola                 (850)202 4440   fax
FL 32502                     (850)291 0667    cell
http://www.ihmc.us/users/phayes      phayesAT-SIGNihmc.us
http://www.flickr.com/pathayes/collections

_________________________________________________________________
Message Archives: http://ontolog.cim3.net/forum/ontolog-forum/  
Subscribe/Config: http://ontolog.cim3.net/mailman/listinfo/ontolog-forum/  
Unsubscribe: mailto:ontolog-forum-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Shared Files: http://ontolog.cim3.net/file/
Community Wiki: http://ontolog.cim3.net/wiki/ 
To Post: mailto:ontolog-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx    (01)