Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
Hydra Offline OP
addict
OP Offline
addict
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
Anyone care to parse the following?

Quote:

"I quite agree with you," said the Duchess; "and the moral of that is—'Be what you would seem to be'—or, if you'd like it put more simply—'Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been would have appeared to them to be otherwise.' "
—Alice in Wonderland (1865)





Is this pure word porridge, or a nearly incomprehensibly hypotactic but nevertheless grammatical sentence?

Last edited by Hydra; 01/07/07 10:39 AM.
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
I think it works but I don't have the time right now to sort it out. Might could use the odd comma or two. Don't think any hyphens would help.

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Is this pure word porridge, or a nearly incomprehensibly hypotactic but nevertheless grammatical sentence?

You might want to read Carroll's Symbolic Logic. He enjoyed these sort of nonsensical syllogisms. The quotation from Alice, also seems to be poking fun at the British English penchant for double negatives being a sort of augmented positive, (e.g., "this is something I am not unfamiliar with").


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Quote:


... The quotation from Alice, also seems to be poking fun at the British English penchant for double negatives being a sort of augmented positive, (e.g., "this is something I am not unfamiliar with").




I couldn't fail to disagree with you less.

Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
T
veteran
Offline
veteran
T
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
Quote:

Quote:


... The quotation from Alice, also seems to be poking fun at the British English penchant for double negatives being a sort of augmented positive, (e.g., "this is something I am not unfamiliar with").




I couldn't fail to disagree with you less.




I could. I couldn't fail to disagree with him less but I don't.

I don't think.

Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Quote:


I don't think.




As you say.

Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 5,400
do you exist?
(re i don't think)

Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
T
veteran
Offline
veteran
T
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
Yes. I think. I just don't know who the "I" is that is doing the thinking.
What is "I-ness"? For that matter, What is "you-ness"?

Descartes presumed the "I". He could have also said, "I think therefore I ain't" and would have been equally wrong.

To make a semantically logical statement you must first define your terms.

Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 3,230
Quote:

Is this pure word porridge, or a nearly incomprehensibly hypotactic but nevertheless grammatical sentence?

You might want to read Carroll's Symbolic Logic. He enjoyed these sort of nonsensical syllogisms. The quotation from Alice, also seems to be poking fun at the British English penchant for double negatives being a sort of augmented positive, (e.g., "this is something I am not unfamiliar with").




One of the fun things about reading Douglas Adams' work is coming across his many homages to Carroll's writing. This passage for example, has an echo in one of my favourite bits of Life, The Universe and Everything

Quote:

That young girl," he added unexpectedly, "is one of the least
benightedly unintelligent life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting."



Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 3,467
>That young girl," he added unexpectedly, "is one of the least benightedly unintelligent life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting."

The problem with this is that it is almost impossible to tell whether the girl is smart or not without drawing a complicated diagram of some sort; nor is it easy to figure out whether the author wanted to meet her or not. Yes, it's cute, just like "I couldn't fail to disagree with you less" and others of that ilk. But I submit to you that it is not communication, since the purpose of communication is to inform, not to obfuscate.

Cute gets old quickly, while beauty remains for an eternity. I'll take beautiful writing over cute writing every time.

Perhaps it is just I. Then again perhaps not.

WITBOTOTWOTMD? YCSHIBW.


TEd
Page 1 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 674 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5