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 2 of 3 1 2 3
#8271 10/17/00 08:49 AM
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
F
veteran
Offline
veteran
F
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 1,346
So, what words sound beautiful? What words sound beautiful but the meaning drags them down?


Well, I think "onomatopoeia" sounds beautiful. Which would be my main argument against accepting "heterological" as its antonym, in fact.

Seems to me antonyms should, as polar opposites (see previous post) share a common nature. Yes, I know this appears to be a paradox, so off the top of me head, here are some examples: "optimistic" goes with "pessimistic" rather than "cynical". "Malevolent" goes with "benevolent" rather than "good". OK, not very good examples, but I'm rushed.

By the way, I also think "enantiodroma" and "serendipity" are beautiful. I confess I haven't checked them against Crystal's rules yet, but I suspect their appeal is as much in the meaning as the sound for me.

Agree with Max, phonaesthetics sounds fascinating!


#8272 10/17/00 10:24 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 3,065
The article was in English Today, Vol. 11 No. 2 (the April 1995 issue) so those of you who have access to decent libraries can LIU. English Today is published by the Oxford University Press, and is supposed to be on the Internet, but last time I looked, admittedly some time ago) it was for those with institutional subscriptions only.

To summarise, he looked at lists which had appeared in various places of what words various writers or newspaper readers thought beautiful. He then did a statistical analysis of what sounds and word features appeared frequently in the lists and what didn't. The "rules" I posted earlier were the result. "Tremulous" is a word which scored 10 out of 10. "Alyssum" and "alumnus" scored 9/10 each. "Zoo" scored 0/10.



Bingley


Bingley
#8273 10/17/00 09:50 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
J
old hand
Offline
old hand
J
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
also, isn't the opposite of zero infinity, in mathematical terms?

In mathematical terms the opposite of any number is itself on the negative side; therefore, the opposite of infinity would be negative infinity.

I would have to say that the opposite of zero is the existence of anything, whether it be positive or negative, but not any specific number.


#8274 10/17/00 10:23 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
okay, what about positive and negative zero then?


#8275 10/18/00 12:58 AM
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
B
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
B
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 2,891
The Big Bang, the chicken or the egg, Shrödinger`s Cat. I think this topic falls under the same category. It seems to me that there are certain things that are rife with theories but cannot be proven. Aaak !


#8276 10/18/00 06:17 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
Before risking another outbreak of brain-ache, let's try to be clear: the everyday sense of the term "opposite" has no place in mathematics. Some people here were using it in the sense of "complement" (set theory) others in the sense of "negation". And there is no "positive and negative zero" as far as I know. +-0 means "zero within the limits of error".


#8277 10/18/00 06:36 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
E
enthusiast
Offline
enthusiast
E
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 315
>>also, isn't the opposite of zero infinity, in mathematical terms?

The "correct" term would be "inverse": roughly speaking we could say that
the inverse of 0 is infinity - it correspond to the fact that , dividing a given fixed (positive) number by another (positive) number becoming smaller and smaller, then the result is becoming bigger and bigger (i.e. goes to the infinity).
Emanuela


#8278 10/18/00 01:20 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
yes, we have been using the word "opposite" very loosely hereabouts; it is more of an exacting problem in math(s), but is also problematical in linguistics! [see other threads]


#8279 10/18/00 10:11 PM
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
J
old hand
Offline
old hand
J
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 1,094
Isn't the inverse of zero (one divided by zero) undefined?


#8280 10/19/00 06:15 AM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 1,027
>Isn't the inverse of zero (one divided by zero) undefined?<

That's right. And it's the undefined things that make us irresistibly scramble for definitions.







Page 2 of 3 1 2 3

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 (), 444 guests, and 3 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