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Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 6,296 |
We do speak of "windows of opportunity" being closed--and biological clocks, but this torschlusspanik is so much more powerful once you know the story behind it. And how nice to see up there that tsuwm's been surprised!  Why, that's quite emotional of you, dear tsuwm, our resident tiger.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
old hand
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old hand
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I was, naturellement, only having you on, mia vriend, sondern I couldn't resist taking un petit dig at a statement so bald as, "There are at least twice as many words in the English lexicon over any other language on earth". To make that statement of course, requires one to know exactly how many words there are in every language on Earth. Since you made the statement, you obviously have obtained that information, and I prostrate myself before you for having achieved such feat.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
know exactly how many words there are in every language on Earth
No you don't.
There are at least twice as many words in the English lexicon over any other language on earth, (emphasis mine)
You only have to know a maximum for every other language and a minimum for English.
That and a definition of word that can be accepted for every language.
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Joined: Jul 2002
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old hand
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old hand
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>You only have to know a maximum for every other language and a minimum for English.
Since I started this round of RdPdT, I shall concede. I don't see that the correction makes the task noticeably less onerous, but. For one thing, it appears to me that one still needs to know precisely how many languages there are on Earth, being unable to omit even one (other than English) to be able to make the statement mit main on corazón.
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
It's still impossible, but it's a much lower order of impossible.
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
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old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742 |
Not my impossible task, vielen Grassias. I wasn't the one who made an impossible to prove, or even define, statement. 
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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We could always apply statistical methods. Take a random sampling of world languages and a random sampling of estimates of number of words-necessary-to-function in each of the languages.
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 742 |
>We could always apply statistical methods.
Lies, damned lies & ...
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Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542 |
>Lies, damned lies & ...
... the World Wide Web! : )
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