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Re: neg * neg = pos; why?
Posted:
Jul 31, 1997 3:22 PM
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I hate to keep bringing this up, but I was only trying to caution
against logical errors. The problem(s) that keep being presented
here are not in logic but in language, interpretation, and
translation.
Take for example, you overhear the following three words:
"man eating shark"
Can you determine (for sure now) what was being said?
Again, all I was trying to say is be careful!!!
> Date sent: Tue, 29 Jul 1997 09:34:49 -0500 (CDT)
> Send reply to: amte@csd.uwm.edu
> From: mark snyder <msnyder@tiac.net>
> To: Multiple recipients of list <amte@csd.uwm.edu>
> Subject: Re: neg * neg = pos; why?
> >BUT be careful again... double negation in some phrases in some
> >languages do not cancel each other out. take this from spanish (my 2nd
> >language): "no hay nadie aqui", which means in english-- "there is no
> >one here" or "there isn't anybody here"; yet there are 2 negatives "no"
> >and "nadie" in the sentence! i guess this says, language isn't always
> >logical...
>
> >> > Raymond E. Lee, Ph.D.
> >> Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
> >> The University of North Carolina at Pembroke
>
> Ditto for Russian : "Ya nichevo ne znaiyu" is literally translated as "I
> nothing not know." This means "I know nothing." You have to use the
> double negative to mean a single negative (which, from my
> ten-years-after-the-fact job as a translator of technical Russian, doesn't
> occur). I am sure that any native Russian speakers on this list can add
> other examples (or correct me...).
>
> mark snyder
>
>
> Raymond E. Lee, Ph.D.
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke
P.O. Box 1510
Pembroke, NC 28372-1510
(910) 521-6309 FAX 521-6649
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