Emeritus Prof Christopher May on Nostr: When I'm reflecting on #Britain' trouble(s) I'm sometimes tempted by a form of ...
When I'm reflecting on #Britain' trouble(s) I'm sometimes tempted by a form of #linguistic determinism.
#languages with complex tense/verb structures, require the speaker to form the whole sentence before starting to speak (#German would be my go to example).
But #English allows a speaker to start a sentence with little idea where it will end, with sentences rambling & developing while remaining grammatical.
Making it up as we go along' served us well for generations, now not so much!
#languages with complex tense/verb structures, require the speaker to form the whole sentence before starting to speak (#German would be my go to example).
But #English allows a speaker to start a sentence with little idea where it will end, with sentences rambling & developing while remaining grammatical.
Making it up as we go along' served us well for generations, now not so much!