Is it of much use?

[Melissa Smith]

This discussion reminds me of why I ultimately went into literature
rather than linguistics. that is, in my grad school days, structural
linguistics ruled, with its reliance on formulae. At a certain point, a
broader context becomes critical to choices of tense/aspect. And
literature is about those very complications!

No Slavist is an island, entire to him/her/itself. For those of us
without an archipelago, SEELANGS discussions have a special fascination.

Melissa Smith
 
On 3/9/12 9:56 AM, Goloviznin Konstantin wrote:
> 09 марта 2012, 08:53 от Robert Orr <colkitto at ROGERS.COM>:
> > 
> > 
> > > Is it just me, or are things becoming more complicated? AM
> > 
> > > More complicated than anyone seems to think so far.
> > 
> > Indeed.
> > 
> 
> Не так черт страшен как его малюют ;)
> 
> Any language ruled by two powers (as to my seeing).  That is, with  
formal and  phonetical  logics. For axample I take the rule - forms of  
be + not = be+n't. This rule has only exception for the form am + not 
that is equal to ... ain't (because   fonetical logic takies over in 
this case).  Any rule within any language  works this way. Majority of 
cases are matches to their rule and the rest are exceptions.  
> 
> Another example. Make some group out of four words - this, the, every, 
his. Impose on this group two rules. The first - don't use any two of 
them together and the second - one of them mandatorily used before any 
noun. This works in about 80-90%% and the rest of 10-20% are exceptions 
(= 1. You don't count the this and the this.  2. She hangs on every his 
word.).      
> 
> This way the problem of the table for tenses and aspects can be solved 
with considering long perfects as extension to short perfects with 
correction of meaning. Moreover if we take only  rules and 
corresponding to these in-rule cases without exceptions (so far as 
possible) we'll get a priming layer of grammar (but the grammar must be 
a very practical description not theoretical ).  Adding exceptions to 
that layer makes the picture full. This two-staged way of mastring any 
language through that kind of grammar is of much simplification. 
> 
> Btw, this idea (not mine) has already been embodied  for 
russianspeaking studying English and  I consider it very effective.     
   
> 
> Konstantin.   
> 
>              
> 
> 
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------------------------------------

Melissa T. Smith, Professor
Department of Foreign Languages and 
Literatures  
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, OH 44555
Tel: (330)941-3461

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