legendary = believe it (verificatory) or not (fabulatory)

Arnold Zwicky zwicky at STANFORD.EDU
Wed Feb 17 14:08:52 UTC 2010


On Feb 17, 2010, at 4:40 AM, Amy West wrote:

> I like the folklorists' distinctions between folktale, myth, and
> legend....

these are distinctions drawn for certain (excellent) technical
purposes, but they aren't an account of how the words are used in
ordinary english, which is much messier and more variable.

technical uses aren't privileged over ordinary uses except in the
appropriate technical contexts.

arnold

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