[Corpora-List] What is corpora and what is not?

[Angus Grieve-Smith]

On 10/8/2012 10:05 PM, Laurence Anthony wrote:
> Angus, I think you need a definition of definition! In plain language, 
> I'm using the term "definition" to mean a mutually accepted meaning 
> for a word. As a linguist, surely you know that people cannot 
> communicate without mutually accepted meanings of words? 
     Well, people communicate or they don't.  Or they sort of 
communicate.  Any of these can happen with or without mutually accepted 
meanings.  That's what I see in my data.  What does your data tell you?


>>      You can decide whether or not to bury someone without any kind of
>> definition.  You don't need the words "alive" and "dead" at all. You just
>> need a clear set of criteria.  But no matter how clear you make the criteria
>> there will always be hard-to-decide borderline cases where people just need
>> to use their best judgment.
> Very true. But, isn't a "clear set of criteria" a synonym for definition?

     Only if it's attached to a term.  I'm saying that it doesn't have 
to be attached to any particular term.

-- 
				-Angus B. Grieve-Smith
				grvsmth at panix.com


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