----- Original Message ----- From: "J. van Baardwijk" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, October 04, 2002 4:03 AM Subject: Re: Intellectual output from the Arab World
> At 21:24 03-10-2002 -0500, The Fool, once again true to his name, wrote: > > >So now you are redfining the english language, even after someone has > >posted, the one and only definitive word meaning and usage from the > >unabridged Oxford English Dictionary. This is...Pathetic. Are you going > >to deny the holocaust next? > > Well, now there is a mature response... I think another important thing to look at when deriving meaning from anothers post, at least beyond simple definition, is the context in which a statement is made. If I say "Jeroen is anti-semitic", I could actually be trying to convey one of several meanings. -That Jeroen disagrees with the politics of the State of Israel. -That Jeroen is a person who hates Jews. -That Jeroen displays opinions that are seemingly prejudiced against Jews. But there are contexts where anti-semite would mean exactly what Jeroen wants it to mean: -That Jeroen doesnt like middle-easterners. I have known for a long time that Jeroen uses "anti-semite" in a context that is different than I usually see, and I interpret his statements accordingly. And Jeroen should interpret common english usage of the term in a similar way now that he has been informed by several dictionary definitions that explain the more common contexts in which the term is used. But,............that does not imply that Jeroen shouldnt or wont ask for clarification in the future. Context, as we all know, is not always completely clear. And it is only fair that we convey as much meaning as we possibly can, when appropriate. xponent To Be Fair Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
