> > > That doesn't mean grammar has any significance to the meaning of any > > > particular utterance (though it certainly *could*). > > > > If you really believe this then I can only assume that you have a > > rather nonstandard definition of 'grammar' in mind. Can you write some > > examples of utterances in which you think grammar has no significance > > to the meaning? Can you cite any such sentences in posts to this list? > > Does the carrier wave of the FM signal on your favorite radio station > have any significance to the programming of that radio station?
Faulty analogy. A carrier wave is constant throughout a broadcast. It carries no information except its frequency. Grammar, by contrast, is one means by which meaning is embedded into and extracted from sentences. One might even say that, in addition to the meanings of the individual words (which in a random order would convey no meaningful sentence), grammar is absolutely essential for meaning. Perhaps you could choose another analogy, or answer the questions I asked to try to ensure no misunderstanding of your use of terms as you say has occurred recently. _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
