Language Usage can be Strange
Language Usage can be Strange
Definitions first:
is ~ the third person singular presnt indicative of the verb be
be ~ to exist in actuality; have reality or life
How odd then, to say, "He is dead."
is ~ the third person singular presnt indicative of the verb be
be ~ to exist in actuality; have reality or life
How odd then, to say, "He is dead."
Re: Language Usage can be Strange
Exactly! Check this out!aloysius wrote:Definitions first:
is ~ the third person singular presnt indicative of the verb be
be ~ to exist in actuality; have reality or life
How odd then, to say, "He is dead."
- Arising_uk
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Re: Language Usage can be Strange
In parts of my country and in the past "He be dead" is acceptable.
Re: Language Usage can be Strange
I think you might still get away with it in Last of the Summer Wine.Arising_uk wrote:In parts of my country and in the past "He be dead" is acceptable.
- Arising_uk
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Re: Language Usage can be Strange
Oo! Arr!!
Re: Language Usage can be Strange
Pirates say "He be dead".
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Re: Language Usage can be Strange
THe question is, does language affect the way we think about the reality of life? Is the fact that we tend to suggest a state of existence to "being" dead, make us avoid the real problem of ceasing to be? Does it encourage thought of an afterlife- a passing over, a passing away, rather than a full termination.aloysius wrote:Definitions first:
is ~ the third person singular presnt indicative of the verb be
be ~ to exist in actuality; have reality or life
How odd then, to say, "He is dead."
Or is it the case that because we tend to believe in an afterlife that we allow such wooly thinking to effect our language?
It is very much the same question you can ask when people use "WHY" when "HOW" is more appropriate to ask scientific questions; when the "why" asserts intentionality in nature.
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Re: Language Usage can be Strange
You can say that death is a thing that happened. But the whole point of death is that it is definable as the cessation , the termination of the existence of a person, so no there is no existence in death.shmell wrote:Isn't death real? You can paraphrase it in "He exists in a state of death"aloysius wrote:Definitions first:
is ~ the third person singular presnt indicative of the verb be
be ~ to exist in actuality; have reality or life
How odd then, to say, "He is dead."
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Re: Language Usage can be Strange
But you've simply taken one of the many definitions of "be" and applied it where it doesn't belong. Another definition from Merriam-Webster is "to have a specified qualification or characterization". So there's nothing weird about saying "He is dead".
Re: Language Usage can be Strange
How can you "have" anything when you don't exist, as in death?
- The Voice of Time
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Re: Language Usage can be Strange
Yes but "concepts" can be "alive". The word is a metaphor.aloysius wrote:Definitions first:
is ~ the third person singular presnt indicative of the verb be
be ~ to exist in actuality; have reality or life
How odd then, to say, "He is dead."
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Re: Language Usage can be Strange
language is double plus good
-Imp
-Imp
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Re: Language Usage can be Strange
No it is not. It is triple plus excellent, with meritorious extras.Impenitent wrote:language is double plus good
-Imp