[Tlhingan-hol] 'ar again

[Lawrence M. Schoen]

De'vID:
> > {'ar} is both "How many?" and "How much?" In most cases one of the two
> > will apply, and the question is unambiguous. However, in some cases
> > there seems to be some ambiguity.
>

 I suspect part of the problem comes from some misconceptions regarding the
"optional" marking of plurals.

>From a pragmatic and semantic perspective, details of all sorts are
considered optional is their inclusion is not significant.

Thus, if you present me with two items and tell me "choose a weapon," how
much information I include in my response will be dictated by the needs of
the situation.

If I just say "that one" and I offer no other indication (not even a
pointing gesture), then my communication has failed.

Similarly, if both objects are daggers, simply saying "I choose the dagger"
doesn't help either.

If one dagger is sharp and the other dull, I don't need to use the word
"dagger" at all, and can just say "I choose the sharp one."

I would argue it's a similar situation with the optional plural marker.
Yes, in most cases you don't need it. But if its inclusion disambiguates an
utterance
then from both a pragmatic and semantic point of view it's hardly optional
any more.

Okay, that's all I have to say here. Now several of you can jump in and
tell me that I'm wrong. :)

Lawrence
-- 
author / publisher / psychologist / klingonist
http://www.lawrencemschoen.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://stodi.digitalkingdom.org/pipermail/tlhingan-hol/attachments/20130129/3ba12d93/attachment.html>