More syntax. Until the end of the world.
Nov. 1st, 2005 09:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
philenaIn syntax, we often spend a great deal of time analyzing sentences of
one type or another. The typical transitive sentence is "John sees
Mary." The typical intransitive sentence is "Mary sings." An example of
a sentence that is useful for running constituency tests is something
like "John and Mary soak their feet after dinner." Some professors like
to spice things up. Instead of "Mary," Jason Merchant prefers "Abby."
My TA is fond of the sentence "The big ugly bird vandalized my garden."
Sometimes, when testing for asymmetries, we'll use sentences like "No
water-treatment plant serves more than three cities," in a fit of
environmental conscientiousness. A few days ago we were handed a sheet
of examples that were all based on Star Wars: "Darth will die." "Leia
has discovered a wonderful smell." "The Falcon could have escaped if
the engine had worked." "Although R@ hasn't been shot by stormtroopers,
C-3PO has." Chapter 5 in the text has decided to go Assyrian, it
appears: "Gilgamesh is not reading the cuneiform tablets." "Gilgamesh
has never flown a dragon." "Tiamat is extremely evil." "Shamash is a
dangerous sorcerer." The sentence I've been spending the past three hours
on reads "Gilgamesh is [not] in the dungeon."
Except, alas, my earliest training has re-emerged, and I have just discovered that the sentence I have been analyzing reads, "Gilgamesh is in the kitchen." I bet Tiamet is a spectacularly delicious (particularly with shallots), and Shamash is the best cook since Julia Childs, too. Gilgy never could keep from tasting the soup before it was done.
Except, alas, my earliest training has re-emerged, and I have just discovered that the sentence I have been analyzing reads, "Gilgamesh is in the kitchen." I bet Tiamet is a spectacularly delicious (particularly with shallots), and Shamash is the best cook since Julia Childs, too. Gilgy never could keep from tasting the soup before it was done.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-02 07:48 am (UTC)