Date: Sat, 15 Nov 1997 10:42:57 -1000 From: Norman Roberts Subject: Re: Double negatives (was one as a pronoun?) >Dear Ms. Flannigan, > True. Language is not math; however, it is logical. May I make >reference to computational linguistics, and in particular to a journal >article entitled "Translating Spanisn to Logic Through Logic." > >Dave Pass Can we perhaps say that language can be logical rather than asserting that it is logical? The double negative making an affirmative is something we learn in school. It is not unlike other things we learn there: more honored in the breach etc. etc. When I say "ain't got no" I mean that I damn well don't have any; logic be hanged. As for mathematics and language, I've always liked Bloomfield's statement in "Linguistics and Science" (or was it the other way around): "mathematics is the best we can do with language."