On Equations, Disequations, and Uncertainty in Linguistics.
Language is a series of equations and disequations. We
relate concepts that had hitherto been unrelated by one of two connections: Is
and Is not. If something Is something else, then the two are equated. If
something is NOT, then they are disequated. Yet at any point in the process of
inquiry some invisible rascal might come along and flip the switch. What “had
been” an equation becomes a disequation. The connection remains, but “A is B”
becomes “A is not B”. This means that we are always prone to error, confusion,
inconsistency, and uncertainty in any language game.
Dm.A.A.
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