[b-greek] Re: PASAN THN PISTIN

From: Iver Larsen (alice-iver_larsen@wycliffe.org)
Date: Fri Jan 19 2001 - 03:35:16 EST


Mark Wilson wrote:
> But more to my point, I have noticed a tendency of some to find
> one or two exceptions to a rule, and thereby feel as if the rule
> must be wrong. This was quite noticeable in our discussions on
> the Granville Sharp rule.
>
> To me, finding exceptions to a rule does not negate the rule.
> Years ago, it was improper in English to split an infinitive, but
> many broke the rule. But the grammatical rule was: to put the
> adverb "outside" the infinitive.
>
> Yielding: To run quickly will cause one to tire (i.e., it was
> improper to write: "to quickly run...")
>
> Which leads me to my question: Do rules that are sometimes broken or
> have exceptions negate them ALTOGETHER?

You are probably right that I am biased by my background in the exact sciences.
My first degree was in mathematics and computer science. A computer programming
language is basically a set of rules and no exception whatsoever is allowed. If
you try to write a computer program you are immediately told by the compiler
when you have broken a rule.
Also, in logic, if you have a statement which includes an ALL modifier, one
exception is enough to negate the use of ALL.

I admit that human language is much less strict than computer language, and we
often do "break the rules." Rules change in living languages as you have
correctly pointed out. It may begin with a few exceptions as some people "break
the rule". If the exceptions catch on, the old rule has to be discarded and
possibly a new rule made up.

The common saying "it is the exception that confirms the rule" is of course a
logical fallacy.

But you can still have "strong tendencies" or "normal patterns". It is just that
the term "rule" for some of us has a more strict meaning than for others.

What is more interesting to me, though, is not the formal rules, but the
meaningfulness of such rules. Do they capture and describe an essential aspect
of the language? If so, I find them very useful.

Best wishes,
Iver Larsen
Kolding, Denmark
alice-iver_larsen@wycliffe.org


---
B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek
You are currently subscribed to b-greek as: [jwrobie@mindspring.com]
To unsubscribe, forward this message to leave-b-greek-327Q@franklin.oit.unc.edu
To subscribe, send a message to subscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu




This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:36:47 EDT