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From: kscott@ucsfcgl.UUCP (Kevin Scott%Kuntz)
Newsgroups: net.misc
Subject: Re: English decaying
Message-ID: <713@ucsfcgl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 21-Nov-85 03:32:50 EST
Article-I.D.: ucsfcgl.713
Posted: Thu Nov 21 03:32:50 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 29-Nov-85 00:23:48 EST
References: <1427@cae780.UUCP> <2472@sunybcs.UUCP> <1188@jhunix.UUCP> <378@bcsaic.UUCP>
Reply-To: kscott@ucsfcgl.UUCP (PUT YOUR NAME HERE)
Organization: UCSF Computer Graphics Lab
Lines: 29

>Kenneth Adam Arromdee writes:
>
>>"Isn't that a chrysanthemum"
>>"Is that a chrysanthemum"
>>are two sentences that at first glance seem to mean the opposite, but
>>they don't. Perhaps this is similar.
>
In article <378@bcsaic.UUCP> jnettles@bcsaic.UUCP (jamie nettles) writes:
>Each sentence has a perfectly logical and distinct meaning -
>Is it not true that ...
>Is it true that ...
>The difficulty comes in the answer. If it is true that that is a
>chrysanthemum, then the typical answer to both questions is "Yes"!
>

They both communicate the same information, that the speaker is unsure
of the plant type, but they have different shades of meaning. Isn't
that ...  implies, to me, that the speaker is somewhat more familiar with
chrysantheums but is having trouble placing, for certain, the chrysantheum
in question.  I consider the lines
  "Will you come with me?
   Won't you come with me?"
To have very different shades of meaning. Maybe it is just me.  Any
Philosophy/linguistic types out there ever studied what is between the
lines in negative queries?


-- 
two to the power of five thousand against and falling ...