Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!ukc!stc!datlog!dlhpedg!cl
From: cl@dlhpedg.co.uk (Charles Lambert)
Newsgroups: comp.ai
Subject: Re: natural language examiners
Message-ID: <345@dlhpedg.co.uk>
Date: 18 Dec 87 11:27:15 GMT
References: <1882@pdn.UUCP> <733@csinn.UUCP>
Sender: news@dlhpedg.co.uk
Reply-To: cl@.co.uk (Charles Lambert)
Organization: FSG@Data Logic Ltd, Queens House, Greenhill Way, Harrow, London.
Lines: 11
Keywords: dialect turing

In article <733@csinn.UUCP> grossi@csinn.uucp (Thomas Grossi) writes:
>(for example, if someone steps on your foot and apologizes -- "Excuse me" --
>an appropriate response in English would be "certainly" whereas in French

Appropriate response varies within a language as well as between languages.
For instance, the above apology would be appropriate in America,  but in
England "Excuse me" is often interpreted as "Get out of my way";  "Pardon me"
or "I beg you pardon" would be safer (again, variant from American usage).

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Charles Lambert