[Vocabulary] What do the phrases in bold mean?

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Kondorosi

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1. From a personal viewpoint, he is likely to do well in this post.
2. From my personal observation, he neglects his studies.

Does #1 mean 'in the speaker's subjective opinion'?
Does #2 mean 'based on the speaker's objective observations'?
 

bhaisahab

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1. From a personal viewpoint, he is likely to do well in this post.
2. From my personal observation, he neglects his studies.

Does #1 mean 'in the speaker's subjective opinion'?
Does #2 mean 'based on the speaker's objective observations'?


Does #1 mean 'in the speaker's subjective opinion'? It could mean that, but it could also mean that "he" is likely to do well from "his" own personal viewpoint.
Does #2 mean 'based on the speaker's objective observations'? Yes.
 

Kondorosi

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Does #1 mean 'in the speaker's subjective opinion'? It could mean that, but it could also mean that "he" is likely to do well from "his" own personal viewpoint.


Thanks, Bhai! What is the difference? Are opinion and viewpoint not the same thing?
 

bhaisahab

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Thanks, Bhai! What is the difference? Are opinion and viewpoint not the same thing?

Yes, "opinion" and "viewpoint" are more or less the same thing. If #1 was written: "From my personal viewpoint, he is likely to do well in this post", it would mean 'in the speaker's subjective opinion'.
 

euncu

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1. From a personal viewpoint, he is likely to do well in this post.
2. From my personal observation, he neglects his studies.

Does #1 mean 'in the speaker's subjective opinion'?
Yes, and its alternative usage is from my point of view
Does #2 mean 'based on the speaker's objective observations'?
I don't think that if we put together the word "personal" and the word "observation", and get objectivity. I don't say it according to a linguistic aspect, I'm just saying that we shouldn't ignore the element of perceptual selectivity.
.
 

Kondorosi

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Thank you, guys! How would you define the difference in function between the two phrases in bold? What do they do differently to the rest of the sentence?
 

Raymott

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Thank you, guys! How would you define the difference in function between the two phrases in bold? What do they do differently to the rest of the sentence?
Hi
Assuming you've understood the above, your first question has already been answered. 'My viewpoint' and 'my observation' mean essentially the same thing, but the first sentence is ambiguous since it doesn't say whose viewpoint is being referenced.

To your second question.
The 'rest of the sentence' gives an opinion.
The parts in bold give the source of that opinion.
Without the first part, the second part could be qualified by "According to my secretary ..." or "This student asks me to assert that ...", etc.

Oh, I just realised you might have meant the difference the choice of bold phrases has on the rest of the sentence. None that I can see, barring the difference already given above.
 
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