Bide
Junior Member
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2010
- Member Type
- Other
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- England
- Current Location
- China
Do I detect a note of anger there, Mr Piscean sir?
In my humble opinion, etymology is never irrelevant.
I think you are missing the point: We talk about the rich, the poor, the down-trodden. These are nominalized adjectives. They are adjectives whose noun is left unmentioned because we understand them in conversation. If the context were unclear, we could easily fill the noun in.
The question is, when a noun is used as an adjective, is it still a noun? Or are the thought categories we use faulty?
4. This is an export company.
if you say 'export' in 4. is a noun, you presumably have good reasons for that and can state them clearly. If you flatly state "The word exists now as a verb and as a noun." then I may equally flatly state "The word exists now as a verb and as a noun and an adjective." Certainly, the function of 'export' in 4. is adjectival, describing, as it does, a type of company.
The point being, how will you show whether it is a noun or an adjective or a verb?
The ability to abstract is a function of human consciousness. 'love' is a feeling and as such a property of human consciousness. I cannot in any physical sense show you 'a love'. I could talk about 'my great love for you' and this is a description of my feeling or state of mind. As such, love is a condition of my mind. Indeed, in Chinese, love is 'ai qing' = 'love feeling'.
I cannot show you 'a history', I can only show you 'a history book', which I may abbreviate to 'a history'.
I cannot show you 'a prosperity'. I know you don't like etymology, but consider the following:
-ity: word-forming element making abstract nouns from adjectives and meaning "condition or quality of being ______," from Middle English -ite, from Old French -ete (Modern French -ité) and directly from Latin -itatem (nominative -itas), suffix denoting state or condition, composed of -i- (from the stem or else a connective) + the common abstract suffix -tas (see -ty (2)).
In my humble opinion, etymology is never irrelevant.
I think you are missing the point: We talk about the rich, the poor, the down-trodden. These are nominalized adjectives. They are adjectives whose noun is left unmentioned because we understand them in conversation. If the context were unclear, we could easily fill the noun in.
The question is, when a noun is used as an adjective, is it still a noun? Or are the thought categories we use faulty?
4. This is an export company.
if you say 'export' in 4. is a noun, you presumably have good reasons for that and can state them clearly. If you flatly state "The word exists now as a verb and as a noun." then I may equally flatly state "The word exists now as a verb and as a noun and an adjective." Certainly, the function of 'export' in 4. is adjectival, describing, as it does, a type of company.
The point being, how will you show whether it is a noun or an adjective or a verb?
The ability to abstract is a function of human consciousness. 'love' is a feeling and as such a property of human consciousness. I cannot in any physical sense show you 'a love'. I could talk about 'my great love for you' and this is a description of my feeling or state of mind. As such, love is a condition of my mind. Indeed, in Chinese, love is 'ai qing' = 'love feeling'.
I cannot show you 'a history', I can only show you 'a history book', which I may abbreviate to 'a history'.
I cannot show you 'a prosperity'. I know you don't like etymology, but consider the following:
-ity: word-forming element making abstract nouns from adjectives and meaning "condition or quality of being ______," from Middle English -ite, from Old French -ete (Modern French -ité) and directly from Latin -itatem (nominative -itas), suffix denoting state or condition, composed of -i- (from the stem or else a connective) + the common abstract suffix -tas (see -ty (2)).
Roughly, the word in -ity usually means the quality of being what the adjective describes, or concretely an instance of the quality, or collectively all the instances; & the word in -ism means the disposition, or collectively all those who feel it. [Fowler]
Is an abstraction over an adjective really any different to the adjective?
Is an abstraction over an adjective really any different to the adjective?
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