| Gavagai:the problem of world learning |
 Gavagai:the problem of world learning
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Jan. 21st, 2009 @ 12:50 am 
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Imagine a linguist who is trying to learn an unknown language. This linguist is talking to a native speaker of the language and then, during the conversation, a rabbit scurries by, and the native says "Gavagai". What should the linguist think that "gavagai" means?It turns out that there is an infinity of logically possible meanings for this new word. It could refer to rabbits,but it also could refer to the specific rabbit named by the native, or to any mammal, or any animal or any object. It could refer to the top half of the rabbit, or its outer surface, or to rabbits but only those that are scurrying;it could refer to scurrying itself,or to white,or to furriness.
LA FASCINANTE VIDA DEL ASPIRANTE A FILÓLOGO.
EL INCREÍBLE MUNDO DE LA SEMÁNTICA.Y'alreeet?:  pre-exam Instead of singing birds...: OST Jesus Christ Superstar-Gethsemane |
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