On Saturday 16 February 2002 06:52 pm, Carel Fellinger wrote: > On Sat, Feb 16, 2002 at 06:37:23PM -0800, ben wrote: > > On Saturday 16 February 2002 06:33 pm, you wrote: > > > On Saturday 16 February 2002 11:41 am, MH wrote: > > > [snip] > > > > > > > and here is really no interest in ridiculing anyone and less someone > > > > who would formulate constructively his criticism and suggestions ... > > > > i really really don't want you to construe this as any kind of > > xenophobia, but this phrase above just doesn't work in english. i have no > > idea what you meant to convey by this. > > I admit, I'm no english man, but the sentence you fail to parse seem > clear as can be to my foreign eyes:) Or were you just kidding? > > To me it says, that we on this list have no interest in ridiculing > anyone, and especially not someone that formulates his criticism and > suggestions in a constructive way.
no, i wasn't kidding, and thanks for the translation. perhaps it's all the more apparent to you precisely because you are not a native english speaker. that said, grammar does count in english, primarily because it lacks any basis in logic, having been derived from a broad corruption of romance (latin based; spanish, french, italian) and germanic languages (german, dutch, and all that of the scandinavian countries--except for finnish, which, by its name, desribes, at least phonetically, notice of its own imminent demise). nonetheless, while the rules of english lack logic, those rules do, however, have significance in usage, particularly where one seeks to make a salient point based on tenuous grounds. given your translation--which by its existence justifies its necessity--i am moved to respond to the original poster that people in glass houses are well advised to not throw stones. ben
