tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917384750832944926.post7182008916396879061..comments2023-10-20T20:25:51.350+11:00Comments on Absent Proof: A Small Thingzmkchttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917384750832944926.post-67334034619380483632010-11-05T06:38:02.993+11:002010-11-05T06:38:02.993+11:00'...defining and non-defining clauses' - a...'...defining and non-defining clauses' - and he said he wasn't a trained grammarian. Hmmmzmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917384750832944926.post-77822240393644075312010-11-04T18:54:50.148+11:002010-11-04T18:54:50.148+11:00Yes, I like them too. I'm in the happy positio...Yes, I like them too. I'm in the happy position of doing quite a lot of proof-reading in my current job - though as you've seen I tend to take a rest from it in my spare time when writing comments on blogs ;-) - and I'm frequently rearranging people's commas to mark the differences between defining and non-defining clauses.Gadjo Dilohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998278830936531990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917384750832944926.post-23473701533481321892010-11-04T08:08:25.913+11:002010-11-04T08:08:25.913+11:00Curiously, I was just getting interested. My favou...Curiously, I was just getting interested. My favourite ambiguity arises from commas missing before because eg "I knew she'd been crying because her face was red and ugly" as opposed to "I knew she'd been crying, because her face was red and ugly"zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917384750832944926.post-4645623011990036872010-11-03T17:56:39.462+11:002010-11-03T17:56:39.462+11:00Yes, it is technically 'Dr Gadjo' :-) It w...Yes, it is technically 'Dr Gadjo' :-) It was ambiguity in software requiremnets documents, to be precise, but while the software part ensured that I had a chance of getting funded, in the event I kept it quite theoretical and spent more time than I should studying linguistics. The ambiguity I used as my test case was coordination ambiguity, e.g. in 'Old boots and shoes' and 'Old boots and apples' it is likely in the first case that 'Old' applies to both 'boots' and 'shoes' but in the second case only to 'boots'. The twist of the thesis was to take a wholly subjective approach and to try to predict whether readers would actually be aware of the ambiguities or not. (Are you bored yet?)Gadjo Dilohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998278830936531990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917384750832944926.post-58618966708929029082010-11-02T21:02:04.338+11:002010-11-02T21:02:04.338+11:00So it's Dr Gadjo - what aspect of ambiguity?So it's Dr Gadjo - what aspect of ambiguity?zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917384750832944926.post-61234217647219599012010-11-02T17:32:39.946+11:002010-11-02T17:32:39.946+11:00Ha, yes, it took me a while as well! (By the way, ...Ha, yes, it took me a while as well! (By the way, I spent 4 years studying ambiguity for my PhD, so I'm pleased to find your new blog.)Gadjo Dilohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08998278830936531990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917384750832944926.post-44835262994256689392010-11-01T20:27:55.036+11:002010-11-01T20:27:55.036+11:00Discs to go; in search ... hmmm, not liking, not w...Discs to go; in search ... hmmm, not liking, not wanting, as a toddler child of mine used to say when presented with any food except pesto.zmkchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08972549292961948240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6917384750832944926.post-44496403566268092202010-11-01T18:59:27.755+11:002010-11-01T18:59:27.755+11:00how about a semi-colon?how about a semi-colon?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com