You first said that if there was nothing like factor analysis, some words would have two unrelated meanings, then I point out that lots of words have two unrelated meanings, and now you say that one word with two meanings is two words (by definition, I assume?), contradicting your own claim we started from. Do you see how bad this looks?
You misunderstood. The point is that if there was not some common meaning, the applications of a word would be random. This does not happen in any of the cases we have discussed, and two entirely unrelated usages are cases of two words.
But lots of words do have the same origin and the new meaning is a direct modification of the old one.
This is true, and there is nothing stupid or arbitrary about this way of getting a secondary meaning.
The point is that if there was not some common meaning, the applications of a word would be random.
I have never denied that the ways different people use the same words are similar. This however does nothing to support your “factor analysis” theory, nor does it have anything to do with words that have multiple unrelated meanings.
and two entirely unrelated usages are cases of two words.
This is a claim with no justification. The whole “one word is two words” formulation is inherently bizarre. Of course, saying that “committee chair” and “armchair” are both “chairs”, doesn’t mean the two things are actually similar. Likewise putting both “armchair” and “stool” in under one label does not reduce their differences, and putting “stool” and “coffee table” in different categories does not reduce their similarities.
I have never denied that the ways different people use the same words are similar. This however does nothing to support your “factor analysis” theory
Sure it does. People use words in similar ways because their lives have similar factors.
nor does it have anything to do with words that have multiple unrelated meanings.
Technically, there are no such words. As I said, these are multiple words that use similar spellings.
This is a claim with no justification. The whole “one word is two words” formulation is inherently bizarre. Of course, saying that “committee chair” and “armchair” are both “chairs”, doesn’t mean the two things are actually similar.
Consider these two statements:
1) A committee chair and an armchair are both “chairs.”
2) A committee chair and an armchair are both chairs.
The first statement is true, and simply says that both a committee chair and an armchair can be named with the sound “chair”.
The second statement, of course, is utterly false, because there is no meaning of “chairs” that makes it true. And that is because there is not a word that has both of those meanings; there are two words which are spelled and spoken alike.
Likewise putting both “armchair” and “stool” in under one label does not reduce their differences, and putting “stool” and “coffee table” in different categories does not reduce their similarities.
In fact, using different names adds a difference: the fact that the things are named differently. Still, overall you are more right than wrong about this, even though you have the tendency to ignore the real reasons for names in favor of appearances, as when you say that “pain” means “what makes someone say ouch.” Obviously, if someone says “ouch” because he wishes to deceive you that he is feeling pain, pain will not be the wish to deceive someone that he is feeling pain. Pain is a subjective feeling; and in a similar way, a coffee table is not merely something that has a certain shape, but something that was made for a certain intended use, even if you personally use it for sitting.
People use words in similar ways because their lives have similar factors.
No, people use words in similar ways, because they want to communicate with each other. And because word meanings are usually inherited rather than constructed. It’s not false that the factors are usually similar, but not all true statements follow from one another. Some people with very different factors may use words similarly and others with similar factors will eventually use them differently.
The second statement, of course, is utterly false, because there is no meaning of “chairs” that makes it true.
Again, nobody thinks that the two things are similar or share properties, but that’s exactly what you asked for. If you want a milder example, I can offer “computer”, which can refer to an electronic device or to a human who does arithmetic (old usage). The two meanings are still very different, but they do share a property (they both compute), and it’s easy to see that a sentence “I had computers calculate this solution” is natural and could refer to either (or both). At the same time, using two different words for them (e.g., let’s call humans who compute “analysts”) would also be natural. The reasons we don’t use two words have very little to do with the properties of humans or electronic devices.
You misunderstood. The point is that if there was not some common meaning, the applications of a word would be random. This does not happen in any of the cases we have discussed, and two entirely unrelated usages are cases of two words.
This is true, and there is nothing stupid or arbitrary about this way of getting a secondary meaning.
I have never denied that the ways different people use the same words are similar. This however does nothing to support your “factor analysis” theory, nor does it have anything to do with words that have multiple unrelated meanings.
This is a claim with no justification. The whole “one word is two words” formulation is inherently bizarre. Of course, saying that “committee chair” and “armchair” are both “chairs”, doesn’t mean the two things are actually similar. Likewise putting both “armchair” and “stool” in under one label does not reduce their differences, and putting “stool” and “coffee table” in different categories does not reduce their similarities.
Sure it does. People use words in similar ways because their lives have similar factors.
Technically, there are no such words. As I said, these are multiple words that use similar spellings.
Consider these two statements:
1) A committee chair and an armchair are both “chairs.” 2) A committee chair and an armchair are both chairs.
The first statement is true, and simply says that both a committee chair and an armchair can be named with the sound “chair”.
The second statement, of course, is utterly false, because there is no meaning of “chairs” that makes it true. And that is because there is not a word that has both of those meanings; there are two words which are spelled and spoken alike.
In fact, using different names adds a difference: the fact that the things are named differently. Still, overall you are more right than wrong about this, even though you have the tendency to ignore the real reasons for names in favor of appearances, as when you say that “pain” means “what makes someone say ouch.” Obviously, if someone says “ouch” because he wishes to deceive you that he is feeling pain, pain will not be the wish to deceive someone that he is feeling pain. Pain is a subjective feeling; and in a similar way, a coffee table is not merely something that has a certain shape, but something that was made for a certain intended use, even if you personally use it for sitting.
No, people use words in similar ways, because they want to communicate with each other. And because word meanings are usually inherited rather than constructed. It’s not false that the factors are usually similar, but not all true statements follow from one another. Some people with very different factors may use words similarly and others with similar factors will eventually use them differently.
Again, nobody thinks that the two things are similar or share properties, but that’s exactly what you asked for. If you want a milder example, I can offer “computer”, which can refer to an electronic device or to a human who does arithmetic (old usage). The two meanings are still very different, but they do share a property (they both compute), and it’s easy to see that a sentence “I had computers calculate this solution” is natural and could refer to either (or both). At the same time, using two different words for them (e.g., let’s call humans who compute “analysts”) would also be natural. The reasons we don’t use two words have very little to do with the properties of humans or electronic devices.