[NU Sports] Fact-checking on an AP wire story
MHRJGScott at aol.com
MHRJGScott at aol.com
Thu Sep 20 14:09:27 CDT 2007
Being a double major in English and philosophy, as well as an MBA from
Kellogg, I feel uniquely qualified to give you a totally ambiguous response.
According to transformational grammar (according to Chomsky) is that syntax is
entirely distinct from the question of whether a sentence is meaningful, or can
be understood. It is possible for a sentence to be both grammatical and
meaningless, as in Chomsky's famous example "_colourless green ideas sleep
furiously_ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colourless_green_ideas_sleep_furiously) ".
But such sentences manifest a linguistic problem distinct from that posed by
meaningful but ungrammatical (non)-sentences such as "man the bit sandwich
the", the meaning of which is fairly clear, but which no _native speaker_
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_speaker) would accept as being well formed.
In other words it is a badly formed sentence, but you know what he meant.
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