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 #47 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 0:06 am "who" instead of "which"? |
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| Ralf wrote: |
| BTW, who's Chilla Bulbeck? |
Did you Google? |
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Molly
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| #48 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 0:22 am "who" instead of "which"? |
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| Ralf wrote: |
| BTW, who's Chilla Bulbeck? |
It doesn't matter. As long as she's not a poster on this forum, her opinion is by definition more authoritative than the opinion of any poster on this forum.
Naturally, on other forums, the opinions of MrP, Molly, Ralf, etc., are similarly quoted, with similar awe.
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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| #49 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 0:29 am "who" instead of "which"? |
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amen
and here's for not knowing which page you're on
(that "amen" was in response to the posts at the bottom of page three)
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Prezbucky
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| #50 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 0:34 am "who" instead of "which"? |
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It would be an excellent reply to several posts.
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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| #51 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 0:44 am "who" instead of "which"? |
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Mr.P, you do know that entering the names of some of this forum's posters into a Google search (and hitting Enter) is likely to yield search results in the billions, meaning that our opinions are more accurate than those of others.
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Prezbucky
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| #52 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:31 am "who" instead of "which"? |
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| Quote: |
| It doesn't matter. As long as she's not a poster on this forum, her opinion is by definition more authoritative than the opinion of any poster on this forum. |
I doubt it, but natives and nonnatives here often quote the "authority" of writers, don't they? I quoted her because she is a writer and it is good to see how writers use relative pronouns, isn't it? She also talks about how that pronoun is used by animal rights activists and by animal lovers, which may be interesting to some.
So, getting back to the language point, what do you think of her view/use of "who" for animals, i.e. when "an individual animal with a personality is being discussed or the context suggests that the nominated animals are deemed akin to humans". |
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Molly
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| #53 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 16:01 pm "who" instead of "which"? |
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.
It might depend on what the animals had been nominated for, I suppose.
.
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Yankee
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| #54 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 17:07 pm "who" instead of "which"? |
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| Molly wrote: |
| So, getting back to the language point, what do you think of her view/use of "who" for animals, i.e. when "an individual animal with a personality is being discussed or the context suggests that the nominated animals are deemed akin to humans". |
It was mentioned before (probably about three times in this thread) that it depends on the speakers intention to attach human qualities to the animals in question.
Here's another 'natural' example.
Amoebas who chat amicably amidst American amanuenses are amorally amorphous.
In any similar context, 'who' would sound equally appropriate.
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 Ralf
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| #55 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 18:45 pm "who" instead of "which"? |
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| Quote: |
Here's another 'natural' example.
Amoebas who chat amicably amidst American amanuenses are amorally amorphous.
In any similar context, 'who' would sound equally appropriate. |
I've only noticed "who" being reserved for animals with considerable intelligence. Are amoebas in that category? |
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Molly
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| #56 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 18:52 pm "who" instead of "which"? |
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| Molly wrote: |
| I've only noticed "who" being reserved for animals with considerable intelligence. |
That changes everything.
Possible examples:
The elephant who remembers everything.
The mare who forgot her name.
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| #57 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 19:13 pm "who" instead of "which"? |
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Or: The ape who knew too much.
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Maybe amoebas are more intelligent in the world of the gamer:
You’re an amoeba who has to grow to live. Move around using the arrow keys.
http://nerdnirvana.org/g4m3s/amoeba.htm
And religion:
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| Let us feel the prolific fecundity of our own species that produces millions of sperm and eggs that die before the successful union of two brings one baby into life, and the awesome efficiency of the amoeba who merely divides him/herself and becomes two, with no losses to count. They too are in us. |
:shock: :shock: :shock: Note how the amoeba gets a "who", but the poor sperm and eggs only get a "that". :wink:
http://www.uuch-nc.org/files/Sermons/2007/2007-11-18%20Thanksgiving%20Religious%20Humanist.pdf |
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Molly
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| #59 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 22:47 pm "who" instead of "which"? |
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| Quote: |
...the awesome efficiency of the amoeba who merely divides himself and becomes two, with no losses to count. They too are in us.
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Ah yes. In us and around us.
MrP |
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MrPedantic
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| #60 (permalink) Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:53 am "who" instead of "which"? |
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| MrPedantic wrote: |
| Quote: |
...the awesome efficiency of the amoeba who merely divides himself and becomes two, with no losses to count. They too are in us.
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Ah yes. In us and around us.
MrP |
Yawn! It's your obsession, eh? Have you made any on-topic posts in this thread, MrP? |
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Molly
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| look vs look like | make or delivery? |
