Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

For example, “Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” is a valid English sentence.


Syntactically defensible, sure. But what anglophone not seeking to deliberately confuse an interlocutor would call bison from upstate New York "Buffalo buffalo"? What action could such bison perform on other bison that can reasonably be construed as "buffaloing"?

Semantics and pragmatics are part of the language, too.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: