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Re: Of Legal Language and CS Notation



On 2003-11-21T12:05:31-0500, Peter J. Wasilko wrote:
>     Likewise, the Surface Structure of legal language is more of a
> historical accident. However, its Logical Form and Deep Structure are
> functions of the *gasp* mathematical model it captures.

I find this separation of concerns between content and presentation a
sensible and fascinating one.  With apologies, though, let me go on the
following tangent of a tangent, since English is by many accounts a
lightweight language...

May I advise you (and others) to avoid terms like "Surface Structure",
"Logical Form", and "Deep Structure" in discussions of language where
they are not technically relevant or necessary?  I presume that you
intend to allude to notions in linguistics, but these notions (even when
they are neither bitterly controversial nor constantly renamed) do not
actually make sense, even metaphorically, in a context like the above.
For example, surface structure is often conceived of as being located on
the linguistic pipeline between logical form and deep structure.

	Ken

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