Dick:
# Dear And,
# That's an interesting question. Surely the options go beyond the two
you
# offer? My own view is that we have a clearly structured network of
nodes
# and relations, but that the relations have varying strengths
according to
# frequency - a combination of the two. That allows us to model the
effects
# of conventionalisation (= frequency?) whereby today's metaphor turns
into
# tomorrow's literal meaning (e.g. in Latin, "testa" meant 'pot' but
in
# French its descendant means 'head'). Crudely:
# Time 1: sense of testa = pot.
# Time 2: ditto, but sense2 of testa = head. Through time the
frequency of
# sense2 increases and that of sense decreases.
# Time 3: sense of testa = head.
# How do you feel about that?
Fine. But I was focusing on the phase between Time 1 and Time 2,
before
today's metaphor has turned into tomorrow's literal meaning. Or do you
intend
Time 2 to span the entire period from when testa=head was a fresh and
infrequent
metaphor right up until testa=pot finally died?
--And.
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