[OT] Why would IT be a pain?

[Richmond Mathewson]

Well:


This is It
and I am It
and You are It
and so is That
and He is It
and She is It
and It is It
and That is That.

ain' it!

As an EFL teacher I am aware that IT in terms 
of English grammar (try explaining how "It is raining"
to Bulgarians!!!) is a slithery customer.

Now most linguists describe it as a 'token' - meaning 
that IT is used to represent something else.

And, in English grammar IT is really very flexible indeed 
and can be used as a token for almost anything (can't it?).

So, as xTalk is meant to be English-like, IT would seem
reasonable to assume that IT behaved similarly in xTalk
to the way IT behaved in English (wouldn't it?).

as I mentioned earlier; I am prone to over-generalisations

and, this is why I raised IT in the first place.

sincerely, Richmond Mathewson

P.S. I have an MSc from the University of Abertay, Dundee 
in "Computers and IT" - so I should know :-)




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"Philosophical problems are confusions arising owing to the fluidity of meanings users attach to words and phrases."
                                       Mathewson, 2006
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