tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-520807396714463309.post5150171599275066774..comments2024-02-12T02:22:30.561-05:00Comments on The Lousy Linguist: That's a "box"?Chrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09558846279006287148noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-520807396714463309.post-45916936705529183402008-08-12T09:50:00.000-04:002008-08-12T09:50:00.000-04:00I'm not convinced there is a specific term for thi...I'm not convinced there is a specific term for this. I asked my buddy Frank and he didn't think so either. I glanced through van's RRG book and didn't see anything (but it's a big book, hehe). I'll ask a few folks.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09558846279006287148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-520807396714463309.post-60404516633935430592008-08-11T17:20:00.000-04:002008-08-11T17:20:00.000-04:00OK, this has nothing to do with this post, but I h...OK, this has nothing to do with this post, but I have a question for my favorite linguist, and I can't figure out how to post to the main page.<BR/><BR/>I'm at a loss for a linguistic term, so much so that I can't even form coherent search terms to retrieve the answer from the web.<BR/><BR/>What is the term in semantics for words that denote an action that cannot be undone or reversed. For instance you can break something, but you can't unbreak something...unless you're Toni Braxton of course. So you can die, but you can't "undie" (don't even try doing a search on that, you get a thousand hits for panties and other undergarments). Granted, there is the undead, but the undead are not the living, as one would assume.<BR/><BR/>There are dozens of these actions, you can spill something, you can't unspill it. The examples that come to mind are of destructive actions, but I'm not sure that is a requirement. Any ideas?<BR/><BR/>BTW, still laughing at your Mia Kunis.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12549459778558488382noreply@blogger.com