Another Short History of Linguistics (54)

The grammar says that the verb behind third person singular has to pulse‘s’. I could not find out why they do this. Is there any particular reason that without this‘s’ the listener will make mistake?

It was said the so called grammar is based on logic (as math), yet in the world there are plenty things illogic. That is to say if a language turned to be exactly logic, it will not be able to express something illogic. The more logic a language is, the narrower it can express, for instance the example of math. Today more and more logic expression is replaced by computer, for every step of computer has to follow a certain logic. That is to say the most logic language lost the value of existent. While on the other hand the pictogram keep going on the channel of nature, so we find that any pictogram language exhausted much more memory than alphabet language, for computer is hard to match its development. Or we may say, the development of pictogram is not based on logic but feeling; that is to say, if you feel expression is ok, then it should be ok.

I regard, language as photo picture, they don’t have any logic them self, what they can do is describe things loyally and faithfully.

In my view, grammar represent that alphabetic language looking for a method to put more meaning in less symbols, especially the symbol of sound. Comparing the irregular noun ‘toothes’ and ‘teeth’, irregular verb ‘taked’ and ‘took’ you may find that each of them can save one oral action. But the verb behind third person present tense plus a ‘s’ is one exception. I could not find any reason for it.

In most cases the so called grammar is in fact double expression. For instance, in the case of ‘five books’ where both ‘five’ and ‘s’ expressed the meaning of plural. In the case of ‘yesterday, I tried that apple’ where both ‘yesterday’ and ‘ed’ expressed the meaning of time. In the sentence ‘he takes the job.’ Where both the ‘take’ and ‘s’ expressed the meaning of third person in present tense.

‘I love her.’ Both the ‘I’ and ‘her’ is expressed the meaning of subject and object twice. The form of ‘I’ and ‘her’ tells the listener they are subject and object, while the position in the sentence repeats the same idea again.  

All these double expression in Chinese would be regard as sick-sentence. For in Chinese, normally each meaning should be expressed only once, except the writer require some artistic effect. Their logic is that why some meanings should express twice and others expressed only once, is there any bias?