Speaking (or writing) of language...

Kennita Watson (kwatson@netcom.com)
Sat, 11 Oct 1997 10:50:14 -0400 (EDT)


I came across an old message at work in which someone wrote to me:
"Let's [have a meeting] to touch up on things". After a brief
pause, I realized that probably "touch base" and "catch up" had
been combined to make a phrase with much different meaning from either.

Do other writing systems (Cyrillic, Kanji, etc.) design out this sort
of problem? Do other languages in our writing system have it (as
often)? It seems to me that English would be particularly prone
since we have so many words and so many idiomatic phrases.

Messy or not, I love this language.

Cheers,
Kennita

Kennita Watson | The bond that links your true family is not one of blood,
kwatson@netcom.com| but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do
| members of the same family grow up under the same roof.
| -- Richard Bach, _Illusions_