can a quetsion be an accusal??
El_Kabong
Posts: 4,141
i've been having this ongoing arguement w/ someone for a while now...i think a question can be worded so it is basically an accusation, they claim a question is always a question and can't be an accusal...but take these 2 questions, for example:
"did you see my money i had on the counter?"
compared w/
"so, you took my money i had on the counter?"
the 2nd question seems like an obvious accusal, does it not? it may still be a question but it is worded in a way that seems like they already have an idea what happened to the money whereas the 1st question doesn't have this...did you see it? that is a question, so you took it is still a question but an accusal as well, isn't it?
"did you see my money i had on the counter?"
compared w/
"so, you took my money i had on the counter?"
the 2nd question seems like an obvious accusal, does it not? it may still be a question but it is worded in a way that seems like they already have an idea what happened to the money whereas the 1st question doesn't have this...did you see it? that is a question, so you took it is still a question but an accusal as well, isn't it?
standin above the crowd
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
he had a voice that was strong and loud and
i swallowed his facade cos i'm so
eager to identify with
someone above the crowd
someone who seemed to feel the same
someone prepared to lead the way
Post edited by Unknown User on
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i have to agree with you on this one
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who is this person? there's a clear distinction and unless english is their second language they're a dunce if they can't see it.
Ah, the power of words! :eek:
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i disagree El_K. on your opinion about the first question not being an accusal.
did you see my money i had on the counter?
dependent upon the tone of the delivery, this question can be accusatory. especially when the accuser knows full well the other they are speaking to took the money. if said in an accusatory tone it also catches the accused out in two lies if they reply in the negative. not only did they lie but they also took the money. if they are in fact guilty of the crime they are being accused of. i use this approach all the time with my children to test their truthfulness. i am not always successful. but the majority of the time the missing item turns up 'mysteriously'.
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i just need to say
That's what I said. The word 'so' doesn't necessarily make one question worse than the other. Tone and wording can also make questions come across as accusatory. In any event, the questions come from somewhere, some thought you had in your head, a preconceived notion. The question is going to be pointed towards the thought you've already had. It doesn't make you somehow 'free' of possibily coming across as accusatory or using pointed questions just because you left out the word 'so' or maybe worded your question differently. It all just depends on how you asked the question.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
so... does that make you the 'someone' El_K has been having the ongoing argument with?
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
So, while on the surface, questions 1 and 2 are dissimilar, I would say that question one might well carry a lot of the subtext of question two. In a lot of conversational English, we make ostensibly innocuous comments that are loaded with implied accusations, commands or implied insults. For example, a man who wearily gets out of his seat, with exaggerated slowness, after coming home from a hard day's work, and says, "I think I'll just ... make myself a cup of tea" is arguably saying to his wife, "Make me a cup of tea." This would be a good example of case of one kind of utterance implying something else, the intended primary meaning).
A sentence is never semantically a closed sign-system in itself, since it is never fixed to one authoritative meaning. It is inherently unstable, and prone to punning wordplay, context and interpretation(s). Yes, question one, dependent on context of circumstance, could be read or heard to entail question two, though there's no logical contiguity between the two statements alone.
No, but I guess we have been arguing about how these questions can both be considered accusatory but I'm not the person that started the whole problem he is refering to.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
that still means a question can be an accusation.
Although, I wasn't here when he made this thread so he may be more frustrated with me disagreeing with him more than the other person. We do usually agree on many issues.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
Can be but it doesn't have to be...it still depends on other variables surrounding the question.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
there is not a clear distinction at all. as i said before it comes down to the tone which which the question was asked. which also means that there is presupposition on the part of the question asker/accuser. presupposition based on prior interaction with the accused and the fact that there is no one else in the vicinity of the 'crime' scene. circumstantial perhaps, but still strong. cause lets face it inanimate things don't disappear into thin air.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
perhaps. but the thread topic i thought was "can a question be an accusation?" i got the impression the exact phrases used were simply illustrative examples. so you both seem to agree the principle of questions being accusations is sound and you're just arguing about the semantics of how that is accomplished. im not sure i see what you guys are disagreeing about?
Well, he has been taking the stance that the first question is ok but the latter is wrong because it's accusatory. I'm only saying both can be but neither have to be...it all depends on the tone and context.
Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
-Oscar Wilde
i dunno, i dont see how the second be taken as anything but accusatory. but ill agree both could be depending on the tone.