in any/whatever sense

[palinkasocsi]

Dear Friends,

Suppose that A is a sentence which has 10 opposite meanings/senses. I want to express the opposite of A, but I fail because what I have come up with is not any of the 10 opposite meanings of A. Which do you think is correct:

1. The speaker does not mean the opposite in any sense of A.
2. The speaker does not mean the opposite in any of the senses of A.
3. The speaker does not mean the opposite of A in whatever/any/any possible sense.

I like 'The speaker ... in any possible sense.' best. What do you think?

Thanks a lot!

P.

[Marius Hancu]

>a sentence which has 10 opposite meanings

can't be "opposite," there's only one opposite in general, perhaps your mean "different/distinct/contradictory"

444 on "sentence has * meanings
http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22sentence+has+*+meanings%22&btnG=Search+Books

1 on "sentence has * opposite meanings"
http://books.google.com/books?lr=&q=%22sentence+has+*+opposite+meanings%22&btnG=Search+Books

http://books.google.com/books?q=%22sentence+has+*+opposite+senses%22&btnG=Search+Books

[Marius Hancu]

I'd like:

Most probably, the speaker does not mean, in any sense, the opposite of A.

or:

Most probably, the speaker does not mean the opposite in any sense of A.

but they have different meanings, which I'm leaving for you to find:-)

[palinkasocsi]

Believe me Marius, some sentences could have more than one opposite meaning. This is part of the paper I am working on:

(11) Oscar Wilde is not a genius.
(12) Oscar Wilde is no genius.

By Oakley’s (2005) account, a speaker’s choice for not or no is a matter of virtual comparison or virtual contrast. The former presupposes an act of conceptual matching, in which two or more entities are brought together from the perspective of admitted similarity traits. Hence, the use of not is to sever the connecting links (of similarity) between entities considered to be similar or identical. Virtual contrast, on the other hand is trying to reinforce a commonly held view, rather than attempt to overturn it. Thus, as Oakley (2005) argues, no ‘implies greater conceptual distance between the entities because the linguistic meaning of the governed noun profiles its objective, role-denoting properties rather than subjective, idiosyncratic qualities.’
To examine (11) and (12) from Oakley’s perspective, it is obvious that while the descriptive negation in (11) challenges the veracity of an admitted opinion about Oscar Wilde (that he is a literary genius), the metalinguistic negation in (12) dismisses or ridicules the very opinion itself. Under such analysis, the opposite of Oscar Wilde is a genius could have at least two interpretations.

[OddThomas]

The speaker does not mean the opposite of A in any [possible] sense whatever.

[palinkasocsi]

Thanks Marius and OddThomas!

Palinkasocsi

[palinkasocsi]

Dear OddThomas,

Do you think your suggestion ("The speaker ... whatever") is colloquial or fits an academic style? I am writing an academic paper and I would need something formal. Do you think your suggestion would do?

P.

[Marius Hancu]

Well, you have it in these books:

3 on "in any possible sense whatever".
http://books.google.com/books?q=%22in+any+possible+sense+whatever%22&btnG=Search+Books

Also, perhaps:

Most probably, the speaker does not mean, in absolutely no/any sense, the opposite of A.

38 on "in absolutely no sense"
http://books.google.com/books?q=%22in+absolutely+no+sense%22&btnG=Search+Books

[Bridget]

Dear OddThomas,

Do you think your suggestion ("The speaker ... whatever") is colloquial or fits an academic style? I am writing an academic paper and I would need something formal. Do you think your suggestion would do?

P.

"In no sense whatever does the speaker succeed in expressing the opposite of A" sounds quite academic to me.

[MrPedantic]

Perhaps:

1. The speaker does not succeed in expressing any of the possible opposites of [sentence A].

Best wishes,

MrP

[palinkasocsi]

Thanks Marius, Bridget, MrPedantic!

Palinkasocsi