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/lit/ - Literature

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5859821 No.5859821 [Reply] [Original]

An alien and a common man are disscussing their differences.
The alien says there is a fascinating sentence to be understood in their language but it is impossible to be translated to Human tongue.

The Man learns the alien language and reads the sentence - does he understand the sentence?

>> No.5859837

>>5859821
No. If he can understand it, the alien didn't know enough human tongue, or not enough alien tongue.

>> No.5859842

I can't see why not. There are probably some sentence in human languages that cannot be translated.

>> No.5859848

>>5859837
>implying everything that can be learned has already been learned
Close the research labs everyone! We can go home!

>> No.5859858
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5859858

If the sentence is impossible to translate the language is impossible to learn , none of the alien words or letters will ever make sense. Unless????!!!

>> No.5859881

>>5859848
OP said that is something that he can not understand, not something that he didn't know. Everything that can be learned can be understand. In fact, it will be understand if it's learned/known.

>> No.5859888

>>5859881
Its not translatable . Read some Wittgenstein fag

>> No.5859893

>The Man learns the alien language and reads the sentence - does he understand the sentence?

No. Merely reading the sentence doesn't provide context for the usage of words. It's akin to private-language: he has to know how the words are used for him to fully understand the sentence.

>> No.5859903

The real question is how can we be sure a human and an alien can communicate? What if the alien doesn't have a way of making sound? What if it communicates with farts or shit? What if it doesn't share any senses with us? How can a human and an alien have a discussion?

>> No.5859937

>>5859903
pls be trolling

>> No.5859958

>>5859903
>The real question is how can we be sure a human and an alien can communicate?
We can communicate through movement if nothing else. Unless you think something can evolve with no ability to sense physical objects.

>> No.5859970

>>5859903
we lem now

>> No.5859988

>>5859821
You said it's impossible to translate from alien to human. How is the man going to learn Alien in the first place, then?

If he can learn the way babies learn new languages, then that would make Alien translatable.

If Alien language only has certain things that cannot be translated, then these must be things like qualia, and since such things are incommunicable through human language, a Man will not understand them unless the mere thinking of those alien words makes him sense new things.

I'm kinda drunk, but i'm convinced my main point is strong

>> No.5860129

>>5859821
Only if he gets a tongue transplant.

>> No.5860147

>A chinese man and an english man are disscussing their differences.
>The chinaman says there is a fascinating sentence to be understood in his language but it is impossible to be translated to English.

>The englishman learns chinese and reads the sentence - does he understand the sentence?

This is some downright boring shit. What are the necessary, sufficient conditions for the demonstration of understanding in this example

>> No.5860167

>>5859988
Pretty much this
>An Englishman and a Tribesman, of a tribe who are all blind, are discussing their differences
>The Englishman says there is a fascinating sentence to be understood in his language but is impossible to be translated into Tribic
>Tribesman learns English
>The sentence is "The sky is blue."

>> No.5860172

>>5860167
>"This is an ultraviolet lamp that plays ultrasonic music"
>OMG WHUT IS IT MEAN!? MY BRAIN IS MELTS"

>> No.5860190

>>5859970
kek

>> No.5860206

>Ayy lmao
>Ayy lmao

Ayy lmao

>> No.5861648

>>5860206
i cant believe it took this long

>> No.5861696

>>5860172
chief kek

>> No.5861728

He could, the alien language could just have words that don't have a proper translation but could still be explained in english but in a much clumsier way

like the words schadenfreude or lagom or whatever