It's a perfectly valid objection--the collocation is uncommon except in a particular context that isn't provided, so if someone who speaks English as a second language challenges you to 'edit' a sentence in English, and they use a sentence constructed in a way that has a slight visual variation on a common combination of words (criminal and sentence), it's misleading. The author of that blog suggested that this was in fact part of the challenge, to make some kind of point about kanji literacy, but that wasn't till later.

As for 'have sentience', I suspect it's rare on Google for the same reason that 'sentience' is--it's just not that common a form of the word, as opposed to 'sentient'. However, you're right that it feels awkward, though I think that's more because 'have' is a bit less formal sounding than 'possess', and 'sentience' isn't a word you want to throw around lightly!

As for 'watch', that implies a dynamism of the seen and even the use of other senses, so I don't think the comparison is appropriate.

But one "watches a movie", even if it's on television.

~J

woodwojr Wrote:But one "watches a movie", even if it's on television.

~J

A movie is dynamic, however--time and movement, multiple senses... So you can watch something specific on the television as a medium, or the medium itself can sum up television's most common content of audiovisual programming. I think that instances of 'see' used interchangeably with the active multisensory connotation that accompanies 'watch' are relatively uncommon and occur in colloquial, idiomatic contexts, where the act and actor are more closely intertwined and referring to some singular event in time, or something along those lines. On the other hand, 'watch' is never used as a verb to refer to the visual observation of or relating to something inanimate or otherwise static unless there's an implication of something dynamic occurring in the 'watched' in some spatial and/or temporal manner. I'm just BSing, really.

Also, your point about them not recognizing 'sentience' stands, though I think perhaps the context threw them off, and what other mitigating factors might have existed makes me want to dismiss the entire experiment, given its anecdotal, informal nature.

Actually, I meant that one can "see a movie"; the fact that one can "watch" both a movie and television is unremarkable. We've here demonstrated that I can't keep straight what I'm arguing for.

~J

Yes, I figured that's what you meant, I thought I covered that, though. On occasion 'see' refers to dynamic things, but the sense is of the seen thing being pinpointed somehow, where the relationship of subject and object is more direct with the weight of the action on the 'seer', and the usage locates the target in a specific time or place or context that's also emphasized. When you 'watch' something, it must refer to something that's active somehow, even if it's only the potential for activity, and the weight tends to focus on the 'watching' itself or the thing being watched. I think there are few idiomatic instances where those connotations are glossed over. Thus, I don't think that there's a way to invalidate the usage of 'having sentience' through comparison with 'watching/seeing a movie'. Again, I'm totally BSing here.

Oh, you did. My head is clearly still fuzzy; I think I got to the point where I realized I'd said the wrong thing and stopped reading your reply, thus completely missing that you'd managed to interpret my intent correctly.

In short, I'm bowing out of all discussion until tomorrow.

~J

NightSky Wrote:

Machine_Gun_Cat Wrote:What the hell, even I could read and write about 340 Kanji before starting Heisig after about 3 years of Japanese at Highschool

This is quite a funny post in that 340 Kanji is practically nothing, and miles away from being functionally literate. And after three years? That also means you are probably learning slower he is!

Met lots of people like this, I don't have all that much sympathy. I taught English for two months before getting out and getting a job as a programmer, and it wasn't all that difficult. So, definitely possible to make more out of life whilst remaining in Japan

I was actually kind of Highlighting the fact that It's bugger all Kanji.

omg, I cracked up laughing reading this article.
What a loser.

woodwojr Wrote:Oh, you did. My head is clearly still fuzzy; I think I got to the point where I realized I'd said the wrong thing and stopped reading your reply, thus completely missing that you'd managed to interpret my intent correctly.

In short, I'm bowing out of all discussion until tomorrow.

~J

Works for me. I just wrote like five paragraphs about a bunch of nonsense before realizing there was really nowhere left to go.

I thought the article was well written with possibly a bit of exaggeration for effect, maybe not, who knows?

The fact that he's reflecting on and writing about his experiences suggest that he's in the process of taking positive steps to improve his life.

It's easy to band the word loser around and possibly takes a little more courage to look at our own lives to see where we can grow.

Peace.

What an exercise in self-pity... And 'following a girl'?!.. Somehow I'm not surprised he keeps losing them.

If you won't pity yourself, who will?

~J

tokyostyle Wrote:Awesome. At least someone else thought he was a loser for the parts about the girl and not his lack of learning Japanese.

That's funny. Following the girl he loved is one of the few things that I -don't- think makes him a loser.

wccrawford Wrote:Found a blog post talking about 外国人 illiteracy in Japan.

http://www.j2fi.net/2009/02/17/illiterates-in-japan/

And Nukemarine's comment below the article is bang on.

synewave Wrote:The fact that he's reflecting on and writing about his experiences suggest that he's in the process of taking positive steps to improve his life.

It's easy to band the word loser around and possibly takes a little more courage to look at our own lives to see where we can grow.

Indeed.

More than anything else, the guy sounds lonely to me. I think anyone living outside their native country can relate to that. Especially when the countries are very different.