1

On what page of Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach (GEB) is the paragraph he quotes which is syntactically correct but almost completely void of any meaning except for a very esoteric group of specialists? Hofstadter used it to illustrate the importance of context in meaning, as well as the difference between syntax and semantics.

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    There is another phrase which I learned in linguistics class to illustrate this distinction: "More people have been to Paris than I have".
    – Niel de Beaudrap
    Feb 20 '14 at 12:40
  • @NieldeBeaudrap: ☺ Hofstadter's example was paragraph length, though, and I think it might've been just one sentence. I wish I could find it; it's been since about year 2000 since I read GEB. thanks for the help
    – Geremia
    Feb 20 '14 at 18:15
  • According to this link, there is a section starting on page 630 dealing with Syntax and Semantics : egodeath.com/geb.htm
    – nwr
    Sep 4 '15 at 3:23

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.