"or" in English
Feb. 17th, 2014 01:35 pmMy impression of "or" in English is that it can mean either "inclusive or" or "exclusive or" depending on context.
Example #1:
"Are you now or have you ever been a member of a communist party?"
"Would you like milk or sugar in your tea?"
"Don't trust someone if they're incompetent or malicious."
Obviously someone who IS NOW and also HAS BEEN IN THE PAST is supposed to answer "yes", not "no". You're allowed to ask for milk AND sugar. Incompetent malicious people are not automatically trustworthy.
Example #2:
"Would you like dinner now or would you like to freshen up first?"
"Eat in or take away?"
"Would you like the free gift or the cash equivalent?"
It would make no sense to ask for both.
And some of those questions have exactly the same form, it's just that you're supposed to know from context that having both is normal, or having both isn't being offered, or isn't possible.
However, I know some people say "in English, 'or' means 'inclusive or', even if sometimes common sense/politeness/physics stops you having both options at once" and some people say "in English, 'or' means 'exclusive or' but people sometimes use it sloppily and we know what they mean".
However, I can't really see the difference between those and "it can mean either depending on context". Is there any evidence that one of those is a superior description of the "default" interpretation (not just "which is more common", but "which people understand you really mean if you emphasise the meaning of the word").
Example #1:
"Are you now or have you ever been a member of a communist party?"
"Would you like milk or sugar in your tea?"
"Don't trust someone if they're incompetent or malicious."
Obviously someone who IS NOW and also HAS BEEN IN THE PAST is supposed to answer "yes", not "no". You're allowed to ask for milk AND sugar. Incompetent malicious people are not automatically trustworthy.
Example #2:
"Would you like dinner now or would you like to freshen up first?"
"Eat in or take away?"
"Would you like the free gift or the cash equivalent?"
It would make no sense to ask for both.
And some of those questions have exactly the same form, it's just that you're supposed to know from context that having both is normal, or having both isn't being offered, or isn't possible.
However, I know some people say "in English, 'or' means 'inclusive or', even if sometimes common sense/politeness/physics stops you having both options at once" and some people say "in English, 'or' means 'exclusive or' but people sometimes use it sloppily and we know what they mean".
However, I can't really see the difference between those and "it can mean either depending on context". Is there any evidence that one of those is a superior description of the "default" interpretation (not just "which is more common", but "which people understand you really mean if you emphasise the meaning of the word").