I don't mean _Grice_: his friends were pretentious profs, and lords and things. He would rather be seen dead than having an official boring post like _that_.
I mean Wallis.
Wallis writes -- and what writes is behind Grice's ref. to "sensitive English speakers, as most of us are not".
Wallis was, an "English sensitive speaker". He wrote, alas, in Latin:
"'Shall' et 'will' indicant Futurum. Uret,
"it shall burn",
"it will burn".
Quoniam autem extraneis fatis est cognitu
difficile, quando hoc vel illud dicendum est
(non enim promiscue dicimus 'shall' et 'will');
neque tamen alii quos vidi ullas tradidere regulas
quibus dirigantur: has ego tradere
necessarium duxi, quas qui observaverit
hac in re non aberrabit.
QUOMODO DIFFERUNT.
In primis personis 'shall'
simpliciter pradicentis est;
'will', quasi promittentis aut minantis.
In secundis et tertiis personis,
'shall' promittentis est aut minantis; 'will'
simpliciter praedicentis.
Uram, urest, uret, uremus, uretis, urent:
I shall burn,
you will (thou wilt),
he will;
we shall,
ye will,
they will, burn;
nempe hoc futurum predico: vel I will, you shall (thou shalt),
he shall; we will, ye shall, they shall, burn;
nempe, hoc futurm spondeo, vel, faxo ut
fit."
(p.106).
The problem is aptly summed up by that clever double act: Merriam-Webster.
They wrote: "Alas, it's not clear, though, that Wallis's rules reflect the practice even _of his day_."
Cheers,
JL.
-- Some of whose friends are shallers.
I was asked (by my conscience) to provide an English translation here. I love the fact that comments are HIDDEN. This should provoke YOU to post, rather than commend. Get out of the closet!
ReplyDelete"'shall' and 'will' indicate the
future: it shall burn, it will burn. It is difficult for foreigners to know
when to use the first form and when the second (we do not use them both
interchangeably), and no other description that I have seen has given any
rules for guidance, so I thought I ought to give some; if these rules are
observed they will prevent any mistakes being made. In the first person
'shall' simply indicates a prediction, whereas 'will' is used for promising
or threatening. In the second and third persons 'shall' is used for
promising or threatening, and 'will' of a straightforward prediction. I
shall burn, you will (thou wilt) he will; we shall, ye will, they will,
burn -- all simply predict what will happen; whereas I will, you shall
(thou shalt), he shall, we will, ye shall, they shall, burn -- are used for
guarantees or pledges of what will happen."
"SHALL, WILL. 'Shall' et 'will' indicant Futurum. Uret, "it
shall burn", "it will burn". Quoniam autem extraneis fatis est cognitu
difficile, quando hoc vel illud dicendum est (non enim promiscue dicimus
'shall' et 'will'); neque tamen alii quos vidi ullas tradidere regulas
quibus dirigantur: has ego tradere necessarium duxi, quas qui observaverit
hac in re non aberrabit. QUOMODO DIFFERUNT. In primis personis 'shall'
simpliciter pradicentis est; 'will', quasi promittentis aut minantis. In
secundis et tertiis personis, 'shall' promittentis est aut minantis; 'will'
simpliciter praedicentis. Uram, urest, uret, uremus, uretis, urent: I shall
burn, you will (thou wilt), he will; we shall, ye will, they will, burn;
nempe hoc futurum predico: vel I will, you shall (thou shalt), he shall; we
will, ye shall, they shall, burn; nempe, hoc futurm spondeo, vel, faxo ut
fit." (p.106).