My Red Challenge

AV1611VET said:

"Red" in English = "Nyekundu" in Swahili.

I offer a Ugandan a red apple.

He says, "That is not a red apple. That is a nyekundu apple."

Are both of his sentences factual?

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AV ignores the hermeneutics of theology in Genesis 1 and only listens to an incorrect scientific interpretation of Genesis 1.
Are your literary skills factual?

AV1611VET said:

"Red" in English = "Nyekundu" in Swahili.

I offer a Ugandan a red apple.

He says, "That is not a red apple. That is a nyekundu apple."

Are both of his sentences factual?

Click to expand...

Apple red is more of a candy apple color where nyekundu in Uganda would be more of a scarlet color. So you would need to find the uganda word for Apple red. Also food tends not to be translated but keeps its native name. If you buy Asian fruit at the store they tend to retain their Asian name. In this case red more describes the type than the actual color. An Apple or candy red lipstick would be more of a specific color.

When we describe physical reality it is always an approximation as language isnt capable of being equal to physical reality.

AV1611VET said:

"Red" in English = "Nyekundu" in Swahili.

I offer a Ugandan a red apple.

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Created ex nihilo, by any chance?

He says, "That is not a red apple. That is a nyekundu apple."

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The fact that he uses Swahili for one word only - while the rest of the sentences are in English - suggests to me that he implies there to be a difference between "red" and "nyekundu".

Are both of his sentences factual?

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In that he factually spoke them? That´s your hypothetical, isn´t it?

AV1611VET said:

Anyone care to actually answer this challenge?

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VirOptimus already did. Language is necessarily an approximation of reality. We use words to describe things, and different languages will use different words to describe different things, often without a 1:1 overlap. In most western countries, the languages have fairly similar and interrelated roots; your "red" is very much the same as my "rot" and the frenchman's "rouge", because culturally and linguistically, we've generally had similar exposure to similar shades of red, and that is the experience from which we draw our linguistic connections. Something is "red" if it falls within a certain range of the electromagnetic spectrum visible to us. The Swahili's Nyekundu, on the other hand, is based on different experiences and different exposures - the part of the spectrum they are talking about may be slightly shifted, or the brightness may be higher or lower on average.

But assuming that Nyekundu actually does mean the same thing as "red" in this case, and it's just a matter of semantics, then no - only the second sentence is true. The first sentence is false - the apple clearly is red, by the definition of "red" we provide. It is equally also nyekundu, by the definition of nyekundu he provides.

AV1611VET said:

I'll tell you what:

I'll take a red apple across the street to the four-year old girl playing in her front yard and tell her that someone says it isn't red, and ask her if she thinks he's wrong.

Then maybe I'll get an answer, instead of an earful of technojunk from those who don't want to really answer the OP.

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So the Uganda/Suaheli stuff in your question was just irrelevant, redundant junk?
And yes, if you want answers from a 4year old, you better ask a 4year old.

AV1611VET said:

"Red" in English = "Nyekundu" in Swahili.

I offer a Ugandan a red apple.

He says, "That is not a red apple. That is a nyekundu apple."

Are both of his sentences factual?

Click to expand...

Impossible to say given the details known. first off, we don't know anything about the apple, so we cant say for sure what color it is. second, I don't speak swahili, so there is a language barrier here. Third, we are talking about spoken language, so homophones may be at play here as well.

AV1611VET said:

I'll tell you what:

I'll take a red apple across the street to the four-year old girl playing in her front yard and tell her that someone says it isn't red, and ask her if she thinks he's wrong.

Then maybe I'll get an answer, instead of an earful of technojunk from those who don't want to really answer the OP.

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And now I remember why I put you on ignore. Hey buddy, newsflash: if you are getting all of your information about the world from 4-year-olds, you might be doing it wrong.

(Plus, I already told you, he'd be wrong.)

Example of some difficulties with crossing language:


Mich: Dies ist eine roter Apfel (this is a red apple)
Meine frau: Das ist nicht richtig! (That's not right)

Who's right? Me or my wife?

AV1611VET said:

...I'll take a red apple across the street to the four-year old girl playing in her front yard and tell her that someone says it isn't red, and ask her if she thinks he's wrong....Then maybe I'll get an answer, instead of an earful of technojunk from those who don't want to really answer the OP.

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In real life, most times the answers to a question are more complicated than a simple sentence. The answers you got in this thread were really good spot on answers.

unfortunately for the posters who took time to answer your question, you don't seem capable of comprehending nor appreciating their answers.

but for the sake of argument, I would be very interested in your refutation of their answers. I would absolutely love it if you could prove the above answers wrong and go point by point, argument by argument as you refute them. I'm being serious. I agree with pretty much all of the answers given. So "if" the answers given thus far are wrong, I would love to be shown the error and an explanation for why they are wrong.

Could you help me understand or will you just be dismissal with a casual one or two line reply???

AV1611VET said:

Here, quatona ... just for you, I'll rewrite the OP, just to simplify it:Now can you answer it?

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"Red" in English = "Nyekundu" in Swahili.

I offer a Ugandan a red apple.

He says, "One plus one equal three. That is a nyekundu apple."

Are both of his sentences factual?

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Depends on how he defines the words he uses. Assuming the typical definitions of "one", "plus", and "three", then no, his first sentence is demonstrably wrong. However, it could be that his language conventions are different - his "three" could be your "two". Words have usages, not meanings. Assuming the definition of Nyekundu you provided, his second sentence is for all intents and purposes correct.

Now what's the point?

Seeing as he seemingly constructs his sentences using otherwise perfect English, but then uses a word which is not in the English vocabulary, I would say he needs a dictionary.

AV1611VET said:

Here, quatona ... just for you, I'll rewrite the OP, just to simplify it:Now can you answer it?

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...pretending I am a 4year old?
Otherwise: After removing that which I guess is but redundant, obsfucating junk, the question remains: "Is: 'One plus one equal three.' an accurate statement within the reference frame of our decimal system?". My answer is no.
But since you called your thread "My Red Challenge" I suspect my answer (or even your "rewording" of the question?) is besides the point.

AV1611VET said:

I'll tell you what:

I'll take a red apple across the street to the four-year old girl playing in her front yard and tell her that someone says it isn't red, and ask her if she thinks he's wrong.

Then maybe I'll get an answer, instead of an earful of technojunk from those who don't want to really answer the OP.

Click to expand...

That is a different question.

AV1611VET said:

"Red" in English = "Nyekundu" in Swahili.

I offer a Ugandan a red apple.

He says, "That is not a red apple. That is a nyekundu apple."

Are both of his sentences factual?

Click to expand...

You appear to be positing that red and nyekundu are exactly equivalent. Just translations of each other.

His sentences are therefore something like "That is not a 225 gram apple. That is a 0.225 kilogram apple."

Both those statements can't be true at the same time.

It's possible he doesn't know the word 'red', but then that's his problem for making authoritative statements about subjects of which he's ignorant.