In contrast to the previously discussed languages, QL4BIM is is an imperative language, i.e. a QL4BIM program consists of a number of commands for the computer to perform sequentially.
If that means discussing language itself as well as what it expresses – the very stuff of phonology, syntax and semantics – then good.
Canada, Australia, and others are finally using terms like "though we don't prefer it, we can live with this" when discussing language.
Mr. Crystal, who is British, is that rare academic linguist who can discuss language authoritatively without resorting to the polysyllabic jargon that often serves as a wall around that realm of scholarship.
Discussing language, Darwin observed: That which distinguishes man from the lower animals is not the understanding of articulate sounds, for, as everyone knows, dogs understand many words and sentences.
In the past half century or so, however, this situation has produced a serious quarrel, political as well as linguistic, with two combatant parties: the prescriptivists, who were bent on instructing us in how to write and speak; and the descriptivists, who felt that all we could legitimately do in discussing language was to say what the current practice was.
In one of the more lucid passages Mr. Joyce appears to be discussing language: has any usual sort of ornery josser, flat-chested, fortyish, faintly flatulent and given to ratiocination....ever looked sufficiently longly at a quite everydaylooking stamped addressed envelope?
As we move from phonology, to lexicogrammar, and on to semantics and context, we discuss language in increasingly abstract terms.
In the paper, we report on the design of the modeling language, on its integration with the enterprise modeling method, present the language specification, and discuss language applications in the context of the assessment of an internal control system.
For me, what is most important is that it provides a delightfully rich reading experience – a useful surrogate for readers who have not had the privilege of discussing language and linguistics face-to-face with Halliday.
