"the"

[BestATN@aol.com]

On Monday 18 February 2002 15:52, John Cowan wrote:
> Edward Cherlin scripsit:
> > > But the poem is self-undermining,
> > > because of the existence of an authorial voice who uses "the
> > > Elephant" = lobi'e xanto, and says "all of them are wrong".
> >
> > I don't see how we can insist that he says more than "le xanto".
>
> Because English "the" implies veridicality.  "The man was a woman"
> is just not sound English.

of course it IS perfectly sound english.  
steven lytle