Quote:
Originally Posted by Matthias Wasser
I don't see how both "my name is Isabel" and "I'm called Isabel" could marry expression to intent without their both being truth or both being lies, given that when normal, honest native English speakers use them they have the same intent.
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But when a normal, honest, native English speaker uses them, they're telling the truth. Isabel Sanford
is Isabel and is also
called Isabel.
The angel, by contrast, is putting on a disguise. She may well be called Isabel by others, but she
isn't Isabel -- not in a real, true sense of the phrase. So one can be true and one a lie.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Attercap
I don't know if I agree with that. When someone says "my name is Isabel," I take that to mean that their formal first name, as printed on their identification/birth certificate/taxes/whatever. If someone says "I'm called Isabel" then I get the immediate impression that it's a nickname, middle name or, well something that's not their formal first name.
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Excellent point.
Moby Dick comes to mind here: when the narrator says "Call me Ishmael," the phrasing invites you to think that that may not be his actual name, it's just something that's convenient for the narrative.