Re: Final text of GPL v3 In message <87ejjrpr9f.fsf@benfinney.id.au>, Ben Finney   writes >Francesco Poli  writes: > >> Is "I am afraid it cannot" a definite answer? >> It does not even seem to express certainty... > >(I am not a professor of English) > >The usage of "I am afraid that " in English has changed. Do you mean in English, or in American? > >At one point it expressed both uncertainty and anxiety about the >assertion; "I fear that this assertion might be true". Then it was >used euphemistically to be polite about an assertion one *was* certain >about, but felt was bad for the other party so wanted to soften the >statement. Eventually this euphemistic usage became the main >understanding. As an English speaker, that is still what it means to me. > >Most native English speakers, I think, would read the above as "Though >I regret the fact, I am certain that ". To express >uncertainty, it might be clearer to say "I fear that " or >"I think that ". You probably mean most native *American* speakers ... Cheers, Wol --  Anthony W. Youngman - anthony@thewolery.demon.co.uk --  To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-legal-REQUEST@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmaster@lists.debian.org