cts" "is of identity" (i.e. John is a man, This is a pen, That is a wall) and the "is of predication" (i.e. The leaf is green, That girl is pretty, That tree is tall). In effect, we are being asked to reject the "encoding" not only of a society, but the entire linguo-cultural construct of Aristotle.
One who adopts an E-Prime philosophy (and anyone who teaches languages of any sort to any group should make such an adoption) will find a good guide in Benjamin Lee Whorf's excellent treatise Language, Thought and Reality. Whorf astutely points out that there are a number of languages and cultures that deny Aristotle and support, what Whorf calls, the "principle of linguistic relativity." This principle states that the structure of the language we use influences the way we perceive "reality," as well as how we behave with respect to that perceived reality.
Whorf, for instance, suggests that a language teacher could, by making a simple E-Prime adjustment, create a more conducive atmosphere for learning a new langu
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