no, go ahead and retreat into the formal language -- that's great by me as long as you're willing to connect the dots for me. I guess I'm just seeing how far a common sense approach to this issue will get one... I did take some philosophy as an undergraduate but that was a looooong time ago, and I read a lot... but anyway....

well, yes, as a practical matter... but we DO actually manage to communicate some higher level concepts, yes? beyond "pass the salt, please." And having never studied Wittgenstein.... see? I'm already lost. :). But that's okay; I'm used to it.

by "constant translation process" do you mean between "what I want on the inside" and "the clumsy words I use to convey my desires to the person with the salt?"