[Vocabulary] Adverbs with double meaning: apparently and somehow

[inase]

I am at a loss about the speaker's feeling when these double-meaning adjectives are used. My guess is that it is either context-sensitive or intonation-sensitive rather than sentence structure-sensitive but ...

1. Apparently, he is sick. (either seemingly or obviously)
2. He is sick apparently. (seemingly)
3. He is apparently sick. (obviously)

4. Apparently, he enjoys being criticized. (either seemingly or obviously)
5. He enjoys being criticized apparently. (seemingly)
6. He apparently enjoys being criticized. (obviously)

7. Somehow, he managed to escape the stalker. (I don't know how but ...)
8. He managed to escape the stalker somehow. (I don't know how but ...)
9. He somehow managed to escape the stalker. (I don't know how but ...)

10. Somehow, he helped me out of the trouble. (I don't know how but ...)
11. He helped me out of the trouble somehow. (I don't know how but ...)
12. He somehow helped me out of the trouble. (I don't know why but ...)

Inase

 

[andrewg927]

The speaker's feelings? They are just reporting what they see. I don't think using apparently expresses a feeling. By the way, apparently and somehow are adverbs, not adjectives. Also I don't think they have double meaning.

 

[inase]

Apparently does not mean obviously.

Your message puzzles me.
Maybe, some Japanese philologists and translators have made a mistake in the past.
According to some of my English-Japanese dictionaries, there are examples of "apparently" considered to mean "it is clear that ..." At least, they are translated to mean so. Apparently, they are listed under this definition in Genius and Reader's.

(EijiroVII)
1. Apparently this painting represents life and death.
2. Apparently this section had been devoted to natural history, but everything had long since passed out of recognition.
3. Apparently, many English teachers are working in several schools and also taking private lessons.
4. Apparently as time went on, the feeding of the Under-world, however it was effected, had become disjointed.
5. apparently from within a couple of feet of me;
6. Apparently in recent years there has been a slump in exports caused in part by the high competition from other countries.
7 Apparently the single house, and possibly even the household, had vanished.

(Genius English-Japanese)
8. Very apparently he is a good swimmer. He has won many races.
9. Her cipher messages were apparently intercepted by Washington.
10. “I can’t believe he got away with it.”“You don’t know the half of it. Apparently he paid off members of the jury to find him not guilty.”

(Reader's English-Japanese)
11. Apparently he never got my message after all.

Inase

 

[inase]

With 7 through 12 it's also a matter of style, although there may be an outdated rule someplace about the placement of 'however' in the sentence.

I understand that "somehow" is used to mean either "in any way possible" or "for some reason." Do you agree?

 

[andrewg927]

Robert, I'm no mathematician but I can assure you 2+2 does not obviously equal 4.:lol: