0

I have several questions regarding the following sentence.

As powerfully wired as we are for social contact, so too are we wired for "xenophobia": the fear of strangers. source

  1. I think "As ... as" in the first part means comparison of equality. Below is my trying of undo inversion of the sentence. (If there are any other suggestions, please let me know.)

As we are powerfully wired for social contact, we too are powerfully wired for "xenophobia": the fear of strangers.

  1. Can I omit the first "As" in the original sentence? If it is possible, can anyone please explain to me why?

Powerfully wired as we are for social contact, so too are we wired for "xenophobia": the fear of strangers.

This sentence seems pretty sophisticated and complicated for me. I am trying to fully understand it especially in grammatical terms.

Improve this question
1
  • As a learner: I think your first rewording can evoke a sense of "cause and effect". I mean that "as" can be understood as "because". So, I think "as as" is the right phrase to evoke the sense of equality!
    – Cardinal
    Apr 24 '17 at 9:14
3

This is clumsy (or clumsily edited) writing, mixing two related constructions:

  • As X as we are, we are also Y —here the inverted as .. as construction signals that the proposition in the main clause will contrast with the proposition in the subordinate clause: "Even though we are X, we are also Y"

  • As we are X, so we are Y —here the as .. so construction signals that the two propositions are similar: "Just as we are X, we are likewise Y"

The author probably wavered between representing the two propositions as similar and representing them as contrasting, and ended up expressing neither clearly.

Improve this answer
2
  • Hi, I woud like to ask something if possible. Do we need an inversion in the first sentence or is it used to emphasize the second part of the statement? (First sentence: "As powerfully wired as we are for social contact, so too are we wired for "xenophobia": the fear of strangers." )
    – Talha Özden
    Jul 20 '19 at 17:34
  • @TalhaÖzden As I said, the as.. as.. signals that this clause contrasts with its matrix clause. It's not really "inverted" -- it's reduced: [We are] as X as we are [but] we are also Y.
    – StoneyB on hiatus
    Jul 21 '19 at 11:43

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .