LINGUIST List 12.1661

Mon Jun 25 2001

Qs: Austin Quotation,Language Change through Movies

Editor for this issue: James Yuells <jameslinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Geoffrey Nunberg, Source of Austin Quotation
2. Grzega, Joachim, Language Change through Movies

Can anyone tell me the source of the following quotation from J. L. Austin?:

In the history of human inquiry, philosophy has the place of the 
initial central sun, seminal and tumultuous: from time to time it 
throws off some portion of itself to take station as a planet, cool 
and well regulated, progressing steadily towards a distant final 
state. This happened long ago at the birth of mathematics, and again 
at the birth of physics: only in the last century we have witnessed 
the same process once again, slow and at the time imperceptible, in 
the birth of the science of mathematical logic.. . Is it not possible 
that the next century may see the birth, through the joint labours of 
philosophers, grammarians, and numerous other students of language, 
of a true and comprehensive science of language?

Dear readers,

One of my students would like to analyze in how far German (or 
German colloquial speech) changes due to the German translations of 
originally English/American movies. Are any of you familiar with 
studies that have already been carried out on this issue?

Joachim Grzega
(joachim.grzegaku-eichstaett.de)