LINGUIST List 2.221

Monday, 13 May 1991

Disc: Children's Language Games, Green Ideas

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. "Hi, 'lo", Re: Children's Language Games
2. Vicki Fromkin, Re: Children's Language Games
3. Arnfinn Muruvik Vonen, Re: Colorless Green
4. Helge Dyvik, Colourless green ideas
5. William J. Rapaport, Colorless green ideas

Regarding children's language games, Moira Yip (Brandeis) did at least one
paper on them, presented at NELS about 10 years ago.
Susan Fischer

Re Children's Language Games. There is a mimeographed book witch a compila-
tion of such games from all over which was put out about 25 years ago.
I have it somewhere and when I can get to my books which are in storage
since the linguistic dept at ucla is being remodelled I will send it
on. Also I think you might write to Joel Sherzer at U of Texas, Austin --
his article on the Cuna INdian language game does, if my memory holds,
include a number of references. VAF

Bert Peeters writes:
> Who has said what about Chomsky's example in (1) and its French equivalent in
> (2)? I'm trying to compile a list of references to discussions of both. Please
> send your reply to the list or to myself.
> 
> (1) Colourless green ideas sleep furiously
> (2) D'incolores idees vertes dorment furieusement
Ali Aydin (University of Trondheim) has written a squib called "A Far-Fetched
Context" in "SKY 1990" (The 1990 Yearbook of the Linguistic Association of
Finland, Helsinki 1990), constructing just that, a far-fetched context in
which (1) "might" be uttered.
Arnfinn M. Vonen.

For Bert Peeters' collection of allusions to "colourless green ideas", here
is a little poem by John Hollander (from THE NIGHT MIRROR, 1971), reprinted
from G. Harman (ed.): On Noam Chomsky: Critical Essays, Anchor Books, New York
1974, p. 1:

 Coiled Alizarine

 for Noam Chomsky

 Curiously deep, the slumber of crimson thoughts:
 While breathless, in stodgy viridian,
 Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.


H. Dyvik

Hymes's poem was published in the G. Harman anthology on Chomsky published
by Doubleday Anchor; I don't have the reference with me. There's also
a poem containing the line, "furiously sleep ideas green colorless",
which I can dig up if anyone's interested.

 William J. Rapaport
 Associate Professor of Computer Science
 Center for Cognitive Science

[End Linguist List, Vol. 2, No. 221]