LINGUIST List 2.827

Sat 30 Nov 1991

Disc: Macs, Tag Questions, Communicative Strategies, Helium

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. Fan mail from some flounder?, Re: 2.825 Queries: Belize, Macs, Amiga, Communicative Strategies
2. , Mac software query
3. , French translation of 'tag question'
4. PETER GINGISS, Mac DataBases
5. Pamela A Downing, Re: 2.825 Intercultural communication
6. BROADWELL GEORGE AARON, helium explained

Message 1: Re: 2.825 Queries: Belize, Macs, Amiga, Communicative Strategies

Re the linguistic and communicative strategies query posed by Carlson,
you might want to look at some things that Steve Boggs worked on at least
15 years ago at the University of Hawaii. I'm afraid I don't know if or
where they were published, but it was under the aegis of Kamehameha Schools.
Susan Fischer

Concerning T. Shannon's request: I have used a Mac for years in my linguistics
research and think that far and away the best all-purpose tool is Fourth
Dimension. The best way to start, however, may be with FileForce, a subset
of 4D, which is considerably cheaper and would probably answer all your
needs. If not, you can upgrade to 4D. You may also want one of the excellent
statistics programs like Systat although from the description of what you're
doing, I would think the excellent DeltaGraph from DeltaPoint would meet
your needs. You can order both from MacConnection 1-800-800-4444 and doubt-
less from other mail order houses.
BelmoreVax2.Concordia.Ca

A colleague has suggested "reprise interrogative". So far no one has come
up with a translation of "code switching".

My suggestion for Tom Shannon is "Panorama," a flat database which is very
powerful but is easy to use. I have used it for over a year with great
results. There are still features I haven't used yet, but the basic operation
is simple. Moroever, PROView supplies booklets and video tapes to help folks
learn it.
 Peter Gingiss

Message 5: Re: 2.825 Intercultural communication

For information and further references on cross-cultural communicative
strategies, you might look at: Donal Carbaugh, ed. Cultural
Communication and Intercultural Contact. 1990. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Thanks to all the people who wrote to explain the effect of helium on
the voice to me.
There was a bit of difference of opinion, but the majority (and most
convincing to me) explanation goes something like this --
Helium is less dense than air, therefore the speed of sound in
helium is faster. Since faster sound equals higher frequency, helium
speech is higher than ordinary speech.
(I hope I haven't muddled this recount!)
I considered bringing helium balloons to class to let the students try it,
but I decided I couldn't get it past the human subjects board. :-)
Aaron Broadwell