LINGUIST List 3.578

Wed 15 Jul 1992

Qs: Accents, Dean Falk, Symbols

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1. "SUSAN SOTILLO", accents
2. ,sd, queries
3. Arild Hestvik, correlation use of symbols <--> development of language in early man?

Do any of you know of research on accents and psychological testing? I
am thinking of a situation in which the person administering the test
has a different accent than the test taker (e.g., an Australian test
administrator and a speaker of an American variety of English). Does
the accent of the test administrator affect the performance of the test
taker given the fact that comprehensibility may be affected? I have
serious reasons for asking this question. If you know of any recent
research, please share the information. I am not talking about speakers
of different languages (e.g., when the examiner is a speaker of American
English and the test taker a Spanish speaker). Thanks. Susana

	queries:

	Does anyone out there have the e-mail, snail-mail, or/and
	voice-phone numbers/addresses for Dean Falk? I hear she is
	still in New York; is this correct (excuse my being somewhat
	out of touch on things)?

						Sean A. Day
						Purdue Univ.

						daysamace.cc.purdue.edu

I'm posting this for someone else (an amateur archaeologist). (Any
inaccuracies in my recasting of his query is my fault!)

	"The earliest archaelogical findings of symbol use (figurines) date
	back 35,000 years ago, and correlates with the arrival of the Cro
	Magnon man. Neanderhals (who disappeared around 30,000 years ago)
	are believed not to have used symbols. Cro Magnon also had a
	developed frontal lobe, whereas Neanderthals had underdeveloped
	frontal lobe. I believe that the use of symbols correlate with the
	development of the frontal lobe, and I conjecture that language
	developed in man at the same time. I.e., the use of language, a
	symbol system, and the use of visual symbols in art, had the same
	neurological source."
	 "Is there any research along these lines? Can anyone provide
	any pointers to literature and journal articles addressing this (or
	related issues)?"

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