LINGUIST List 5.195

Tue 22 Feb 1994

FYI: Bedtime reading; Ode to a Spell Checker

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. Edith A Moravcsik, update re bedtime readings
2. alan harris, "AN OWED TO SPELL CHEQUER"

This is regarding the list of easy linguistics readings made public a couple of
weeks ago under the title "bedtime readings". Since then, I have received
the following corrections and additions from Dan Maxwell, David Nash,
Steve Pinker, and Herb Stahlke:

 Corrections:
 - the title of the Budge Wallis book is: The dwellers on the Nile:
 chapters on the life, history, religion, and literature of the
 ancient Egyptians.
 - the date of the second Rudolph Flesh book is l981
 - the Dixon book was first published by the University of Queensland
 Press (St. Lucia, London, New York), l984.
 - the title of Holger Pederson's book is The discovery of language:
 Linguistic science in the 19th century.

 Additions:
 - Buck, Carl Darling. l949. A dictionary of selected synonyms in the
 principal Indo-European languages. A contribution to the history
 of ideas. Chicago, London: University of Chicago Press.
 - de Luce, Judith and Hugh T. Wilder. l983. Language in primates:
 perspectives and implications. New York: Springer-Verlag.
 - Forster, Peter. l983. The Esperanto movement. The Hague: Mouton.
 - Large, Andrew. l985. The artificial language movement. Oxford:
 Blackwell.
 - Lederer, Richard. l987. Crazy English: the ultimate joy ride through
 our language. New York: Pocket Books.
 - Meyers, Walter E. l980. Aliens and linguists: language study and
 science fiction. Athens: The University of Georgia Press.
 - any book by Mario Pei in addition to the one on the list
 - Pinker, Steven. l994. The language instinct. William Morrow and Co.
 (Steve tells us the book is "excellent bedtime reading, full of humorous
 examples and written in an irreverent, entertaining style while
 explaining everything from acquisition to linguistic theory to
 diachronic change to "grammar genes" to self-described prescriptive
 language experts".
 - Rumbaugh, Duane M. l977. Language learning by a chimpanzee: the
 Lana Project. New York: Academic Press.
 - Sebeok, Thomas A. and Jean Umiker-Sebeok (eds). l980. Speaking of
 apes: a critical anthology of two-way communication with man.
 New York: Plenum Press.
 - Wallman, Joel. l992. Aping language. New York: Cambridge UP.

Edith Moravcsik (edithconvex.csd.uwm.edu)

FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT (VIA DON BROWNLEE AND THANKS TO SAME):

Take a brake and sea what your spell checker can do fore
yew. This just in and I thawed you'd like it.

An Owed to the Spelling Checker
===============================

I have a spelling checker
It came with my PC
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.
Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.
Its vary polished in it's weigh
My checker tolled me sew.
A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.
Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed too bee a joule
The checker pour o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.
Be fore a veiling checkers
Hour spelling mite decline,
And if were lacks or have a laps,
We wood be maid to wine.
Butt now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
Their are know faults with in my cite,
Of non eye am a wear.
Now spelling does knot phase me,
It does knot bring a tier.
My pay purrs awl due glad den
With wrapped words fare as hear.
To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud.
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.
Sow ewe can sea why aye dew prays
Such soft ware four pea seas.
And why I brake in two averse
By righting want too pleas.

-- Jerry Zar, Dean of the Graduate School
 Northwestern Illinois University
 ===============================================================
 [Please bear with me while using this temporary HUEY system]
 ===============================================================
 Alan C. Harris, Ph. D. TELNOS: main off: 818-885-2853
 Professor, Communication/Linguistics direct off: 818-885-2874
 Speech Communication Department
 California State University, Northridge home: 818-780-8872
 SPCH CSUN FAX: 818-885-2663
 Northridge, CA 91330-8257 Internet email: AHARRISHUEY.CSUN.EDU
 ===============================================================