LINGUIST List 5.508

Mon 02 May 1994

FYI: Corrections, Language testing list, Fun

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. Peter Lasersohn, SALT address correction
2. Mary Ellen Ryder, Ulster is not a County
3. "Leslie Z. Morgan", ltest-l (language testing list)
4. alan harris, a laugh a day etc.

A recent posting gave an incorrect email address for people wanting
information about the upcoming Conference on Semantics and Linguistic
Theory at the University of Rochester. The correct address is:
 slt4troi.cc.rochester.edu

In my posting last week, I referred to Ulster as a county. A number of
people have pointed out to me since that this is a serious error; Ulster
is a province containing counties in both the Republic and in the area
controlled by the British in northern Ireland. As it was clear that this
error also offended a number of people (almost certainly including some
who haven't written to me), I wished to make this a public correction and
apology.
Needless to say (I hope) I had no intention to offend anyone. This is not
my own research project, or I would have done enough background reading to
get the facts straight. I was simply passing along a request from a
colleague in Theatre Arts who is the dialect coach for a play taking place
in Belfast. She just mentioned a need to know about Ulster and especially
Belfast, and I made the assumption that Ulster was a county.
Again, my sincere apologies,
Mary Ellen Ryder

Dear Linguists,
I am re-posting a message from slart-l (second language learning list)
because I think others may be interested in this list. Hope you find
it of interest.
Leslie Morgan, Loyola College in Md.
>> -----asked for the address for ltest-l, a list concerned
>>with issues in language testing. Sorry I didn't respond earlier,
>>I had wiped all my messages from there, and couldn't remember
>>their new address. It is:
>>Bitnet: ltest-lpsuvm
>>Internet: ltest-lpsuvm.psu.edu
>>Of course, to subscribe to the list you write to LISTSERV, not
>>LTEST-L, at the same address.
>>The list has not been terribly active of late. Normally there
>>are discussions of test methodology, sampling, statistical pro-
>>cedures, some on computer-adaptive testing, etc. Come on board
>>and liven it up! There's some great minds there. Wake them up, or
>>bring their attention back from whatever trifles, to their true
>>vocation of offering wonderful free advice on ltest-l!
>>Ah, well.
>> Cindy H-G
>>Dr. Lucinda Hart-Gonzalez
>>Foreign Service Institute
>>National Foreign Affairs Training Center
>>U.S. Department of State
>>lhartgmuvax.gmu.edu

insurance excuses??????????????????????????
The following are [purportedly] actual statements found on insurance forms
in which drivers attempted to summarize the details of an
accident in the fewest words possible.
Coming home I drove into the wrong house and collided with a tree I
don't have.
The other car collided with mine without giving warning of its intentions.
I thought my window was down, but I found out it was up when I put
my head through it.
I collided with a stationary truck coming the other way.
A truck backed through my windshield into my wife's face.
A pedestrian hit me and went under my car.
The guy was all over the road. I had to swerve an number of times
before I hit him.
I pulled away from the side of the road, glanced at my mother-in-law,
and headed over the embankment.
In my attempt to kill a fly, I drove into a telephone pole.
I had been shopping for plants all day and was on my way home. As I
reached the intersection, a hedge sprang up, obscuring my vision
and I did not see the car.
I had been driving for forty years and fell asleep at the wheel
and had an accident.
I was on my way to the doctor with rear end trouble when my
universal joint gave way causing me to have an accident.
As I approached the intersection a sign suddenly appeared in a place
where no stop sign had ever appeared before. I was unable to stop in
time to avoid the accident.
To avoid hitting the bumper of the other car in front, I struck the
pedestrian.
My car was legally parked as I backed into the other vehicle.
An invisible car came out of nowhere, stuck my car, and vanished.
I told the police that I was not injured, but on removing my
hat I discovered that I had a fractured skull.
I was sure the old fellow would never make it to the other side of the
road when I struck him.
The pedestrian had no idea which direction to run, so I ran over him.
I saw the slow moving, sad faced old gentleman as he bounced off the
roof of my car.
The indirect cause of the accident was a little guy in a small car
with a big mouth.
I was thrown from my car as it left the road. I was later found in a
ditch by some stray cows.
The telephone pole was approaching, and I attempted to swerve out of its
way when it struck the front end of my car.
Thanks to:
Maggie Zarnosky,User Education Librarian,Virginia Tech
(703) 231-4125, bruinvt.edu
 ===============================================================
 [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: 818-366-3165
 SPCH CSUN FAX: 818-885-2663
 Northridge, CA 91330-8257 Internet email: AHARRISHUEY.CSUN.EDU
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