LINGUIST List 7.149

Tue Jan 30 1996

Misc: Summer Courses, Spelling, Ambiguity

Editor for this issue: T. Daniel Seely <dseelyemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. Dennis R. Preston, Summer Courses
2. Mark Aronoff, phonemic spelling, Re: 7.124
3. Edith A Moravcsik, Re: ambiguity

Dear Colleagues:

Although summer is a bit off (and from the perspective of Michigan it seems
a planet or two away), many students are planning even now what to do.
Many of our 'early' graduate students (those not studying for
comprehensives, cramming languages, writing dissertations, etc...) are
often trapped in a summer with no appropriate, graduate-level course
offerings. In 'LSA Institute Summers,' the recommendation is easy: Go! In
'off' summers (this one), it would be very helpful if Departments which
will offer graduate-level cousework in the summer (and allow 'easy'
enrollment for visitors) would 'advertise' here (or otherwise make their
offerings known). In my opionion, right about now would be a good time for
such advertising to hit the market.

Dennis R. Preston
Department of Linguistics and Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
prestonpilot.msu.edu
Office: (517)432-1235
Fax: (517)432-2736

Message 2: phonemic spelling, Re: 7.124

The two systems given as examples of phonemic spelling
don't count for the simple reason that they were invented by
linguists. Only autochthonous writing systems should be used in
testing the claim (which seems to be true) that there are not true
phonemic or other one-dimensional writing systems.
Mark Aronoff

 For your syntax class: a neat example of ambiguity! :-)

 American movie star George Burns wrote this on the occasion of his
 100th birthday:
 
 "If you live to the age of 100, you have it made because very few
 people die past the age of a hundred."
 
 (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 1/18/96)