LINGUIST List 7.806

Sun Jun 2 1996

Qs: Non-standard,Sinographs,Simultaneous Int,Tibetan

Editor for this issue: Annemarie Valdez <avaldezemunix.emich.edu>

Directory

1. <AM.Henryulst.ac.uk>, Non-standard grammar
2. JIREEMutxvms.cc.utexas.edu, Sinographs
3. ghung, Equipment for Simultaneous Interpreting
4. Sezhen Geziben, Qs: Khams Tibetan

It is a commonly held view among linguists that, linguistically, all
language varieties are of equal value, and 'standard' languages are no
'better' than non-standard; however, I wonder if we really 'practise
what we preach' in this regard. For example, does anyone encourage
students to submit work in non-standard English, or non-standard
varieties of other languages? Has anyone tried to get their
institution to uphold the rights of speakers of non-standard varieties
not to be penalised for submitting work including aspects of the
grammar of these varieties? It seems to me that many students are
penalised for using 'non-standard' grammar - an issue which often gets
confused with being able to write in a clear style, produce good
argumentation etc, which is of course quite different. Any views?

In his book The Chinese Language: Fact and Fantasy, John DeFrancis 
mentions a system of notation which the Japanese (of a unspecified period)
used to convert a string of sinographs in Chinese word order into Japanese 
word order. He writes that it is similar to the system that medieval
scholars and students of Latins used to rearrange Latin word order into
that of the vernacular, as in:

Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres
2 3 1 4 5 7 6

or (in English word order):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Omnis Gallia est divisa en tres partes

I have a number of references to construe marks in Latin. Are there
any Japanese or Chinese scholars out there who can tell me more about
the system that DeFrancis is talking about?

If anything interesting turns up, I'll post a summary. Thanks in advance.

Michael Erard
Department of English
UT-Austin

Query for Information on Equipment for Simultaneous Interpreting

One of the Translation Laboratory's clients is seeking information on
equipment for simultaneous interpreting. Can anyone provide
some information as to the nature of such equipment and where it is
available in the United States or abroad.

Do you know of anyone that offers access to such equipment? If so,
do you have any idea as to the cost of such services? What all
does such equipment include? Please respond as soon as possible.

Any information you might have will be helpful. Thank you for your
time and assistance.


Sincerely,
Gardenia Hung, Polyglot, Inc. Communications 
for Translation, Interpreting & Consulting
Language Services."Communicate in Any Language!"
P.O. Box 1807, Lombard, IL 60148 USA
Call (312) 463-7952 or Fax: (708) 261-9906
e-mail: wittle19starnetinc.com
Visit http://www.naftaconnect.com/communications

Dear friends,

I am writing my thesis on Tibetan tonal analysis. I have some data on
monosyllabic words of some dialects of Khams Tibetan, but I am short
of data on tonal patterns in disyllabic words (for Khams). Could any
of you refer me to any works done on tonal analysis on Khams Tibetan?
Information about Batang Tibetan, Changdu Tibetan( or Chamdo Tibetan),
or Dege Tibetan will be expecially helpful for me. (The only source I
have on Batang Tibetan is a paper from Gesang Jumian (1989):
Phonological analysis of Batang Tibetan .)

Thanks in advance!

-Seldron
DSG1433utarlg.uta.edu