LINGUIST List 8.634

Wed Apr 30 1997

Qs: Virtual lg, Noun compounds, ACTFL OPI

Editor for this issue: Susan Robinson <suelinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Hillary Bays, Qs analysing synchronic texts
2. Richard Coates, Endocentric noun compounds
3. Paul Woods, ACTFL OPI

Hello all,
I am beginning a sociolinguistics doctorate in the Science of Language
at a Paris intitute. I am studying virtual communities, right now IRC
exchanges, and would like some input on several ideas that I have. If
you have seen any articles or books (unlikely) based on these subjects
or if you know someone doing similar research could you pass on this
information?

1) Analysing the difference between spoken (face to face conversation),
written (correspondance, e-mail or type-written letters) and synchronically
written texts (IRC, MUDs, MOOs).

2) Establishing a sense of presence in a virtual community.

Thanks for any comments or pointers.

Hillary Bays

<Hillary.Baysdlv.univ-evry.fr>

258 bis rue de Paris
93100 Montreuil, FRANCE

I'd appreciate some data to bear on a small issue in the morphology of
endocentric noun compounds.

Many languages have a general associative case-form, often with a
primary meaning of POSSESSIVE. English permits the use of this case of
the non-head noun in noun-noun compounds, or at least appears to:
menswear, yachtsman, dogsbody.

Does anyone know of a language with a richer system of case which
permits the use of an overtly-marked case other than the associative
in similar compounds? What I am looking for involves words such as
Latin _paterfamilias_ appears to be, namely a word with a non-head
form in the accusative. (It is, in fact, an archaic genitive
(associative).)

I'll post a summary if anything interesting emerges, such as
obligatory use of the allative in Blobbo.


Richard Coates

School of Cognitive and Computing Sciences
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

richardccogs.susx.ac.uk

Tel.: +44 (0)1273 678522
Fax: +44 (0)1273 671320

Hi, does anyone know where I can get a copy of the guidelines
for the ACTFL OPI for (Mandarin) Chinese? I believe they contain
more specific requirements/objectives than those for English.
If anyone can help, it'd be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Paul Woods,
Uni of Sheffield.