LINGUIST List 9.910

Fri Jun 19 1998

Qs: Clauses, Spelling-Checker, Taiwan Mandarin

Editor for this issue: Anita Huang <anitalinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Emily Bender, Clauses introduced by "as if" and "like"
2. Radu Daniliuc [shared], FRENCH SPELLING-CHECKER
3. Paul Woods, Taiwan Mandarin

We are investigating clauses introduced by "as if", "as though", and
"like", which appear to have a life either as modifiers or as
complements, as illustrated in the following examples:

a. Sara looks as if/as though/like she's ready to go.
b. Sara speaks as if/as though/like she's ready to go.
c. Sara is picking up her coat, as if/as though/like she is ready to
	go.

In searching standard grammars of English, we have not yet found any
characterizations of these clauses as complements like those in (a),
either in modern English or in accounts of the development of the
language. We would be grateful for pointers to any previous work on
these constructions.

 Emily Bender bendercsli.stanford.edu
 Dan Flickinger dancsli.stanford.edu

Does anyone know about some URLs where I can find a spelling-checker for
French? The software should be free or shareware.

Thank you very much!

Hi, could anyone please give me any detailed info on the Mandarin of Taiwan?
I am thinking of i) what was the main language in Taiwan in 1949, Hokkien?
ii) Was Mandarin "brought to", or to what extent was it "brought to" 
Taiwan by the Kuomintang? iii) Can we say that before 1949 there was only one 
form of Mandarin used by speakers in what would later be divided into the 
Mainland and Taiwan speech communities?
Any references much appreciated!
Regards,
Paul.

- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
Paul Woods,
Dept of Computer Science, and School of East Asian Studies,
Regent Court, 5th Floor, Arts Tower,
Portobello Street, Western Bank,
University of Sheffield, University of Sheffield,
Sheffield S1 4DP, Sheffield S10 2TN,
UK. UK.

Email: p.woodsdcs.shef.ac.uk
Web: http://www.dcs.shef.ac.uk/~paulw