LINGUIST List 10.99

Fri Jan 22 1999

Qs: Native speaker, Borrowing, Chomsky, Degrees

Editor for this issue: Jody Huellmantel <jodylinguistlist.org>



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Directory

  • Peter hl, Native Speakers Wanted
  • Greg Watson, "Re-borrowing"
  • Bernard Comrie, Chomsky reference
  • Alysse Lemery Rasmussen, Distance Learning Degrees (On-Line)

    Message 1: Native Speakers Wanted

     Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1999 15:03:20 +0100
    From: Peter hl <oehlIMS.Uni-Stuttgart.DE>
    Subject: Native Speakers Wanted


    Dear Collegues:

    I am looking for native speakers of several languages: Indoeuropean other than GErmanic and Romance (e.g. Celtic, Greek, Persian, Hindi, Sindhi, etc.), Turkish Japanese (bilingual? English would be fine, German even better), for the comparative part of my dissertation in generative syntax. Some knowledge about syntactical theory would be fine. I am offering knowledge of German and English, further diachronic and generative linguistics.

    Beste Gruesse:

    Peter Oehl.

    _____________________________________________________________________________

    Peter G. Oehl http://www.ims.uni-stuttgart.de/~oehl/ Graduate Program of the University of Stuttgart "Linguistische Grundlagen fuer die Sprachverarbeitung" (Linguistic Foundations of Language Processing) Institut fuer Linguistik/Germanistik Universitaet Stuttgart - Postfach 10 60 37 - D-70049 Stuttgart - Germany

    Tel.: 0049 - 711 - 121 - 34 57 FAX.: 0049 - 711 - 121 - 31 41 e-mail: oehlims.uni-stuttgart.de _____________________________________________________________________________

    Message 2: "Re-borrowing"

     Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 17:01:54 +1100
    From: Greg Watson <gwatsonpip.elm.mq.edu.au>
    Subject: "Re-borrowing"


    Whilst researching the spoken English of Finnish Australians I seem to have come across an interesting phenomenon. My informants frequently use words which seem to have been originally borrowed from English when they speak Finnish. Admittedly, this is not so unusual but these words are then re-borrowed when they speak English. For example, the use of governmentti in English. Originally government in English, it is borrowed and phonotactically changed to governmentti in Finnish, but then is not pronounced as government, but rather governmentti, when English is again the language of conversation. The word has been re-borrowed back into English.

    I'm unaware of any literature on this apart from the concept of hybrids, or blends, by Lehiste (1988) and the concept of phonotactics (the marking of foreign derived words). But, in the above case, the English word in question is no longer foreign when English is the medium, although it was in Finnish. There is also the possibility that the word in question has dual status in both languages so the informants don't differentiate between the two. But I don't place a lot of weight upon this theory.

    Any comments and references (particularly published articles) to similar behaviour would be most appreciated.

    Please reply to: gwatsonling.mq.edu.au

    Message 3: Chomsky reference

     Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 08:55:06 +0100
    From: Bernard Comrie <comrieeva.mpg.de>
    Subject: Chomsky reference


    I seem to recollect that Chomsky somewhere draws an analogy between attempts to teach language to non-human primates and an imaginary island where birds are waiting to be taught how to fly. Can anyone direct me to the source?

    Prof. Dr. Bernard Comrie Director, Department of Linguistics

    Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Inselstrasse 22 tel +49 341 99 52 301 D-04103 Leipzig tel secretary +49 341 99 52 300 Germany fax +49 341 99 52 119

    E-mail: comrieeva.mpg.de Secretary's e-mail (Ms. Julia Cissewski): cissewskeva.mpg.de Departmental web page http://www.eva.mpg.de/lingua.html

    Message 4: Distance Learning Degrees (On-Line)

     Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1999 18:14:51 -0500
    From: Alysse Lemery Rasmussen <alyssecde.com>
    Subject: Distance Learning Degrees (On-Line)


    I understand that a number of universities are beginning to offer MA degrees over the internet (with some "contact" often required). There's such a program for ESL out of England and another (a few years back) out of South Africa. Does anyone know if any of the US Universities are offering an MA by Distance Learning/Internet and/or Summer Study programs?

    Thanks so much

    Alysse

    __________________________________________________________________

    Alysse Lemery Rasmussen Instructor ASL & Spanish, co-owner TeachASL (listserv for Teachers of ASL) Lemery Surname Research & other neat things: http://members.aol.com/alysser/ __________________________________________________________________