LINGUIST List 11.1311

Mon Jun 12 2000

FYI: Hanks at Harvard, Calling African Lang Scholars

Editor for this issue: Karen Milligan <karenlinguistlist.org>

Directory

  • James Pustejovsky, talk by Patrick Hanks JUNE 14, 2000 3-5pm HARVARD
  • G J Koning, Calling African Language Scholars

    Message 1: talk by Patrick Hanks JUNE 14, 2000 3-5pm HARVARD

     Date: Sun, 11 Jun 2000 15:43:57 -0400
    From: James Pustejovsky <jamespcs.brandeis.edu>
    Subject: talk by Patrick Hanks JUNE 14, 2000 3-5pm HARVARD


    Talk by Patrick Hanks

    Title: The Multiplicitous Origins of American Family Names BY: Patrick Hanks TIME: Wed. June 14th 3:00 - 5:00pm LOCATION: Boylston Auditorium Harvard University Cambridge, MA SPONSOR: James Pustejovsky, Brandeis University CONTACT FOR INFORMATION: jamespcs.brandeis.edu, 1-781-736-2709.

    ABSTRACT: The Multiplicitous Origins of American Family Names

    Patrick Hanks

    What are our surnames? Where do they come from? When and where did they originate?

    Every major culture in the world has contributed to the linguistic forms of American family names, and yet most of these names have never been satisfactorily explained. The task has simply been too daunting. But now, electronic media have made investigation possible for an international group of names scholars collaborating closely on a regular basis via email, despite their wide geographical separation.

    The Dictionary of American Family Names will contain some 80,000 entries, with comparative frequencies, linguistic and historical explanations, selected associated forenames, and occasional genealogical notes. It will explain the family names of over 90% of the population. The purpose of the project is not to investigate every name in great depth, but to provide a reliable framework or background for future genealogical, historical, geographical, and demographic studies.

    =======

    Patrick Hanks is Editor in Chief of the Dictionary of American Family Names. He is co-author of `A Dictionary of Surnames', `A Dictionary of First Names', and `The Concise Oxford Dictionary of First Names.' Until April 2000 he was chief editor of Current English Dictionaries at Oxford University Press, where he was chief editor of The New Oxford Dictionary of English, The New Oxford Thesaurus of English, and other works. He has published widely on corpus linguistics as well as lexicography and names studies.

    Message 2: Calling African Language Scholars

     Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2000 11:39:27 +0200
    From: G J Koning <Koningjunisa.ac.za>
    Subject: Calling African Language Scholars


    Announcement and Invitation:

    The Department of African Languages of the University of South Africa (DAL-UNISA) in partnership with the Association of African Universities (AAU) invites all scholars in African languages and literature to participate in a new project, of which the main objectives are:

    * to compile a Who's Who list of African Scholars currently living in Africa and specialising in the field of African Languages and Literatures

    * to establish a database on the training and research of African Languages and Literature in African universities

    A web site with online questionnaires has been set up for this purpose. The information gathered can also be viewed here. Please visit http://www3.unisa.ac.za/aau or contact Prof. Rosalie Finlayson at finlarunisa.ac.za or Prof. Sozinho Matsinhe at matsisfunisa.ac.za.

    Gert Koning Systems developer Dept. Computer Services University of South Africa