belated WOTY

[Miller, Jerry]

Dennis: Since when are sportscasters interested in quickness (or accuracy,
for that matter)? They have all that dead air to fill; why not fill it with
intelligent comments and language?

Jerry Miller


        Jerry,

        You jest got more time to talk than me. I still like "audibilizing"
for its
        quickness and accuracy.

        dInIs (to busy fer all them dang syllables)

        >Dennis: No, I'd say, "He's changing the play at the line of
scrimmage," or,
        >"He's calling a new play at the line of scrimmage" - there's really
no need
        >to note that it is "audible" (and, as we saw this past weekend, in
Minnesota
        >and Seattle, it isn't always).
        >
        >Jerry Miller
        >
        >
        >> -----Original Message-----
        >> From: Dennis R. Preston [SMTP:preston at PILOT.MSU.EDU]
        >> Sent: Monday, January 10, 2000 3:40 PM
        >> To:   ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
        >> Subject:      Re: belated WOTY
        >>
        >> It's still more like a first (well maybe second) kiss to me. This
        >> adjective-to-noun form (sure an honored trip in English) has a
very
        >> specific (and hard to paraphrase quickly) meaning. Would you say
he is
        >> "calling an audible" (which I think we used to say) which,
semantically,
        >> is
        >> a little silly (if you like purely compositional semantics at any
rate).
        >>
        >> dInIs
        >>
        >> >        >Scary! No, it's like being in the delivery room, or
watching the
        >> >moon rise, or being
        >> >        >kissed for the first time. The birth and propagation of
a
        >> neologism
        >> >is to be
        >> >        >enjoyed.
        >> >        >[Okay, right. A little too much exaggeration.]
        >> >
        >> >        Grant: I know you're right, but it is hard to feel
enjoyment when
        >> >you hear, for example, John Madden take the already bastardized
(from
        >> >adjective to noun) "audible" and twist it into a verb -- "He is
        >> audiblizing
        >> >at the line of scrimmage." That feels more like a kick in the
ass than a
        >> >first kiss.
        >> >
        >> >        Jerry Miller
        >>
        >>
        >> Dennis R. Preston
        >> Department of Linguistics and Languages
        >> Michigan State University
        >> East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
        >> preston at pilot.msu.edu
        >> Office: (517)353-0740
        >> Fax: (517)432-2736


        Dennis R. Preston
        Department of Linguistics and Languages
        Michigan State University
        East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
        preston at pilot.msu.edu
        Office: (517)353-0740
        Fax: (517)432-2736