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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Dear James<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I have been following the discussions with
great interest, and noting various references en route – so Yorick’s
1996 paper is now on my list…<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>However, although I haven’t yet read
his paper, I must insert a point of information/correction at this point.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>You said in your email:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>(Of course, if I remember correctly,you started with the COBUILD
dictionary, where the compilers had started out with a limited (?2000 word)
vocabulary from which to construct definitions. Maybe you got it down to 1990
or so ;-)> .)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I think your memory has let you down in
this instance. Perhaps you meant a different learner’s dictionary (eg LDOCE?).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>As far as I am aware, the COBUILD
dictionary did NOT start out with a limited defining vocabulary, and indeed has
never adopted one.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>What we did do (in the Essential Dictionary,
1988, I think) was to publish the list of words that occurred more than 10
times in the dictionary explanations (definitions).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>This was done after compiling the
dictionary and not before. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Best<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Ramesh<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'>Ramesh Krishnamurthy [COBUILD 1984-1997,
1998-2003]<br>
Lecturer in English Studies, School of Languages and Social Sciences,<br>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Aston</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>,
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Birmingham</st1:City> <st1:PostalCode
w:st="on">B4 7ET</st1:PostalCode>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region></st1:place><br>
Tel: +44 (0)121-204-3812 ; Fax: +44 (0)121-204-3766 [Room NX08, 10th<br>
Floor, North Wing of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Main</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Building</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>]<br>
<a href="http://www.aston.ac.uk/lss/school/staff/krishnamurthyr.jsp"
eudora=autourl>http://www.aston.ac.uk/lss/school/staff/krishnamurthyr.jsp</a><br>
Director, ACORN (Aston Corpus Network project): <a
href="http://acorn.aston.ac.uk/" eudora=autourl>http://acorn.aston.ac.uk/</a> </span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
<X-SIGSEP></div>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> corpora-bounces@uib.no
[mailto:corpora-bounces@uib.no] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>James
L. Fidelholtz<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> 28 August 2008 20:49<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> Yorick Wilks<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Cc:</span></b> <st1:PersonName w:st="on">corpora@uib.no</st1:PersonName><br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [Corpora-List]
Bootcamp: 'Quantitative Corpus Linguistics withR'--re Louw's endorsement</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Hi, Yorick,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Grumpy (old) age or not, let me second your auto-reference (NB: *not*
to self-driving cars). I learned more about semantics from your throughly lucid
chapter than I ever did from studying mathematical logic, Montague, Carnap,
Wittgenstein or any of the others (none of which I -- admittedly -- ever
spent too much time outside of class on). A few short pages in _Electric words_
on the various types of semantic theories (which, of course, I could no longer
reproduce), and I felt like I finally understood at least some of what people
were always saying about meaning. BTW, I also have found very useful the book's
basic approach (in my understanding, anyway) to how to do semantics
computationally -- winnow out from *all* the words *actually used* in
definitions in a medium-sized ('college') dictionary the ones that could be
left out, using synonyms and/or paraphrase, and take the resulting 2000 or so
words as a basis for a semantic theory. Now *that's* an appealing approach,
especially to a formalist like me. (Of course, if I remember correctly, you
started with the COBUILD dictionary, where the compilers had started out with a
limited (?2000 word) vocabulary from which to construct definitions. Maybe you
got it down to 1990 or so ;-)> .)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Anyway, toss in some use of realistic semantic features, perhaps based
on a thorough overview of semantic fields from the same point of view,
definitely based on metaphor as an explanation for much semantic change (again,
from the same feature-based point of view), and I could see a reasonable
semantic theory (or at least parts of it) beginning to emerge. But that's a
more extended issue.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
On Thu, Aug 28, 2008 at 12:07 PM, Yorick Wilks <<a
href="mailto:yorick@dcs.shef.ac.uk">yorick@dcs.shef.ac.uk</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0cm 0cm 0cm 6.0pt;
margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0cm'>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Saying "computers are deterministic" really captures nothing
since von-<br>
neumann-style machines can perfectly well have access to a<br>
random number generator to make choices. I do try to stay out of this<br>
duologue you are having (honestly!) but the endless autodidact<br>
philosophy of language stuff (i.e. about what/where is meaning, if<br>
anywhere?) does need to raise its game a bit. There are many<br>
straightforward tutorials on the basics of the philosophy of language:<br>
my own modest contribution (that does link philosophy directly to<br>
corpora/linguistics etc. which most tutorials dont ) is in "Electric<br>
Words: dictionaries, computers and meanings (MIT Press, 1996) by<br>
Guthrie, Slator and myself-----it's not really out of date because the<br>
basic issues dont change much. Sorry for the testy tone of this--put<br>
it down to age!<br>
<font color="#888888"><span style='color:#888888'>Yorick Wilks</span></font><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><br>
<br>
On 28 Aug 2008, at 17:18, Linas Vepstas wrote:<br>
... [remainder deleted out of consideration for those who don't have gmail or
other monster capacity email.]<br>
<br clear=all>
<br>
-- <br>
James L. Fidelholtz<br>
Posgrado en Ciencias del Lenguaje<br>
Instituto de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades<br>
Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, MÉXICO<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
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