FUNKNET Digest, Vol 96, Issue 4
s.t. bischoff
bischoff.st at gmail.com
Sat Sep 10 14:16:58 UTC 2011
Thanks all, these are all quite nice suggestions and will certainly help in
the development of the talk! Cheers, Shannon
On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 1:00 PM, <funknet-request at mailman.rice.edu> wrote:
> Send FUNKNET mailing list submissions to
> funknet at mailman.rice.edu
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> https://mailman.rice.edu/mailman/listinfo/funknet
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> funknet-request at mailman.rice.edu
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> funknet-owner at mailman.rice.edu
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of FUNKNET digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (Johanna Rubba)
> 2. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> (john at research.haifa.ac.il)
> 3. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (Angus Grieve-Smith)
> 4. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (Sherman Wilcox)
> 5. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (Tahir Wood)
> 6. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (Henrik Rosenkvist)
> 7. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (alex gross)
> 8. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (Rong Chen)
> 9. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (Daniel Ria?o)
> 10. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (Hancock, Craig G)
> 11. Re: What is linguistics? What is it good for? (Clai Rice)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 10:35:11 -0700
> From: Johanna Rubba <jrubba at calpoly.edu>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: s.t. bischoff <bischoff.st at gmail.com>
> Cc: funknet at mailman.rice.edu
> Message-ID: <817F8183-6B1F-4187-BEBC-02F508F66046 at calpoly.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
>
> My take:
>
> Linguists strive to understand the thing that enables all of human
> culture: language. Without language, we could not work together. We
> could not plan. We could not refer to the past, the future, the
> hypothetical, or the abstract. We could not describe in detail our
> individual thoughts, emotions, needs, beliefs, or desires. In other
> words, we would live like other primates.
>
> So one thing linguistics is good for is a detailed understanding of
> how this amazing system works. And that is good for advancing the
> understanding of human nature.
>
> Linguistics is good for collecting the data (descriptions of as many
> of the world's languages as possible) we use to develop that
> understanding.
>
> Linguistics is also good for a large number of practical
> applications: assessing children's language development; teaching
> native and non-native languages; correcting popular myths about
> language that cause social harm or ill-conceived policies and
> practices; working with computer science to develop software that can
> use language as humans do; detecting ideological and social
> assumptions as revealed through language; developing literacy and
> language-preservation programs for non-literate cultures and
> threatened cultures; aiding in the detection, diagnosis, and
> treatment of congenital or acquired language disorders; working with
> developers of computer-mediated translation; helping solve crimes
> through forensic linguistics, etc., etc.
>
> Don't know if anyone would want to hear a long list, but, since a lot
> of people don't know what linguistics is or what it's good for, it
> could be informative.
>
> Dr. Johanna Rubba, Ph. D. "Justice is
> what love looks like
> Professor, Linguistics in
> public." Cornel West
> Linguistics Minor Advisor
> English Dept.
> Cal Poly State University San Luis Obispo
> San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
> Ofc. tel. : 805-756-2184
> Dept. tel.: 805-756-2596
> Dept. fax: 805-756-6374
> E-mail: jrubba at calpoly.edu
> URL: http://cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 21:08:43 +0300
> From: john at research.haifa.ac.il
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: "s.t. bischoff" <bischoff.st at gmail.com>
> Cc: funknet at mailman.rice.edu
> Message-ID: <1315505323.4e6904ab7304a at webmail.haifa.ac.il>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1255
>
> Next month I'm going to be making a trip to South Sudan (independent in
> July) to
> give a series of lectures on language policy, orthography development, and
> language standardization. Africa is an absolute mess in terms of literacy
> because of ill-advised language policies and inadequate language
> development.
> It seems to me that this is something that linguistics is definitely good
> for.
> John
>
>
>
> Quoting "s.t. bischoff" <bischoff.st at gmail.com>:
>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I've been asked by my Dean to give a talk which he has titled "What is
> > linguistics? What is it good for?". This talk will be given to a general
> > audience of faculty, students, and administrators. I have several ideas
> how
> > to approach this, but I wanted to ask folks how they might go about
> > answering the two questions in the title in such a situation.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Shannon
> >
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> This message was sent using IMP, the Webmail Program of Haifa University
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 08 Sep 2011 20:08:56 -0400
> From: Angus Grieve-Smith <grvsmth at panix.com>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: funknet at mailman.rice.edu
> Message-ID: <4E695918.5010004 at panix.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>
> On 9/8/2011 12:04 PM, s.t. bischoff wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I've been asked by my Dean to give a talk which he has titled "What is
> > linguistics? What is it good for?". This talk will be given to a general
> > audience of faculty, students, and administrators. I have several ideas
> how
> > to approach this, but I wanted to ask folks how they might go about
> > answering the two questions in the title in such a situation.
> >
>
> In my intro classes, I have a slide titled "Who uses linguistics,
> anyway?" with the following list.
>
> * Linguists
> * Computer programmers
> * Speech therapists
> * Language teachers
> * Literary theorists
> * Editors
> * Lexicographers
> * Politicians
>
> I go through each group briefly and talk about how they use
> linguistics. I have a similar slide for phonetics, and I should
> probably make one for each of the other subfields.
>
> --
> -Angus B. Grieve-Smith
> grvsmth at panix.com
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 4
> Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 19:24:40 -0600
> From: Sherman Wilcox <wilcox at unm.edu>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: Angus Grieve-Smith <grvsmth at panix.com>
> Cc: funknet at mailman.rice.edu
> Message-ID: <880607E0-FCF1-48AB-AFE7-2DAFCE3694C4 at unm.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> On Sep 8, 2011, at 6:08 PM, Angus Grieve-Smith wrote:
>
> > * Linguists
> > * Computer programmers
> > * Speech therapists
> > * Language teachers
> > * Literary theorists
> > * Editors
> > * Lexicographers
> > * Politicians
>
>
> Interpreters and translators.
>
> --
> Sherman Wilcox, Ph.D.
> Professor
> Department of Linguistics
> University of New Mexico
> Albuquerque, NM 87131
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 5
> Date: Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:16:28 +0200
> From: "Tahir Wood" <twood at uwc.ac.za>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: <FUNKNET at listserv.rice.edu>
> Message-ID: <4E69D96C.1F1D.0069.1 at uwc.ac.za>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Hi
>
> I think there should be a purely humane concern underlying linguistics, in
> addition to the more pragmatic concerns that have been mentioned. The
> humanities, I think, pose such questions as:
> What do we have in common?
> Where do we differ?
> Why do we differ?
>
> It seems to me that the human awareness of self is an end in itself, and
> linguistics is and should be part of this vast enterprise (enterprise in the
> sense of adventure). It is not just about adding value in the marketplace.
>
> Tahir
>
>
> >>> "s.t. bischoff" <bischoff.st at gmail.com> 9/8/2011 6:04 pm >>>
> Hi all,
>
> I've been asked by my Dean to give a talk which he has titled "What is
> linguistics? What is it good for?". This talk will be given to a general
> audience of faculty, students, and administrators. I have several ideas
> how
> to approach this, but I wanted to ask folks how they might go about
> answering the two questions in the title in such a situation.
>
> Thanks,
> Shannon
>
> -------------- next part --------------
> All Email originating from UWC is covered by disclaimer
> http://www.uwc.ac.za/emaildisclaimer
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 6
> Date: Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:28:37 +0200
> From: Henrik Rosenkvist <Henrik.Rosenkvist at nordlund.lu.se>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: FUNKNET at listserv.rice.edu
> Message-ID: <4E69C025.3060707 at nordlund.lu.se>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
> Hi!
>
> Linguistics is a human enterprise. Ants have workers, engineers and so
> forth, but you don't find artists, historians or linguists in an ant
> hill. We are the only species that feel a need to explore ourselves and
> that have the means to do so ? in my view, the capacities for
> introspection etc that we have at hand infer almost an obligation to
> boldly go where no other species can go. And linguistics is one way of
> doing just that.
>
> Henrik R.
>
> Tahir Wood skrev:
> > Hi
> >
> > I think there should be a purely humane concern underlying linguistics,
> in addition to the more pragmatic concerns that have been mentioned. The
> humanities, I think, pose such questions as:
> > What do we have in common?
> > Where do we differ?
> > Why do we differ?
> >
> > It seems to me that the human awareness of self is an end in itself, and
> linguistics is and should be part of this vast enterprise (enterprise in the
> sense of adventure). It is not just about adding value in the marketplace.
> >
> > Tahir
> >
> >
> >
> >>>> "s.t. bischoff" <bischoff.st at gmail.com> 9/8/2011 6:04 pm >>>
> >>>>
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I've been asked by my Dean to give a talk which he has titled "What is
> > linguistics? What is it good for?". This talk will be given to a general
> > audience of faculty, students, and administrators. I have several ideas
> how
> > to approach this, but I wanted to ask folks how they might go about
> > answering the two questions in the title in such a situation.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Shannon
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > All Email originating from UWC is covered by disclaimer
> http://www.uwc.ac.za/emaildisclaimer
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Henrik Rosenkvist
> docent, nordiska spr?k
> Spr?k- och litteraturcentrum
> Lunds universitet
> Box 201
> 221 00 Lund
> tel: 046-222 87 04
> e-post: Henrik.Rosenkvist at nordlund.lu.se
>
> Henrik Rosenkvist
> Associate Professor, Scandinavian Languages
> Dept. of Languages and Literature
> Lund University
> P. O. Box 201, SE-221 00 Lund, SWEDEN
> Tel.: +46 46 222 87 04
> E-mail: Henrik.Rosenkvist at nordlund.lu.se
>
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 7
> Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 06:25:58 -0400
> From: "alex gross" <language at sprynet.com>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: "Sherman Wilcox" <wilcox at unm.edu>, "Angus Grieve-Smith"
> <grvsmth at panix.com>
> Cc: funknet at mailman.rice.edu
> Message-ID: <AA634D50EEF344D58080555CD0C1D695 at aa82807a474cf4>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> I applaud all of your contributions so far and would only add that past
> theories of linguistics, were they still fashionable, could provide yet
> other evidence that our study is not only "good for something" but truly
> lies at the very center of our many cultures.
>
> The Semanticists certainly took this view when they visualized linguistics
> as a tool we surely need today, nothing less than an ongoing critique of
> all
> social, political, and intellectual dialogue, as a way citizens in many
> societies could distinguish rhetoric from reality.
>
> And the Whorf-Sapir descriptivists have also left us a useful tool that can
> help us to realize that seemingly distinct cultures and languages, though
> certainly not connected by any "universal grammar," can nonetheless be seen
> as ultimately comparable and equal in value to our own. At least this
> assessment, though allegedly discredited, still lurks on the margins of our
> study.
>
> I am particularly heartened by Professor Wilcox' contribution, that
> translators and interpreters also prove that linguistics is "good for
> something." I am prepared at the drop of a hat to go a great deal further
> and assert that they lie at the very heart of all language study, as I have
> done in my paper "Translation as the Prototype of All Communication,"
> accessible at:
>
> http://languag2.home.sprynet.com/f/prototyp.htm#t11
>
> It may well be in all the stages of our learning that every single new word
> or concept we encounter, even in our primary language, actually requires an
> act of explanation, enlightenment, clarification--in short
> translation--for
> us to understand it. Such an act may be provided by a teacher, a helpful
> friend, a dictionary or other reference book, or the closer reading of a
> text. But whatever form it takes, such an act of translation is most often
> absolutely crucial for us to grasp the meaning. And we ourselves--what we
> call our "knowledge" and our "understanding"--may be to a fair extent the
> sum total of these countless acts of translation.
>
> With very best to everyone!
>
> alex
>
> http://language.home.sprynet.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sherman Wilcox" <wilcox at unm.edu>
> To: "Angus Grieve-Smith" <grvsmth at panix.com>
> Cc: <funknet at mailman.rice.edu>
> Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 9:24 PM
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
>
>
> > On Sep 8, 2011, at 6:08 PM, Angus Grieve-Smith wrote:
> >
> >> * Linguists
> >> * Computer programmers
> >> * Speech therapists
> >> * Language teachers
> >> * Literary theorists
> >> * Editors
> >> * Lexicographers
> >> * Politicians
> >
> >
> > Interpreters and translators.
> >
> > --
> > Sherman Wilcox, Ph.D.
> > Professor
> > Department of Linguistics
> > University of New Mexico
> > Albuquerque, NM 87131
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Fri, 09 Sep 2011 08:18:39 -0700
> From: Rong Chen <rchen at csusb.edu>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: FUNKNET at listserv.rice.edu
> Message-ID: <006c01cc6f03$c0a29fd0$41e7df70$@edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Hi all,
>
> Dovetailing Tahir's post: Linguistics is also a window into the human mind.
>
> Human beings have a natural urge to learn about things. Among the things we
> want to know (about)--which is practically everything--are things about
> ourselves. Among the things about ourselves is the way our mind works. One
> might even argue that the mind is the most important aspect about us.
>
> Many disciplines study the mind, approaching it from a multitude of
> perspectives. Linguistics is one of them. By studying language, it offers
> insights about how the mind works that no other disciplines is capable of
> offering.
>
> Sorry if this point has been made.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Rong Chen
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: funknet-bounces at mailman.rice.edu
> [mailto:funknet-bounces at mailman.rice.edu] On Behalf Of Tahir Wood
> Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 12:16 AM
> To: FUNKNET at listserv.rice.edu
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
>
> Hi
>
> I think there should be a purely humane concern underlying linguistics, in
> addition to the more pragmatic concerns that have been mentioned. The
> humanities, I think, pose such questions as:
> What do we have in common?
> Where do we differ?
> Why do we differ?
>
> It seems to me that the human awareness of self is an end in itself, and
> linguistics is and should be part of this vast enterprise (enterprise in
> the
> sense of adventure). It is not just about adding value in the marketplace.
>
> Tahir
>
>
> >>> "s.t. bischoff" <bischoff.st at gmail.com> 9/8/2011 6:04 pm >>>
> Hi all,
>
> I've been asked by my Dean to give a talk which he has titled "What is
> linguistics? What is it good for?". This talk will be given to a general
> audience of faculty, students, and administrators. I have several ideas
> how
> to approach this, but I wanted to ask folks how they might go about
> answering the two questions in the title in such a situation.
>
> Thanks,
> Shannon
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 9
> Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 17:22:50 +0200
> From: Daniel Ria?o <danielrr2 at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: Sherman Wilcox <wilcox at unm.edu>
> Cc: Angus Grieve-Smith <grvsmth at panix.com>, funknet at mailman.rice.edu
> Message-ID:
> <CAA+TPtR-XzhgEtLaz+=s3Un1Cm7PpYbEV+hdwdkgc-rTUrBJ5Q at mail.gmail.com
> >
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Cognitive scientists, even outside cognitive linguistics,
> Philologists, Ancient (and modern) historians, biologists and the
> folks who occasionally chance upon a new species & have to find a
> Greek or Latin name for it, ehhh, writers (and script-writers) trying
> to make up a new language, ah, no they hire a linguist instead
>
>
> 2011/9/9 Sherman Wilcox <wilcox at unm.edu>:
> > On Sep 8, 2011, at 6:08 PM, Angus Grieve-Smith wrote:
> >
> >> * Linguists
> >> * Computer programmers
> >> * Speech therapists
> >> * Language teachers
> >> * Literary theorists
> >> * Editors
> >> * Lexicographers
> >> * Politicians
> >
> >
> > Interpreters and translators.
> >
> > --
> > Sherman Wilcox, Ph.D.
> > Professor
> > Department of Linguistics
> > University of New Mexico
> > Albuquerque, NM 87131
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 10
> Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 11:52:12 -0400
> From: "Hancock, Craig G" <chancock at albany.edu>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: alex gross <language at sprynet.com>, Sherman Wilcox
> <wilcox at unm.edu>, Angus Grieve-Smith <grvsmth at panix.com>
> Cc: "funknet at mailman.rice.edu" <funknet at mailman.rice.edu>
> Message-ID:
> <
> F40FC1AE6A9A4040ADA52FC8864BB10E220ED18429 at UAEXCH07.univ.albany.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> As somewhat of an affectionate outsider--with primary interest in
> composition and in literacy--let me add a slightly discordant tone.
> Linguistics is a discipline that often takes language apart for the
> purpose of understanding it and then has a hard time putting it back
> together again. Though it is full of useful insights, many of those are not
> available in user friendly form. It seems a contentious discipline that may
> be undergoing a paradigm shift.
> I don't disagree with anything anyone has said, but wanted to add an
> additional perspective. I have tried to be an advocate for increased
> attention to language in the K-16 curriculum and finding it a hard sell.
>
> Craig
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: funknet-bounces at mailman.rice.edu [mailto:
> funknet-bounces at mailman.rice.edu] On Behalf Of alex gross
> Sent: Friday, September 09, 2011 6:26 AM
> To: Sherman Wilcox; Angus Grieve-Smith
> Cc: funknet at mailman.rice.edu
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
>
> I applaud all of your contributions so far and would only add that past
> theories of linguistics, were they still fashionable, could provide yet
> other evidence that our study is not only "good for something" but truly
> lies at the very center of our many cultures.
>
> The Semanticists certainly took this view when they visualized linguistics
> as a tool we surely need today, nothing less than an ongoing critique of all
> social, political, and intellectual dialogue, as a way citizens in many
> societies could distinguish rhetoric from reality.
>
> And the Whorf-Sapir descriptivists have also left us a useful tool that can
> help us to realize that seemingly distinct cultures and languages, though
> certainly not connected by any "universal grammar," can nonetheless be seen
> as ultimately comparable and equal in value to our own. At least this
> assessment, though allegedly discredited, still lurks on the margins of our
> study.
>
> I am particularly heartened by Professor Wilcox' contribution, that
> translators and interpreters also prove that linguistics is "good for
> something." I am prepared at the drop of a hat to go a great deal further
> and assert that they lie at the very heart of all language study, as I have
> done in my paper "Translation as the Prototype of All Communication,"
> accessible at:
>
> http://languag2.home.sprynet.com/f/prototyp.htm#t11
>
> It may well be in all the stages of our learning that every single new word
> or concept we encounter, even in our primary language, actually requires an
> act of explanation, enlightenment, clarification--in short translation--for
> us to understand it. Such an act may be provided by a teacher, a helpful
> friend, a dictionary or other reference book, or the closer reading of a
> text. But whatever form it takes, such an act of translation is most often
> absolutely crucial for us to grasp the meaning. And we ourselves--what we
> call our "knowledge" and our "understanding"--may be to a fair extent the
> sum total of these countless acts of translation.
>
> With very best to everyone!
>
> alex
>
> http://language.home.sprynet.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sherman Wilcox" <wilcox at unm.edu>
> To: "Angus Grieve-Smith" <grvsmth at panix.com>
> Cc: <funknet at mailman.rice.edu>
> Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 9:24 PM
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
>
>
> > On Sep 8, 2011, at 6:08 PM, Angus Grieve-Smith wrote:
> >
> >> * Linguists
> >> * Computer programmers
> >> * Speech therapists
> >> * Language teachers
> >> * Literary theorists
> >> * Editors
> >> * Lexicographers
> >> * Politicians
> >
> >
> > Interpreters and translators.
> >
> > --
> > Sherman Wilcox, Ph.D.
> > Professor
> > Department of Linguistics
> > University of New Mexico
> > Albuquerque, NM 87131
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 11
> Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 11:08:09 -0500 (CDT)
> From: "Clai Rice" <cxr1086 at louisiana.edu>
> Subject: Re: [FUNKNET] What is linguistics? What is it good for?
> To: <funknet at mailman.rice.edu>
> Message-ID: <6294DCA5A7C74748AA18AB861E08257A at win.louisiana.edu>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
>
> I sometimes use a diagram by Neil Smith, from page 5 of Language, Bananas,
> and Bonobos. His introductory essay is titled "How to be the Centre of the
> Universe," and the diagram shows that the study of language pertains
> directly to nearly every discipline in the academy. The diagram, but not
> the whole essay, can be viewed on Amazon's Look Inside function.
>
> Clai Rice
>
>
> End of FUNKNET Digest, Vol 96, Issue 4
> **************************************
>
More information about the Funknet
mailing list