7.406, Qs: Ruth King, Acronyms, linguistics Dictionary

[The Linguist List]

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-7-406. Mon Mar 18 1996. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines:  128
 
Subject: 7.406, Qs: Ruth King, Acronyms, linguistics Dictionary
 
Moderators: Anthony Rodrigues Aristar: Texas A&M U. <aristar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
            Helen Dry: Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at emunix.emich.edu> (On Leave)
            T. Daniel Seely: Eastern Michigan U. <dseely at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Associate Editor:  Ljuba Veselinova <lveselin at emunix.emich.edu>
Assistant Editors: Ron Reck <rreck at emunix.emich.edu>
                   Ann Dizdar <dizdar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
                   Annemarie Valdez <avaldez at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Software development: John H. Remmers <remmers at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Editor for this issue: lveselin at emunix.emich.edu (Ljuba Veselinova)
 
We'd like to remind readers that the responses to queries are usually
best posted to the individual asking the question. That individual is
then  strongly encouraged to post a summary to the list.   This policy was
instituted to help control the huge volume of mail on LINGUIST; so we
would appreciate your cooperating with it whenever it seems appropriate.
 
---------------------------------Directory-----------------------------------
1)
Date:  Sun, 17 Mar 1996 15:06:30 CST
From:  mlrlm at sunset.backbone.olemiss.edu (Rebecca Larche Moreton)
Subject:  Ruth King
	
 
2)
Date:  Thu, 14 Mar 1996 22:58:56 GMT
From:  Ted.Harding at nessie.mcc.ac.uk (Ted Harding)
Subject:  Re: Acronyms on the Net.
 
3)
Date:  Fri, 15 Mar 1996 23:07:09 GMT
From:  teemsht at ioe.ac.uk (Su-Hsun Tsai)
Subject:  Q: Linguistic Dictionary
 
---------------------------------Messages------------------------------------
1)
Date:  Sun, 17 Mar 1996 15:06:30 CST
From:  mlrlm at sunset.backbone.olemiss.edu (Rebecca Larche Moreton)
Subject: Ruth King
	
 
 
Does anyone know Ruth King's e-mail or terrestrial address during her
leave this semester?  I have been unable to find it from any of the
usual searches.  Thanks in advance.
 
Rebecca Larche Moreton
<rebeling at mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu>
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2)
Date:  Thu, 14 Mar 1996 22:58:56 GMT
From:  Ted.Harding at nessie.mcc.ac.uk (Ted Harding)
Subject:  Re: Acronyms on the Net.
 
	
kenny at UDel.Edu (Kenneth Allen Hyde) wrote:
 
> I am interested in knowing if any research has been done on the effect
> of acronyms on processing time of sentences.  This was brought up on a
> different mail-list, when one list-member contended that acronyms slow
> down the processing time, because they have to be "unpacked" and the
> component parts have to be accessed individually.  My hypothesis is
> that most acronyms would be stored in the lexicon as a single entry,
> and that they would not differ significantly in access time from other
> lexical entries.  Does anyone know whether this has been tested, and
> if so, what the findings were?
 
I would be very interested to learn of research whose results differ
from the following common-sense expectation:
 
1. Acronyms become single lexical entries with familiarity and
frequent use
   (how many of us explicitly decode NATO or UNESCO?); otherwise they need
   recognising and decoding and this takes time;
 
2. "Email" acronyms are familiar to many and unfamiliar to many;
 
3. Many use them frequently, many avoid them;
 
4. Many are enthusiastic for their use, many are irritated by them;
 
5. There is a wide distribution over the dimensions of pro- and con-
   listed in 2-4 above (and they are not independent ... )
 
6. People who score high on positive dimensions will suffer little or no
   delay in interpretation, and will save time in writing by adopting them;
 
7. People who score low will lose time over acronyms in interpretation,
   and will also lose time in writing by avoiding them.
 
(Corollary: those who accept the logic of Le Pari de Pascal will conclude
 that, whatever the facts may be, it is better to adopt the acronyms).
 
Best wishes to all (FWIW)
Ted.                                    (Ted.Harding at nessie.mcc.ac.uk)
 
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3)
Date:  Fri, 15 Mar 1996 23:07:09 GMT
From:  teemsht at ioe.ac.uk (Su-Hsun Tsai)
Subject:  Q: Linguistic Dictionary
 
 
Dear Linguist members,
 
     Could someone kindly suggest me a good comprehensive dictionary
of linguistics (in English).  It would help me -- a research student
who previously held a BA in western literature -- to overcome the
difficulty of reading linguistic papers/books in the educational
field.
 
     Many thanks in advance.
 
Su-hsun, research student
IOE, U. of London
teemsht at ioe.ac.uk
 
 
 
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LINGUIST List: Vol-7-406.