Infinite vocabulary

[Laurence Horn]

At 9:43 AM -0400 10/26/00, Dennis R. Preston wrote:
>"They're joining the American Dialect Society?"
>
>dInIs

I think it needs the significant pause before the verb phrase, and a
raised eyebrow (or, if you can manage it, a dropped one) wouldn't
hurt...

>
>
>
>>Here is an interesting and I think novel observation by one of my students.
>>
>>". . . almost any verb can be paired with almost any noun to mean sexual
>>intercourse. As long as the context is right, such as 'I think they're' or
>>'They are' and there is the proper tone, normal everyday verbs and nouns
>>become synonymous with intercourse such as 'knocking knees,' 'butting heads,'
>>'planting the flag,' or even something not as obvious like 'logging on' or
>>'walking the plank' can be used. I feel  that this makes the importance of
>>context and tone most obvious because of the immense number of words that can
>>mean the same thing if the context and tone are the same."
>>
>>It's a commonplace to note the abundance of terms for sexual intercourse (and
>>drunkenness, to name another), and some collectors have even tried to compile
>>complete lists; but this is a suggestion that, at least in this category, the
>>list is infinite. - Allan Metcalf
>
>
>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