student gems (fwd)

[Baker, John]

        Come now, who could gainsay the writer's valuable insights on language death?  Assuming, that is, that it worked the way that the writer appears to suppose.

        I believe that the sentence about the Civil War is entirely accurate, though the writer's choice of words is a bit surprising.

John Baker


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU]On Behalf
Of Peter A. McGraw
Sent: Monday, April 19, 2004 8:06 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: student gems (fwd)


Actual gems from undergrad. papers, sent by my son in Toronto.  I couldn't
resist sharing them with the list, since they touch on weighty issues of
linguistics, toponymics, antedatings (or antebellums?) and God knows what
else....

Peter Mc.

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
"The city of Boston, named after the Boston Massacre...."

"Language death is a tragedy, because it leaves large numbers of people
without a language with which to communicate with each other or the outside
world."

"During the [U.S.] Civil War, media technology was in a primitive state and
it often took days for war footage to air."


---------- End Forwarded Message ----------



*****************************************************************
Peter A. McGraw       Linfield College        McMinnville, Oregon
******************* pmcgraw at linfield.edu ************************