saving the world

[Jonathan Lighter]

Our interests on this list are  generally so arcane by most people's standards that we haven't been much inconvenienced by a torrent of loonies posting here. I'd hate to see access confined to people who can cough up bucks.

  JL

Joel Shaver <vole at NETW.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Joel Shaver
Subject: Re: saving the world
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I humbly beg for consideration to be made for the poor student who is
not a dues-paying member but who is content to listen and learn (aside
from making the odd clumsy post or two)... I hope I speak on the behalf
of more than myself. Some day, when I grow up, I'll pay my dues! :-)

Joel Shaver
University of Glasgow

Paul Johnston wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Paul Johnston

> Subject: Re: saving the world
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Fine with me, Beverly.
>
> Paul
> On Dec 3, 2006, at 11:47 PM, Beverly Flanigan wrote:
>
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: Beverly Flanigan
>> Subject: Re: saving the world
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> ---------
>>
>> Mr. Zurinskas, would you please stop preaching to us about how we
>> "should"
>> speak English? We're linguists and dialectologists, and we don't take
>> kindly to prescriptive preaching! How are dialects "arbitrary"--
>> do we
>> just make them up as we go along? And how do we stop them from
>> "taking
>> hold"? Who ARE these "artificial dialectizers" who misspeak words--
>> all of
>> the millions of speakers of English around the world except thee
>> and me
>> (and not even me, apparently)? Anything that doesn't match your
>> principles
>> is "not good"? And "semplence"? "Egyption"? "speach"? "pear"? I'd
>> suggest you check your own spelling, or are you artificially
>> changing it to
>> match your own alphabetic(al) principle?
>>
>> I for one am getting tired of this kind of ranting on what was set
>> up to be
>> a neutral, objective, real-language-based listserv dedicated to the
>> principles of the 100-year-old-plus American Dialect Society. Are you
>> aware of the ADS and what it stands for? Are you a member? Now I'm
>> ranting! But instead of ignoring these misguided missives, I'm
>> going to
>> renew the call of some years ago that we restrict subscription to this
>> listserv to those who are paying members of the ADS or who at least
>> have
>> serious and unbiased contributions to make. And I'm willing to let
>> our
>> moderators be the judges of that. Anybody want to join me?
>>
>> At 01:07 AM 11/24/2006, you wrote:
>>
>>> The alphabetical principle holds that letters stand for sounds.
>>> We find now
>>> that even Egyption hieroglyphic symbols stand for sounds, and we
>>> can speak
>>> the writings of 5,000 years ago because of this.
>>>
>>> Arbitrary dialects destroy this relationship and should they take
>>> hold
>>> lessen the consistency of correspondence between letters and
>>> sounds and make
>>> English all the harder to read and learn. Not good.
>>>
>>> Let's not be artificial dialectizers by misspeaking words, but rather
>>> retainers of what semplence of alphabetic principle we have for
>>> English.
>>>
>>> Tom Zurinskas, USA - CT20, TN3, NJ33, FL4+
>>> See truespel.com and the 4 truespel books at authorhouse.com.
>>>
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>
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>
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