terms of endearment

Wed Apr 4 12:48:42 UTC 2012

1. No longer even slightly amusing.

Revisiting the story of the last half hour, CNN and O'Brien now sum up by
saying that the second expert "*did* hear" the "curse word and epithet."
 O'Brien said again that she could hear it.

No mention that they'd reported that he'd only heard it *if* it was really
a human voice (with essentially a  50-50 chance that it wasn't.) And they
didn't say he'd ruled out other possibilities.

The first guy was mentioned too, as lead-in, but the second analysis was
implied to be more accurate.

2. For those who care: a Florida State Senator appeared explaining that
because the Stand Your Ground law explicitly includes the phrase "has no
duty to retreat," it could be interpreted to mean (I paraphrase loosely)
that you can shoot anybody if you feel sufficiently threatened, and, what's
more, if no witnesses gainsay your vulnerability, you can't be charged.

He said he'd try to fix that.

JL

On Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 8:06 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: terms of endearment
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> CNN reports on new investigations of the tape by two independent voice
> analysts, including the one who effectively ruled out Z. as uttering the
> screams on the other tape.
>
> His conclusion: if Z. is saying anything at all on the inaudible part of
> the tape, it's something about "clothes" or "close."
>
> The second analyst's conclusion: it might be "coons," but OTOH - you'll
> love this - there's only a 48% chance that the sound is even a human voice!
> Literally, it could be the wind. Or Z's breathing. Or Z's phone rubbing
> against his face. Or you name it.
>
> (I wonder, in the light of the results, whether the expert volunteered the
> opinion about "coons" or was asked outright, "So is there a chance it could
> be an epithet? I mean, if it's a human voice in the first place?" Neither
> man was on air to discuss his findings.  Stay tuned....
>
> Last week, in the middle of the controversy and after the original
> inconclusive CNN results, anchor Soledad O'Brien couldn't resist
> observing that it sounded like "the f-word and a racial epithet" to her.
>
>
> JL
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 8:32 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      Re: terms of endearment
> >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > >  use of the form, "Yoami," is obligatory.
> > But on police tapes, it can be mistaken for "Yo' mammy!"
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 7:45 PM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > > -----------------------
> > > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > > Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> > > Subject:      Re: terms of endearment
> > >
> > >
> >
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> > ------
> > >
> > > On Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 8:22 AM, Jonathan Lighter
> > > <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > *[Inaudible]*
> > >
> > > To say the least! I listened with ears sharpened by years of "pulling
> > > out" intercepted Russian voice-commo and heard nothing at all
> > > interpretable as anything in particular. It's what we used to call a
> > > "garble," back in the Security Agency, and nothing more.
> > >
> > > Now, if only his buddy hadn't felt the need to attempt to defend the
> > > application of the word to black people by white people in the
> *general*
> > > case,
> > > as opposed to merely denying that it had been applied in this
> > *particular=
> > *
> > > case=85
> > >
> > > But then, that's Florida, for you.
> > >
> > > It's said that black people in the Sunshine State aren't permitted to
> > > speak the word, "Miami," when talking to a white person. In such a
> > > case, the use of the form, "Yoami," is obligatory.
> > >
> > > -Wilson
> > > -----
> > > All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
> > > to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> > > -Mark Twain
> > >
> > > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> > --=20
> > "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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