Orthographic reform as a national priority, an ADS responsibility

[Michael Newman]

What grammatical items do you have in mind. I couldn't find too much that distinguishes NYCE from other varieties.


Michael Newman
Associate Professor of Linguistics
Queens College/CUNY
michael.newman at qc.cuny.edu



On Oct 14, 2012, at 10:16 AM, "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Orthographic reform as a national priority, an ADS
>              responsibility
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 10/14/2012 11:07 AM, Michael Newman wrote:
>> I suggest that New York City English (classic White variety as
>> studied by Labov in the 1960s) be used. Since the fact is that there
>> will be no spelling reform, I think we should pick the dialect least
>> likely to be chosen for it just to be consistent with unlikeliness
>> of the whole enterprise. Also, we got the most marvelous collection of vowels.
>
> And also we got the most marvelous collection of grammar!    :-)
>
> But I fully support this movement -- it will make my collection of
> vowels less pretentious.
>
> Joel
>
>> We could use Labov's variable system to mark them, which I know from
>> experience will drive phonologists crazy.
>>
>>
>>
>> Michael Newman
>> Associate Professor of Linguistics
>> Department of Linguistics and Communication Disorders
>> Queens College
>> 718 997 2871
>> <http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/LCD/faculty/newman/mike.htm>http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/LCD/faculty/newman/mike.htm
>>
>> -----American Dialect Society
>> <mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU><ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> wrote: -----
>> To: <mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU><ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> From: "Joel S. Berson"
>> Sent by: American Dialect Society
>> Date: 10/14/2012 09:43AM
>> Subject: Re: Orthographic reform as a national priority, an ADS responsibility
>>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>> Subject:      Re: Orthographic reform as a national priority, an ADS
>>              responsibility
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> At 10/14/2012 01:20 AM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>>> ...
>>> For the US, I think RP would be an excellent choice. That way,
>>> everyone will be identically jacked and the system, like the metric,
>>> will be taught for generations without anyone ever using it outside
>>> of elementary school.
>>>
>>> BTW, to handle the "r" sound that comes between vowels, parentheses
>>> can be used. So "car" would be written as "ka(r)", a much improved
>>> orthographic solution.
>>
>> And if it appears within a parenthetical expression, it can be
>> written as "ka[r]".
>>
>> Joel
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society -
>> <http://www.americandialect.org>http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>>
>>
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> This communication (including any attachments) is intended solely for the
>> recipient(s) named above and may contain information that is confidential,
>> privileged or legally protected. Any unauthorized use or dissemination of
>> this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this
>> communication in error, please immediately notify the sender by return
>> email message and delete all copies of the original communication. Thank
>> you for your cooperation.
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------ The
>> American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org