Indiana bans linguistics

[Dan Goncharoff]

"I'm still not sure exactly what counts"

As Potter Stewart wrote, "I knew it when I see it."

DanG


On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 2:08 PM, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Indiana bans linguistics
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On May 9, 2014, at 12:51 PM, Ben Zimmer wrote:
>
> > Good stuff... now on Language Log:
> >
> > http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=12309
>
> Perhaps partly a question of scope. The key condition is
>
> (8) Uses linguistics, numbers, and phonetics, translations from foreign
> languages, or upside-down or reverse reading to reference any other
> prohibited numeric and letter combination.
>
> If we interpret it as
>
> (8) Uses linguistics, numbers, and phonetics, translations from foreign
> languages, or [upside-down or reverse reading to reference any other
> prohibited numeric and letter combination].
>
> then the use of linguistics is ruled out (as, however, is the use of
> numbers, which seems somewhat implausible as a banned category).  If we
> read it as
>
> (8) Uses [linguistics, numbers, and phonetics, translations from foreign
> languages, or upside-down or reverse reading to reference any other
> prohibited numeric and letter combination].
>
> then linguistics (etc.) is banned only as a way to reference "prohibited
> numeric and letter combination", which sounds more reasonable, although I'm
> still not sure exactly what counts.  Of course this is Indiana, land of
>
> WATCH YOUR SPEED.  WE ARE.
>
> so all bets are off.
>
> LH
>
>
> >
> > On Fri, May 9, 2014 at 12:15 PM, Galen Buttitta wrote:
> >>
> >> It means "Don't try to be clever and sneak obscenity past the radar",
> that's all.
> >>
> >> Sent from my iPhone
> >>
> >>> On May 9, 2014, at 10:55, Herb Stahlke wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Among the Indiana BMV's potentially prohibited vanity plates:
> >>>
> >>> Messages that involve linguistics, numbers, phonetics, translations
> from
> >>> foreign languages or upside-down or reverse reading to reference any
> other
> >>> prohibited numeric and letter combination.  (IndyStar, May 9, 2014, p.
> A6.)
> >>>
> >>> I'm not sure what that means.
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

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