[Ads-l] Facebook: "to cop-kill"

Wilson Gray hwgray at GMAIL.COM
Sun Feb 21 03:12:44 UTC 2016


Change the title to read

"Facebook: "cop-killed"



On Sat, Feb 20, 2016 at 10:38 AM, 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: Facebook: "to cop-kill"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> > On Feb 20, 2016, at 9:32 AM, Neal Whitman <nwhitman at ameritech.net> =
> wrote:
> >=20
> > Interesting. =46rom the subject-line, I'd've thought "cop-kill" would =
> mean "kill a cop." I think the analysis here should be (cop (kill ed)) =
> rather than ((cop kill) ed). In other words, I don't think we have a =
> two-part backformed verb here yet, and if we did, it would mean "kill a =
> cop."
> >=20
> > Neal
>
> Agreed.  It's more like "That shirt can be machine-washed", where the =
> incorporated noun is an instrument or "That building is owner-occupied" =
> or "Those pickles were hipster-curated" where it's an agent.  Even =
> though in principle "to cop-kill" (or nominalized as in "Cop-killing is =
> frowned on") would normally be interpreted as incorporating a =
> patient/object, in the context below, where the patient is specified =
> and/or passive voice is used, the agentive interpretation isn't =
> impossible.  "To machine-wash" or "machine washing" can be interpreted =
> either way (vs. "to car-wash"), but "(that shirt) being machine-washed" =
> is unambiguous. =20
>
> LH
> >=20
> >> On Feb 20, 2016, at 12:46 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> >>=20
> >> ---------------------- Information from the mail header =
> -----------------------
> >> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> >> Subject:      Facebook: "to cop-kill"
> >> =
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -----
> >>=20
> >> "... the chances of some young innocent _being cop killed_ are a lot =
> lower."
> >>=20
> >> --=20
> >> -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
> >>=20
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-- 
-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

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