6.525 Social Aspects of Orthography, Ling in Science Fiction

[The Linguist List]

----------------------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List:  Vol-6-525. Fri 07 Apr 1995. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines: 75
 
Subject: 6.525 Social Aspects of Orthography, Ling in Science Fiction
 
Moderators: Anthony Rodrigues Aristar: Texas A&M U. <aristar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
            Helen Dry: Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Asst. Editors: Ron Reck <rreck at emunix.emich.edu>
               Ann Dizdar <dizdar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
               Ljuba Veselinova <lveselin at emunix.emich.edu>
               Annemarie Valdez <avaldez at emunix.emich.edu>
 
-------------------------Directory-------------------------------------
 
1)
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 1995 09:48:17 -0400
From: Alexis Manaster Ramer (amr at CS.Wayne.EDU)
Subject: Re:  6.489 Sum: Social Aspects of Orthography
 
2)
Date: Tue, 04 Apr 1995 22:51 +0100 (MET)
From: WERTH at ALF.LET.UVA.NL
Subject: RE: 6.501 Linguistics in science fiction
 
-------------------------Messages--------------------------------------
1)
Date: Mon, 3 Apr 1995 09:48:17 -0400
From: Alexis Manaster Ramer (amr at CS.Wayne.EDU)
Subject: Re:  6.489 Sum: Social Aspects of Orthography
 
An anecdote about orthography: I know a Polish speaker who
in his late teens or early twenties, as he recalls, eliminated
a phonological contrast from his speeech because it is not
reflected in the standard Polish orthography.  The problem is
that in some parts of Poland, speakers contrast palatalized
labials and labials +  yod, before a vowel, but both sequences
are written BiV (where B is any labial, V any vowel), and this
speaker eliminated the contrast in all such cases.
 
Alexis MR
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
2)
Date: Tue, 04 Apr 1995 22:51 +0100 (MET)
From: WERTH at ALF.LET.UVA.NL
Subject: RE: 6.501 Linguistics in science fiction
 
Another thread from this sleeve of care. When I worked in Hull, we used to set
our 1st year linguistics students as required reading a short SF story by one
Daniel Masson (I think - I've never heard of this author before or since in a
lifetime of reading SF) from a collection called The Caltraps of Time (no, I
don't know what a caltrap is, either). This particular story, I seem to
remember, explained the phoneme principle very well, so was very popular with
my colleague Erik Fudge. Other additions to what has already been listed:
there's a story by Robert Silverberg which takes place in a society which has
so suppressed the individual instinct that 1st person pronouns no longer exist.
The hero is a born-again individualist who rediscovers the 1st person. (I seem
to remember a short story by Ayn Rand founded on a similar premise). Something
more of psychological rather than linguistic interest, perhaps: Philip K.Dick's
Clans of the Alphane Moon. The Alphane Moon is a former penal colony for the
criminally insane, which was divided up into categories of insanity. When the
system breaks down, the different "wards" fend for themselves, and evolve into
"clans": the Schizos, the Hebefreenies etc. Great fun!
 
Incidentally, does anyone else agree with me that SF is going through a real
doldrums currently, and for about 10 years now? Personally, I blame it on the
swords and sorcerers stuff, which it seems to me lacks the discipline which
even pseudo-science imposes on a story. I find maybe one good SF story a year
now.
 
Regards to all,
Paul Werth
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-6-525.