7.614, Qs: Texts,Modals,Job Survey,Spanish,Uncertainty,Discourse

The Linguist List linguist at tam2000.tamu.edu
Thu Apr 25 04:54:03 UTC 1996


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LINGUIST List:  Vol-7-614. Wed Apr 24 1996. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines:  254
 
Subject: 7.614, Qs: Texts,Modals,Job Survey,Spanish,Uncertainty,Discourse
 
Moderators: Anthony Rodrigues Aristar: Texas A&M U. <aristar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
            Helen Dry: Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at emunix.emich.edu> (On Leave)
            T. Daniel Seely: Eastern Michigan U. <dseely at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Associate Editor:  Ljuba Veselinova <lveselin at emunix.emich.edu>
Assistant Editors: Ron Reck <rreck at emunix.emich.edu>
                   Ann Dizdar <dizdar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
                   Annemarie Valdez <avaldez at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Software development: John H. Remmers <remmers at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Editor for this issue: avaldez at emunix.emich.edu (Annemarie Valdez)
 
We'd like to remind readers that the responses to queries are usually
best posted to the individual asking the question. That individual is
then  strongly encouraged to post a summary to the list.   This policy was
instituted to help control the huge volume of mail on LINGUIST; so we
would appreciate your cooperating with it whenever it seems appropriate.
 
---------------------------------Directory-----------------------------------
1)
Date:  Mon, 22 Apr 1996 19:01:06 CDT
From:  polanyi at ruf.rice.edu (Livia Polanyi)
Subject:  Texts for Structure of English
 
2)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 12:00:43 BST
From:  mccay at jet.es ("Alan R. King")
Subject:  Q: More modals please!
 
3)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 14:53:30 +0900
From:  tancredi at ed.ynu.ac.jp (Tancredi Chris)
Subject:  linguist job survey
 
4)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 13:25:09 BST
From:  mccay at jet.es ("Alan R. King")
Subject:  Q: Quiero que vaya a Mexico
 
5)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 12:25:41 BST
From:  Ted.Harding at nessie.mcc.ac.uk (Ted Harding)
Subject:  Language for Uncertainty
 
6)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 15:15:57 +0800
From:  topsiet at cal.upd.edu.ph (Topsie Ruanni Fernandez Tupas)
Subject:  Discours Analysis Models
 
---------------------------------Messages------------------------------------
1)
Date:  Mon, 22 Apr 1996 19:01:06 CDT
From:  polanyi at ruf.rice.edu (Livia Polanyi)
Subject:  Texts for Structure of English
 
 
 
I am looking for suggestions for a textbook to use in an undergraduate
course on the structure of English. Since I would want to cover
material in phonology, morphology, semantics, syntax, discourse and
sociolinguistics, the book could be an introductory general
linguistics text with primarily English examples or a book specially
written with the Structure of English in mind. Please reply to
polanyi at ruf.rice.edu. I'll post a digest of responses to LINGUIST.
 
 
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2)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 12:00:43 BST
From:  mccay at jet.es ("Alan R. King")
Subject:  Q: More modals please!
 
 
 
Thanks to all those who responded to my recent request for sentences
containing modals in different languages.  I now have data for over
fifty languages, but would like to extend the data base still further
before summarising.  All languages remain welcome, EXCEPT for the
major Germanic and Romance ones which are now well-covered.  I'd like
to make a special plea for data from any AFRICAN, AMERICAN INDIAN,
AUSTRALIAN, CAUCASIAN, CENTRAL ASIAN, and PAPUAN languages as well as
from little-known languages anywhere in the world.
 
I would furthermore be particularly interested in seeing data for the
following languages:
 
Albanian                                Irish
Amharic                                 Kiribati
Aramaic                                 Latvian
Breton                                  Lithuanian
Bulgarian                               Polish
Catalan                                 Samoan
Estonian                                Serbo-Croat
Fijian                                  Slovene
Gaelic                                  Somali
Georgian                                Tagalog
Greek (especially Classical)            Tok Pisin
Haitian Creole                          Tongan
Icelandic                               Zulu (and other Bantu)
 
The question remains the same, and is repeated below:
 
As part of a study on the typology of modality expressions in the
world's languages, I request translations into as many languages as
possible (especially non-European ones!) of the following three
sentences:
 
1)  I can go to Tokyo.
2)  I have to go to Tokyo.
3)  I want to go to Tokyo.
 
Please literal-gloss the sentences; any further grammatical
explanations or comments will also be most welcome.  "Tokyo" may be
replaced by any other place if that is more convenient.  If there is a
choice of possible translations, you may give more than one,
commenting if possible on differences between them.
 
I may want to come back to those who reply with a longer list of more
detailed questions on the subject, so you may wish to indicate in your
reply whether or not you would object to this.
 
Alan R. King          |  EMAIL: mccay at jet.es
Indamendi 13, 7C      |  [or if all else fails] 70244.1674 at compuserve.com
20800 Zarautz         |  FAX: +34-43-130396
Gipuzkoa
Euskal Herria / Basque Country (Spain)
 
 
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3)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 14:53:30 +0900
From:  tancredi at ed.ynu.ac.jp (Tancredi Chris)
Subject:  linguist job survey
 
 
We are in the middle of reforming our university, and are hoping to be
able to make linguistics more prominent.  Our current plan combines
linguistics, congnitive science and mathematics together in one
department.  In order for the plan to succeed, we will need to
convince the Japanese Ministry of Education that undergraduates
graduating from the new department would be able to find jobs.  Toward
that end, I would like to find out what jobs people have obtained who
majored in linguistics or cognitive science.  I would greatly
appreciate receiving information about such positions, including some
or all of the following:
 
Undergraduate Major:
Highest degree:
Company/Agency (optional):
Title of Position:
Description of Work:
 
I need to collect this information by April 30, and will post the results
to the Linguist List.  If there is any information that you do not want
to have posted, please leave it blank, or identify it as DNP (=Do Not
Publish).  Responses about colleagues, friends, acquaintances, etc. also
appreciated.  Send responses by e-mail to:
 
	tancredi at ed.ynu.ac.jp
 
Thank you for your cooperation.
 
Christopher Tancredi
Yokohama National University
 
 
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4)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 13:25:09 BST
From:  mccay at jet.es ("Alan R. King")
Subject:  Q: Quiero que vaya a Mexico
 
 
 
One correspondent informs me that in some varieties of Spanish, the sentence:
 
Quiero que vaya a Mexico.
 
can mean "I want to go to Mexico" (sic).  This is news to me, and I've
spoken Spanish for years.  Can anyone confirm this, and specify dialect,
register etc.?
 
 
Alan R. King          |  EMAIL: mccay at jet.es
Indamendi 13, 7C      |  [or if all else fails] 70244.1674 at compuserve.com
20800 Zarautz         |  FAX: +34-43-130396
Gipuzkoa
Euskal Herria / Basque Country (Spain)
 
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5)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 12:25:41 BST
From:  Ted.Harding at nessie.mcc.ac.uk (Ted Harding)
Subject:  Language for Uncertainty
 
 
 
I would like to consult expert and experienced linguistic opinion
about the following type of question.
 
I am interested in the capacity of "everyday" language to express
uncertainty, and in the extent to which "linguistic" (in the broadest
sense) constraints on what may be said, or grasped, as an utterance,
limit expression of the uncertainty inherent in what is being
described.
 
As an example, to set the ball rolling, consider the last (set out on its
own) of the following three sentences.
 
	The number of drug users officially registered as "drug addicts"
	in [ X City ] is just over 1,000. The number of users with similar
	usage is, of course, greater than this.
 
>>>	The number of unregistered such users exceeds a number which is
	probably between 5,000 and 10,000
 
I know what I mean by this last sentence, and someone from my field
(which is Statistics) might have to look twice, but would also know
what I mean.
 
But, when I read it, I suspect that the "general reader" might fail to
grasp it. I would be grateful to receive comments on this (anything
interesting will be summarized).
 
In order not to bias responses, I'm not saying what I intend that
sentence to mean.
 
With thanks,
Ted.                                    (Ted.Harding at nessie.mcc.ac.uk)
 
 
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6)
Date:  Wed, 24 Apr 1996 15:15:57 +0800
From:  topsiet at cal.upd.edu.ph (Topsie Ruanni Fernandez Tupas)
Subject:  Discours Analysis Models
 
I am doing a research on The Sinclair and Coulthard Model of Discourse
Analysis to be evaluated in the context of critical linguistics whose
results will then be tried out in some language classrooms. Could you
please help me in this regard? Where can I find books which deal with
not only the Model itself, but with a critical analysis of it and its
application in the classroom. Responses will be posted, and shared
with those who might be interested.
 
Tops
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