23.1568, LINGUIST--the central source of information for our profession

Wed Mar 28 16:43:55 UTC 2012

LINGUIST List: Vol-23-1568. Wed Mar 28 2012. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 23.1568, LINGUIST--the central source of information for our profession

Moderators: Anthony Aristar, Eastern Michigan U <aristar at linguistlist.org>
            Helen Aristar-Dry, Eastern Michigan U <hdry at linguistlist.org>

Reviews: Veronika Drake, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Monica Macaulay, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Rajiv Rao, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Joseph Salmons, U of Wisconsin-Madison
Anja Wanner, U of Wisconsin-Madison
       <reviews at linguistlist.org>

Homepage: http://linguistlist.org

The LINGUIST List is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the
discipline of linguistics with the infrastructure necessary to function in
the digital world. Donate to keep our services freely available!
https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

Editor for this issue: Matthew Lahrman <matt at linguistlist.org>
================================================================  

Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:43:24
From: LINGUIST List [linguist at linguistlist.org]
Subject: A letter from LINGUIST List Advisor Martin Jacobsen

E-mail this message to a friend:
http://linguistlist.org/issues/emailmessage/verification.cfm?iss=23-1568.html&submissionid=4543468&topicid=121&msgnumber=1

Dear LINGUIST List Subscribers,

I am Dr. Martin M. Jacobsen, the newest member of the Linguist 
List Advisory Board.  My training is in discourse analysis, but 
I suppose you could call me an all-purpose linguist in practice.  
You might say I'm a "campus linguist" teaching 6-10 
linguistics classes a year.  I'm very pleased to be teaching 
linguistics classes, which range from introduction to 
linguistics to language acquisition to grammar to history 
of the English language. 

Before I became the "campus linguist," I was an editor for the 
Linguist List (referred to hereafter and with great affection 
as LINGUIST).  When I started to look for doctoral programs, 
I looked for programs that offered, among other things, 
opportunities in linguistics.  I just knew that LINGUIST was 
one such opportunity.  I had no idea how well I had chosen 
until I began working as one of the first student editors 
of LINGUIST in July, 1997.

I think I was the second Texas A&M graduate student to work 
as an editor for LINGUIST.  I was pursuing a concentration 
in discourse studies, with most of my coursework in 
linguistics or rhetoric.  I was able to apply both in my 
work with LINGUIST.  And I learned a lot about internet 
technology, posting issues in UNIX and learning HTML code 
back when we "wrote it by hand."  I'll never forget what 
it felt like to post an issue or update a page--or make a 
mistake--and immediately reach 13,000 people--a worldwide 
audience that never slept.  It's gratifying to realize 
that we've more than doubled our membership since that 
time.  With all the upgrades and platform changes since 
those early days, the technological advance of LINGUIST 
is truly remarkable as well.

That advantage was only partially technological. The 
technology was only the means.  The power of LINGUIST 
derives from the vision of its founders: Anthony Rodriguez 
Aristar and Helen Aristar-Dry.  Without their devotion to 
the profession of linguistics, there would be no LINGUIST.  
Their constant quest--to make the professional aspects of 
linguistics more accessible for all--drove all their decisions.  
Their devotion to efficiency and accuracy more than once 
brought them to my office door or email inbox with an idea 
or a suggestion--or a reproach.  We editors made mistakes, 
and we never had to guess when they happened with the entire 
world watching.  We learned to roll with the punches, 
understanding that in many respects the significance of the 
errors we made was precisely the result of the marvel we 
were creating.  It was Anthony and Helen then--and John 
Remmers and Andrew Carnie and a handful of student editors, 
working around the clock to keep LINGUIST going.  We worked 
around the clock because LINGUIST issues needed to go out 
and LINGUIST pages needed to be updated.  It wasn't a job 
	or a duty.  It was much more like a family.  LINGUIST was 
	our family project. 

Working for LINGUIST gave me an opportunity not only to 
learn about linguistics and internet technology but also 
to watch a profession in action.  By the time I began 
working for LINGUIST, everything was starting to be announced 
there: jobs, conferences, books.  I was able to participate 
vicariously in discussions that would never have been available 
to me just 5 years earlier.  I met people and had daily contact 
with the leading names in the linguistics profession. 

But it didn't stop there.  LINGUIST wasn't the only thing I was 
doing.  I was a doctoral student.  When I started to think about 
what my project would be, I found myself drawn to things I was 
learning from my experience with LINGUIST.  Ultimately, I wrote 
about the psychodynamics of hypertext and virtual communities.  
I used LINGUIST as my data--not the information we posted but 
the virtual community LINGUIST had become by that time.  So I 
was writing about LINGUIST while I was helping to create it.  
The fusion of my scholarly activity and the assistantship 
paying for it could not have been a better fit for me.  As a 
result of this lovely combination, I became the first 
Linguist List editor to earn a Ph.D.  Working for 
LINGUIST wasn't what I did to get through graduate school; 
LINGUIST was graduate school. 

Since my time with LINGUIST, countless others have benefited 
from the same opportunities.  As I noted earlier, when I worked 
for LINGUIST as an editor, there were only 3 or 4 of us, the 
moderators, and a programmer.  Now LINGUIST boasts 17 editors, 
five reviewers, four managers, three programmers, and of 
course, 2 moderators--Anthony and Helen--and one well-served 
and grateful discipline.  I teach linguistics classes to an 
average of 200 students per year.  I've been the "campus 
linguist"--teaching education, English and speech pathology 
students--for about 5 years now.  Numerous people who have 
worked for LINGUIST between 2001 when I left (yes, I worked 
for LINGUIST during the first two years of my assistant 
professorship) and my return this year.  Assuming most of 
these people will pursue linguistics as a profession, think 
of the direct impact that has had and will continue to have 
on reaching students. 

When I was invited to join the Linguist List Advisory Board, 
I contemplated a list of names that included people I cited 
in my dissertation, people whose work defines the fields of 
linguistics.  It seemed at first that I had come full circle.  
But LINGUIST isn't circular.  LINGUIST isn't about going 
backward.  LINGUIST looks ahead.  LINGUIST moves forward.  
LINGUIST grows.  LINGUIST supports linguists, students, and 
others who then in turn influence others.  It's not just a 
website and mailing list.  LINGUIST produces and sustains a 
direct influence on the profession from its own ranks in 
addition to providing the central source of information for 
the profession. 

Please consider contributing to LINGUIST.  It's an investment 
in the future of linguistics.

https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

Sincerely,
Martin Jacobsen

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Year the LINGUIST List hopes to raise $67,000. This money will go to help 
keep the List running by supporting all of our Student Editors for the coming
year.

See below for donation instructions, and don't forget to check out Fund 
Drive 2012 site!

http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/

There are many ways to donate to LINGUIST!

You can donate right now using our secure credit card form at  
https://linguistlist.org/donation/donate/donate1.cfm

Alternatively you can also pledge right now and pay later. To do so, go to: 
https://linguistlist.org/donation/pledge/pledge1.cfm

For all information on donating and pledging, including information on how to 
donate by check, money order, or wire transfer, please visit: 
http://linguistlist.org/donation/

The LINGUIST List is under the umbrella of Eastern Michigan University and as 
such can receive donations through the EMU Foundation, which is a registered 
501(c) Non Profit organization. Our Federal Tax number is 38-6005986. These 
donations can be offset against your federal and sometimes your state tax
return (U.S. tax payers only). For more information visit the IRS Web-Site,
or contact your financial advisor.

Many companies also offer a gift matching program, such that they will match 
any gift you make to a non-profit organization. Normally this entails your 
contacting your human resources department and sending us a form that the 
EMU Foundation fills in and returns to your employer. This is generally a
simple administrative procedure that doubles the value of your gift to
LINGUIST, without costing you an extra penny. Please take a moment to check if
your company operates such a program.

Thank you very much for your support of LINGUIST!

----------------------------------------------------------
LINGUIST List: Vol-23-1568	
----------------------------------------------------------