DOCSLIB.ORG

Visible Language

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Visible Language VISIBLE LANGUAGE The Journal for Research on the Visual Media if Language Expression Volume X, Number 4, Autumn 1976 /SSN 0022-2224 295-308 Digraphia in Advertising: The Public as Guinea Pig James R. J aquith 309-322 Internalization of English Orthographic Patterns Robert H. Secrist 323-338 The Phonological R elevance of Spelling Pronunciation Andrew Kerek 339-350 Methods and Theories of Learning to Spell Tested by Studies of Deaf Children Arthur I. Gates and Esther H. Chase 351-365 Notes on the History of English Spelling Richard L. V enezky 366-376 Excerpt from The American Spelling Book Noah Webster 377-379 Abstracts of Articles in French, German, and Spanish 380 The Authors 381-384 Index to Volume X Cover: Detail of New England Country School by Winslow Homer. Reproduced with the permission of the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Massachusetts. VISIBLE LANGUAGE, VolumeX, Number4, Autumn 1976. Published quarterly (Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn) by Visible Language, Box 1972 CMA, Cleveland, OH 44106. Copyright 1976 by Visible Language. Second-class postage paid at Cleveland, Ohio. Merald E. Wrolstad, Ph.D., Editor and Publisher P. 0. Box 1972 CMA, Cleveland, OH 44106 USA ADVISORY BOARD Colin Banks, Banks and Miles, London Roland Barthes, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Paris Fernand Baudin, Bonlez par Grez-Doiceau, Belgium Szymon Bojko, Warsaw Pieter Brattinga, Form Mediation International, Amsterdam Edward M. Catich, Saint Ambrose College Murray Eden, MIT I. J . Gelb, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago Ephraim Gleichenhaus, ICTA Representative, New York Kenneth S. Goodman, University of Arizona Randall P. Harrison, Michigan State University Ernest H och, ICOGRADA R epresentative, Reading University Albert Kapr, Hochschule fur Grafik und Buchkunst, Leipzig Alexander Lawson, Rochester Institute for Technology C. L. Leyman, Tigard School District, Oregon Aaron Marcus, Princeton University Dominic Massaro, University of Wisconsin R. Hunter Middleton, Chicago Alexander Nesbitt, Newport, R.I. G. W. Ovink, Tetterode-Nederland, Amsterdam P. David Pearson, University of Minnesota Charles Peignot, Paris Sharon H . Poggenpohl, Institute of Design, Chicago Marvin A. Powell, Jr., Northern Illinois University Philippe Schuwer, Librairie Hachette, Paris Mary Ellen Salt, Indiana University Jack W. Stauffacher, The Greenwood Press, San Francisco Robert St. Clair, University of Louisville William C. Stokoe, Jr., Gallaudet College, Washington Miles A. Tinker, Emeritus Professor, University of Minnesota George L. Trager, Taos, New Mexico Richard Venezky, University of Delaware Stanley F. Wanat, California State University at Fullerton W. C. Watt, University of California, Irvine Dirk Wendt, Christian-Albrechts-UniversiUit, Kiel Michael Wood, Aberdeen, Scotland Bror Zachrisson, Grafiska lnstitutet, Stockholm Hermann Zapf, Damstadt, Germany General Information VISIBLE L ANGUAGE is concerned with research and ideas that help define the unique role and properties of written language. It is a basic premise of the Journal that writing/reading form a distinct system of language expression which must be defined and developed on its own terms. Published quarterly since 1967, Visible Language has no formal organizational affiliation. Address All communication· with Visible Language- both editorial and business correspondence- should be addressed to: Visible Language cfo The Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland, O H 44106 USA T elephone 216/421-7340 Subscription Rates 011e rear Two rears Thru rears Individual $13.00 $23.00 $30.00 Insti tutional 18.50 33.00 45.00 All orders must be prepaid. Back Copies A limited quantity of all back numbers of Visible La11guage are available at $3.00 to individuals and $4.50 to institutions. Copies should be ordered directly from the J ournal's address given above. A folder listing the contents of all past J ournal issues is available on request. Repri11ts of Specific Articles. R eaders interested in securing copies of any of the articles published in Visible La11guage should send for the appropriate number of the J ournal. Individual reprints are not available. Gmeral l nformatioll Claims. T o be honored free of charge, claims for missing issues must be made immediately upon receipt of the next published issue. 291 General Information Manuscripts All manuscripts and inquiries about research articles and other contributions to the Journal should be addressed to the Editor. An Author's Guide for the organization, preparation, and submission of manuscripts is also available and includes special instructions for designers in preparing research reports. Authors are strongly advised to follow the general editorial style- headings, references, tables, captions- as shown in this and past copies of the j ournal. All copy must be double-spaced, including all references and long quotations in the text. All manuscripts should be submitted in triplicate, one of which should be an original typed copy. Authors are cautioned to retain a copy of their manuscript to guard against loss in the mail. Abstracts. ~!anuscripts should be accompanied by an abstract of 100-200 words, typed on a separate sheet of paper. An abstract of a research paper should contain statements of (a) the problem, (b) the methods, (c) the results, and (d ) con­ clusions. Results are most important, and every abstract should contain at least the trend of results. An abstract of a discussion article should state the topics covered and the central thesis of the article. Only complete sentences should be used in abstracts. Letters to tile Editor The editors welcome comments on articles, reviews, and letters that have appeared in the Journal. Communications should be addressed to the Editor. The Editor will also relay to the author your questions or comments on any article. Your response- and the author's comment in reply-will not be pub­ lished without your permission and your approval of any editing. Advertising Advertising Type-page Ourall Rates Si<.e Page Si<.e Full page $100 26 x 41 picas 6 x 9 inches Half page $60 26 x 20 picas 6 x 4X inches For inside covers, add 25% . Minimum space is a half page. Bleed pages and color accepted; write for additional information. Cost of composition and artwork charged to advertiser at cost. Agency commission 15% . No cash discount. Advertising content subject to approval of the publisher. Advertising copy should be received two monthJ prior to quarterly publication on I January, l April, l July, and I October. Advertisers should contact Visible Languag~ at the address given above. 292 Visible Language X 4 Autumn 1976 An Introduction to This Special Issue Comenius, writing in the middle of the seventeenth century, called spelling "that most trouble~ome torture of wits." The American educational riformer]. M . Rice wrote at the end of the nineteenth century on " The futility of the spelling grind." And Leonard Bloomfield, in calling for a complete riform of English spelling in 1933, claimed that "The difficulty of our spelling greatly delays elementary education and wastes even much time of adults." But in 1977 we spell as did Bloomfield and Rice, and pretty much the same as did a literate Englishman at the time of Comenius. Spelling is still taught in our elementary schools, albeit not wit4 the furvor and fanaticism that Rice witnessed in the 1890's, and the same features that led a 1930's spelling riformer to exclaim" that of languages of culture English has the most antiquated, inconsistent, and illogical spelling" continue to interest linguists, psychologists, and educators. What one group finds as illogical and unconscionable in English spelling, others find as valuable data for the history of the English language, the nature ofsou nd change, the habits of trade-name makers, and the informa­ tion processing abilities of children and adults. The papers presented here portray this richness of interest in English spelling from several uncommon viewpoints. T wo of the papers concern psychological aspects of spelling ability. In one (Gates and Chase), the spelling abilities of deaf children are compared to those of normal/zearing children matched for mental age and for reading ability. T he results of this study seem as unexpected today as they did 51 years ago when the study was first published. The second psychological paper ( Secrist) represents one of the few studies in print of the specific phoneme-grapheme patterns which Literates use. Most spelling riformers have assumed that phonemic spellings would facilitate reading and spelling while non-phonemic spellings would impede these processes. Until now, however, Little empirical evidence has been applied to this argument. Related to this Latter paper is the Kerek study of spelling pronunciations, 293 Introduction a topic which since Jespersen has been Largely ignored by Linguists. Kerek's data suggest that spelling pronunciation, as an extra Linguistic factor, should be considered in arry Linguistic description of English. In contrast to spelling pronunciations, Jacquith examines variant spellings, and in particular those of trade names Like Kleenex and Whey- Fers, and demonstrates that what appear on the surface to deviate markedly from traditional spellings in fact are generated by a set of highly predictable rules which are based on English orthography. Why we spell both cinder and coal with an initial c, and related orthographic issues, are explored by Venez.ky in three vignettes on the history of English spelling. And finally, a section from a spelling book that is almost totally unknown today, but which sold over 24 million copies in the United States between 1783 and 1842, is reprinted. This textbook, riferred to in its day as the "blue-back speller" due to its cover and binding, was Noah Webster's first contribution to American Linguistics and provided for him both the financial resources and the Lexicographic basis for first his Compendious Dictionary of the English La nguage ( 1806) and then the American D ictionary of the English Language ( 1828). Richard L. Venez.ky 294 Visible Language : X 4 Autumn 1976 Diagraphia in Advertising: The Public as Guinea Pig J ames R.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Uhm Phd 9506222 R.Pdf
    INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UM! films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent UJWD the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adverselyaffect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-band comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. U·M·I University Microfilms tnternauonat A Bell & Howell tntorrnatron Company 300 North Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor. M148106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800:521·0600 Order Number 9506222 The linguistic and psycholinguistic nature of kanji: Do kanji represent and trigger only meanings? Matsunaga, Sachiko, Ph.D. University of Hawaii, 1994 Copyright @1994 by Matsunaga, Sachiko.
    [Show full text]
  • The Following Is the List of East Asian Linguistics-Related Publications (As
    The following is the list of East Asian linguistics-related publications (as of February 2016) by our seven DEALL “East Asian Linguistics” faculty members’ (Chan, Nakayama, Noda, C. Quinn, Unger (Emeritus), Xie, & Yuasa). It shows not only our faculty members’ expertise, but also which issues have been investigated by them. Please note that the list does not include any linguistic reviews, abstracts, and encyclopedia entries, non-EA linguistics-related articles, and Pedagogy publications. Also it does not include translated books as separate entries. Linguistics in general Nakayama, M. (editor-in-chief) (2007-12) Journal of Japanese Linguistics 22-28. Minami, M. & M. Nakayama. (editors) (2013) Journal of Japanese Linguistics 29. Xie, Z. & T. Tsui. (eds.) (2015) Buckeye East Asian Linguistics (vol. 1). Columbus, OH: The Knowledge Bank. (http://kb.osu.edu/dspace/handle/1811/73648) Yuasa, E, T. Bagchi, & K. Beals. (eds.) (2011) Pragmatics and Autolexical Grammar: In Honors of Jerry Sadock. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Inagaki, S., S. Arita, M. Hirakawa, Y. Hirakawa, H. Morikawa, M. Nakayama, J. Tsubaki, & H. Sirai (eds.) (2009) Studies in Language Science Vol. 8. Tokyo: Kurosio Publishers. Chan, M. K. M., & H. Kang (eds.) (2008) Proceedings of the 20th North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics (NACCL-20). 2 Volumes. Columbus, OH: East Asian Studies Center, The Ohio State University. Nakayama, M., M. Minami, H. Morikawa, K. Nakamura, & H. Sirai (eds.) (2006) Studies in Language Science Vol. 5. Tokyo: Kurosio Publishers. Minami, M., H. Kobayashi, M. Nakayama, & H. Sirai (eds.) (2005) Studies in Language Science Vol. 4. Tokyo: Kurosio Publishers. Minami, M., H. Kobayashi, M. Nakayama, & H.
    [Show full text]
  • Writing Arabizi: Orthographic Variation in Romanized
    WRITING ARABIZI: ORTHOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN ROMANIZED LEBANESE ARABIC ON TWITTER ! ! ! ! Natalie!Sullivan! ! ! ! TC!660H!! Plan!II!Honors!Program! The!University!of!Texas!at!Austin! ! ! ! ! May!4,!2017! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! _______________________________________________________! Barbara!Bullock,!Ph.D.! Department!of!French!&!Italian! Supervising!Professor! ! ! ! ! _______________________________________________________! John!Huehnergard,!Ph.D.! Department!of!Middle!Eastern!Studies! Second!Reader!! ii ABSTRACT Author: Natalie Sullivan Title: Writing Arabizi: Orthographic Variation in Romanized Lebanese Arabic on Twitter Supervising Professors: Dr. Barbara Bullock, Dr. John Huehnergard How does technology influence the script in which a language is written? Over the past few decades, a new form of writing has emerged across the Arab world. Known as Arabizi, it is a type of Romanized Arabic that uses Latin characters instead of Arabic script. It is mainly used by youth in technology-related contexts such as social media and texting, and has made many older Arabic speakers fear that more standard forms of Arabic may be in danger because of its use. Prior work on Arabizi suggests that although it is used frequently on social media, its orthography is not yet standardized (Palfreyman and Khalil, 2003; Abdel-Ghaffar et al., 2011). Therefore, this thesis aimed to examine orthographic variation in Romanized Lebanese Arabic, which has rarely been studied as a Romanized dialect. It was interested in how often Arabizi is used on Twitter in Lebanon and the extent of its orthographic variation. Using Twitter data collected from Beirut, tweets were analyzed to discover the most common orthographic variants in Arabizi for each Arabic letter, as well as the overall rate of Arabizi use. Results show that Arabizi was not used as frequently as hypothesized on Twitter, probably because of its low prestige and increased globalization.
    [Show full text]
  • Re-Imagining “Annam”: a New Analysis of Sino–Viet– Muong Linguistic Contact
    Chinese Southern Diaspora Studies, Volume 4, 2010 南方華裔研究雑志第四卷, 2010 Re-Imagining “Annam”: A New Analysis of Sino–Viet– Muong Linguistic Contact John D. Phan©2010 Abstract: This article examines the linguistic boundaries that separated (or united) Medieval China’s southern territories and the river plains of northern Vietnam at the end of the first millennium C.E. New evidence from Sino–Vietnamese vocabulary demonstrates the existence of a regional dialect of Middle Chinese, spoken in the Ma, Ca, and Red River plains. Preliminary analysis suggests that a “language shift” away from this “Annamese Middle Chinese” in favor of the local, non-Chinese language, was largely responsible for the highly sinicized lexicon of modern Vietnamese. This theory, which challenges the tradition of an essentially literary source for Sino–Vietnamese, may help to explain some of the sinicized features of Vietnamese phonology and syntax as well. The last section of the article presents a tentative hypothesis for the formal emergence of Vietnamese contra its closest relative, Muong. These hypotheses require further testing, and are presented here as a first look at the history of the languages of “Annam”. Key Words: Ancient Vietnam; Sino–Vietnamese; Muong; historical phonology; language contact Introduction This article revisits the notions of “Chinese” and “Vietnamese” in a linguistic context, and as they pertain to the transitional period linking the first and second millennia C.E. New evidence from Sino–Vietnamese (Chinese words borrowed into Vietnamese), and the Vietnamese language’s closest living relative, Muong, demonstrate that traditional notions of the “survival” of the Vietnamese language under centuries of Chinese domination create a false imagining of its history and evolution—one that has been tailored to a political agenda of national identity.
    [Show full text]
  • Writing Systems
    LIN 4784 Writing Systems Spring 2013 MWF 7th period (1:55-2:45) Anderson 32 Section 098H http://lss.at.ufl.edu/ Instructor: Ann Wehmeyer Office: 320 Pugh Office hours: M, F 8th period; T 5th period Contact: [email protected] Office phone: 352-273-2961 Course overview In this course we study the scripts and orthographies of human languages worldwide. We approach the technology of writing from the following perspectives: Script types o Morphographic, phonographic Script evolution o Borrowing and adaptation Script selection and modification o Scripts for unwritten languages; script and nation; scripts in bilingual contexts Script and identity display o Deviation from standard orthographic practices for social purposes At the end of this course, you will have gained a nuanced understanding of the ways in which signs have linked to the representation of words and speech throughout history, the advantages and disadvantages of different script types in the advancement of literacy and in the preservation of cultural heritage, the socio- cultural and linguistic factors that bear on selection of a script for unwritten languages, and the ways in which individuals and communities deviate from standard practices of orthography to achieve social and political goals. Required texts 1. Rogers, Henry. 2005. Writing Systems: A Linguistic Approach. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 978- 0631234647. 2. Sebba, Mark. 2007. Spelling and Society: The Culture and Politics of Orthography around the World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521-300759. 3. Articles and Book Chapters on online Course Reserves, UF Library, http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/. These readings are indicated by “CR” in the Daily schedule.
    [Show full text]
  • Summary of New Testament Greek Structure
    New Testament Greek Charts for Global Learners Rick Aschmann 1. Introduction I originally wrote up all of these charts for my own use, to help me learn Greek grammar, pronunciation, and general structure, and I still use them frequently. I am a global learner (also called a holistic or “big picture” learner), so I like to know the details, but only in the context of the big picture of the entire structure of a lan- guage. Most learners of a language don’t learn this way, but for those of you who do, I hope this information will be helpful. However, I should clarify that these charts alone will not be enough for a beginning student of Greek, but are only intended as an additional resource for the global learner. For the beginner I suggest a tradi- tional Greek text such as New Testament Greek for Beginners by J. Gresham Machen, which I refer to often in this work. This is the text that I studied when I taught myself Greek more than 30 years ago. (To see available editions of this book, including free online versions, see the Bibliography entry on page 55.) The only part of this work that I suggest the beginner should follow instead of Machen is my pronunciation guide (non-technical), in §2.2. Greek Pronunciation Guide for Dummies on page 14, since this will make the Greek easier to pronounce for a native English speaker. However, other parts of this work can be consulted as well, even fairly early in the learning process, by those who like to see the big picture.
    [Show full text]
  • Language Development in Eritrea: the Case of Blin
    Fallon, Paul D. 2008. Language development in Eritrea: The case of Blin. In Sustain- ing linguistic diversity: Endangered and minority languages and language varieties, ed. by Kendall A. King, Natalie Schilling-Estes, Lyn Fogle, Jia Jackie Lou, and Bar- bara Soukup, 145-158. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press. 10 Language Development in Eritrea The Case of Blin PAUL D. FALLON University of Mary Washington The Blin People and Language Background of Blin Blin, also called Bilin or Bilen, is a Central Cushitic (or Agaw) language of Eritrea with approximately ninety thousand speakers. The Blin are located in the ‘Anseba Administrative Zone, centered around Keren, which is ninety-one kilometers north- west of the national capital, Asmara. Most Blin are agriculturalists, conducting mixed farming and breeding of goats, sheep, and cattle (Abbebe 2001; Smidt 2003). The Blin comprise only 2.1 percent of the national population, and even in Keren they form no more than 20 percent of the population. Their nearest linguistic rela- tives (Xamtaŋa, Kemantney) are in Ethiopia. The Blin are surrounded by a sea of Ethiosemitic speakers, primarily Tigre to the north, spoken by more than 31 percent of the national population, and Tigrinya to the south, spoken by 50 percent (U.S. Dept. of State 2007). Further, they are divided along religious lines, with roughly half or more of the population being Muslim, and the other half Christian, primarily Eritrean Catholic. Because of a fairly large degree of intermarriage, there are very few monolingual Blin; most are bi- or trilingual in Tigrinya and/or Tigre, and many also know such languages as Arabic, English, Amharic, and Italian.
    [Show full text]
  • A Lateral Theory of Phonology by Tobias Scheer
    Direct Interface and One-Channel Translation Studies in Generative Grammar 68.2 Editors Henk van Riemsdijk Harry van der Hulst Jan Koster De Gruyter Mouton Direct Interface and One-Channel Translation A Non-Diacritic Theory of the Morphosyntax-Phonology Interface Volume 2 of A Lateral Theory of Phonology by Tobias Scheer De Gruyter Mouton The series Studies in Generative Grammar was formerly published by Foris Publications Holland. ISBN 978-1-61451-108-3 e-ISBN 978-1-61451-111-3 ISSN 0167-4331 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. ” 2012 Walter de Gruyter, Inc., Boston/Berlin Ra´ko odlı´ta´ by Mogdolı´na Printing: Hubert & Co. GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen Țȍ Printed on acid-free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com Table of contents overview §page Table of contents detail .............................................................. vii Abbreviations used ........................................................................ xxiv Table of graphic illustrations......................................................... xxvii 1 Editorial note ................................................................................. xxviii 2 Foreword What the book is about, and how to use it..................................... xxxi 3 Introduction 4 1. Scope of the book: the identity and management of objects that carry morpho-syntactic information in phonology........... 1 9 2. Deforestation: the lateral project, no trees in phonology and hence the issue with Prosodic Phonology ............................... 5 Part One Desiderata for a non-diacritic theory of the (representational side of) the interface 17 1.
    [Show full text]
  • General Historical and Analytical / Writing Systems: Recent Script
    9 Writing systems Edited by Elena Bashir 9,1. Introduction By Elena Bashir The relations between spoken language and the visual symbols (graphemes) used to represent it are complex. Orthographies can be thought of as situated on a con- tinuum from “deep” — systems in which there is not a one-to-one correspondence between the sounds of the language and its graphemes — to “shallow” — systems in which the relationship between sounds and graphemes is regular and trans- parent (see Roberts & Joyce 2012 for a recent discussion). In orthographies for Indo-Aryan and Iranian languages based on the Arabic script and writing system, the retention of historical spellings for words of Arabic or Persian origin increases the orthographic depth of these systems. Decisions on how to write a language always carry historical, cultural, and political meaning. Debates about orthography usually focus on such issues rather than on linguistic analysis; this can be seen in Pakistan, for example, in discussions regarding orthography for Kalasha, Wakhi, or Balti, and in Afghanistan regarding Wakhi or Pashai. Questions of orthography are intertwined with language ideology, language planning activities, and goals like literacy or standardization. Woolard 1998, Brandt 2014, and Sebba 2007 are valuable treatments of such issues. In Section 9.2, Stefan Baums discusses the historical development and general characteristics of the (non Perso-Arabic) writing systems used for South Asian languages, and his Section 9.3 deals with recent research on alphasyllabic writing systems, script-related literacy and language-learning studies, representation of South Asian languages in Unicode, and recent debates about the Indus Valley inscriptions.
    [Show full text]
  • Phonological Cues to Gender in Sex-Typed and Unisex Names [PDF]
    PHONOLOGICAL CUES TO GENDER IN SEX-TYPED AND UNISEX NAMES ANNE FREDRICKSON SWARTHMORE COLLEGE A growing body of literature suggests that phonological features of English names may provide cues to gender (Slater & Feinman 1985; Cutler et al. 1990; Barry & Harper 1995; Cassidy et al. 1999; Whissell 2001): women’s names tend to have a larger number of syllables, end in a vowel, and display non-initial stress, while men’s names are shorter, end in a consonant, and have primary initial stress. Prior to these studies the sex-typing of names in Anglophone culture was thought to occur only through convention; if phonological cues are in fact exploited by English speakers – that is, if they are meaningful - they challenge both the principle of arbitrariness (Saussure 1959) and the argument that names are pure referencing expressions (Coates 2006). In a series of small trials, this paper explores both the social conventions and linguistic strategies of sex typing; the Phonetic Gender Score (Barry & Harper 1995), a quantitative analysis that predicts the gender of name based on its phonology, is used to evaluate both conventional, sex- typed names and unconventional, gender-ambiguous ones. Surprisingly, many of the phonological features of English female names are present in unisex names as well, which provides a linguistic explanation for the instability such names often experience. The Phonetic Gender Scale is also used to generate novel unisex names, from which English speakers attempt to infer gender. Taken together, these three studies suggest a certain inability (or aversion) on the part of speakers to conceive of subjects apart from their sex.∗ INTRODUCTION “It is [the] rule, and not the intrinsic value of the gestures that obliges one to use them.” FERNINDAD DE SAUSSURE “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman.” SIMONE DE BEAUVOIR Language is an organizational system completely contingent upon its agents.
    [Show full text]
  • Handouts for Advanced Phonology: a Course Packet Steve Parker GIAL
    Handouts for Advanced Phonology: A Course Packet Steve Parker GIAL and SIL International Dallas, 2018 Copyright © 2018 by Steve Parker and other contributors Page 1 of 281 Preface This set of materials is designed to be used as handouts accompanying an advanced course in phonology, particularly at the graduate level. It is specifically intended to be used in conjunction with two textbooks: Phonology in generative grammar (Kenstowicz 1994), and Optimality theory (Kager 1999). However, this course packet could potentially also be adapted for use with other phonology textbooks. The materials included here have been developed by myself and others over many years, in conjunction with courses in phonology taught at SIL programs in North Dakota, Oregon, Dallas, and Norman, OK. Most recently I have used them at GIAL. Many of the special phonetic characters appearing in these materials use IPA fonts available as freeware from the SIL International website. Unless indicated to the contrary on specific individual handouts, all materials used in this packet are the copyright of Steve Parker. These documents are intended primarily for educational use. You may make copies of these works for research or instructional purposes (under fair use guidelines) free of charge and without further permission. However, republication or commercial use of these materials is expressly prohibited without my prior written consent. Steve Parker Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics Dallas, 2018 Page 2 of 281 1 Table of contents: list of handouts included in this packet Day 1: Distinctive features — their definitions and uses -Pike’s premises for phonological analysis ......................................................................... 7 -Phonemics analysis flow chart ..........................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Competing Notions of Authenticity in the Pronunciation of Classical Languages
    Greek Without Greeks: Competing Notions of Authenticity in the Pronunciation of Classical Languages Steven James Peterson St. John’s College Language is traditionally (and correctly) considered our greatest tool, far more important than antibiotics, or the printing press, or, even, the wheel. Any successful multi-person task requires a matrix of communication. Our ability to converse with each other has allowed civilization to develop. But what happens when a language isn’t necessary for communication anymore? That is the strange case posed by classical languages, tongues that have largely outgrown their practical utility and become mere linguistic curiosities. These languages, such as Latin and Ancient Greek, which commanded immense power in their heyday of classical antiquity, are now confined to dusty academia, surviving on the charity of the linguist, the classicist, and the scholar. You may think of these languages as fossilized, fixed. Latin won’t change, and neither will Greek (not explicitly “Ancient” Greek, anyway). But for languages that are supposed to be static, there’s a surprising amount of variation in how people pronounce them. Investigating these tiny differences reveals a surprising depth to why and how different populations select a pronunciation system as their preferred method of reading a classical language aloud. Classical languages are held by many to express the pinnacle of civilization, the “glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome.”1 Others take it further: these are the languages of scripture, God’s vehicles for communicating his divine word. When viewed in this light, it should become apparent that correct pronunciation is even more of a concern for many classical language learners than it is for someone learning a “practical” modern language like Spanish or Korean.
    [Show full text]