http://linglanglung.com language and stuff Tue, 28 Jul 2009 04:35:41 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Extra points for multiple speakers. Context:  Walking baby in the stroller on a warm night, baby in just a diaper. one neighbor: Aren't you just having the best time out for a walk in your underwear! another neighbor: *I* would be. me: I *would* be, if I didn't think someone would call the police ... http://linglanglung.com/?p=98 I have discovered the perfect antidote to having to discuss with extended family who are only being polite anyway what your thesis is about:  bring a cute baby to the party! http://linglanglung.com/?p=94 I'm re-reading A Separate Peace by John Knowles.  We read it in junior high, and I spotted it on the shelf at the library and thought I would revisit it over the winter break.  This morning I was considering that and was about to say: I'm re-reading A Separate Peace ... http://linglanglung.com/?p=93 The APiCS (Atlas of Pidgin And Creole Language Structures) project has put out a questionnaire.  The project gathers information on 120 grammatical features plus phonological segments from experts on pidgin and creole languages, and the editors say the questionnaire was specifically designed to answer questions of particular relevance ... http://linglanglung.com/?p=92 From the NYTimes: He knew that his father’s family came from Thibodaux, La., and his mother was from Ireland, and he knew about the 1929 stock market crash and World War II and life in the 1940s. But he could remember almost nothing after that. In 1953, he underwent an experimental brain operation ... http://linglanglung.com/?p=91 On Fresh Air today, Alex the parrot's owner.  It was rather touching to hear her talking about him. http://linglanglung.com/?p=90 ... as this parody of Sarah Palin's interview style demonstrates. It generates palin-esque answers using a Markov chain based on samples of her own speech.  Here's an example: Q: How will you fix the economy? A: Our economy and putting it back on the war on terror. And I asked President Karzai, ... http://linglanglung.com/?p=89 Well, I've been spending most of my time feeding a baby and/or reading about infant sleep lately. (Please do not point out the obvious fact that rather than reading about infant sleep I should be indulging in some of my own...) At any rate, linguistics is backburner through ... http://linglanglung.com/?p=87 Emily is here! She arrived June 28. This is her the next day getting her hearing test. I am embarrassed to say that I was expecting someone to come in an snap a finger or bang a pot to see if she turned. (This is how we tested ... http://linglanglung.com/?p=84 This newscast brings together two of my favorite topics: pronoun interpretation and prosody. (Warning: the story that the announcer botches is horrific.) http://linglanglung.com/?p=83