Stanford Linguistics
A Stanford Linguistics Newsletter
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Linguistic News

  • Neanderthals speak for first time in 50,000 years... Read about it and listen to it HERE.
  • UCSC has just appointed Matt Wagers as an Assistant Professor, starting in the fall. Matt is completing his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, where he is a member of the Cognitive Neuroscience of Language Laboratory. Welcome to the Bay Area, Matt!
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    Look Who's Talking

  • Penny Eckert was off last weekend to the University of Vermont, where she presented a talk on `Language and the Preadolescent Heterosexual Market'.
  • And at last weekend's workshop on The Linguistics of the Language Arts: New Research Programs at Berkeley (sponsored by the France-Berkeley Fund), both Stephanie Shih and Paul Kiparsky gave talks. Hers was titled "Text-setting: a (Musical) Analogy to Poetic Meter" and his, "Aperiodic Meters--Real and Apparent".
  • Tanya Nikitina is off to Georgia this week, presenting a paper on `The Syntax of Nouns in Wan' at the 39th Annual Conference on African Linguistics (ACAL 2008).
  • Bruno Estigarribia (with Joanne E. Roberts, Kellin McKinney, Johanna R. Price, & John Sideris) talked about `Expressive Morphosyntax in fragile X syndrome and Down syndrome' at the FPG Child Development Institute Brown Bag Series and will give an encore performance at the Neuroscience Center Tuesday Seminar (Apr 29th) at UNC Chapel Hill.
  • And various Stanford folks are invited speakers at the upcoming (May 8,9) Workshop on A Noncanonical Perspective on Case being organized as part of a project on South Asian Case at the University of Konstanz. For example:
    • Ashwini Deo (Yale): Datives: Locations and Possessors --- Case Syncretism in Indo-Aryan Diachrony
    • Scott Grimm: Agency and the Semantic Foundations of Case
    • Peter Sells (SOAS): Oblique Case Marking on Core Arguments in Korean and Japanese.

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    Blast from the Past

    Well, again we only got one guess. This one was from Tom Wasow, who correctly identified last week's mystery linguists as (from left to right) Barbara Partee, Chuck Fillmore, Paul Postal, and Paul Schachter. I guess you had to be there.... The Sesquipedalian will buy Tom a beer the next time they are out drinking together.

    Try these (also from 1966):


    If you're not a faculty member and can identify the linguist on the left, send an email to sesquip@gmail.com. And anyone can send a guess about the linguist on the right to the same email. Good luck!


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    Meghan's Mystery Name Game

    We now have a winner! Jason Grafmiller correctly identified the last mystery name as Stacy. Here's another one:



    Can you identify this name?
    First person to find Meghan and tell her the right name wins an edible prize.

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    Linguistic Levity

  • Idiom Shortage Leaves Nation All Sewed Up In Horse Pies

  • Amazingly Simple Home Remedies!

    • IF YOU'RE CHOKING ON AN ICE CUBE, SIMPLY POUR A CUP OF BOILING WATER DOWN YOUR THROAT. PRESTO! THE BLOCKAGE WILL INSTANTLY REMOVE ITSELF.
    • AVOID CUTTING YOURSELF WHEN SLICING VEGETABLES BY GETTING SOMEONE ELSE TO HOLD THE VEGETABLES WHILE YOU CHOP.
    • FOR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE SUFFERERS ~ SIMPLY CUT YOURSELF AND BLEED FOR A FEW MINUTES, THUS REDUCING THE PRESSURE ON YOUR VEINS. REMEMBER TO USE A TIMER.
    • A MOUSE TRAP PLACED ON TOP OF YOUR ALARM CLOCK WILL PREVENT YOU FROM ROLLING OVER AND GOING BACK TO SLEEP AFTER YOU HIT THE SNOOZE BUTTON.
    • IF YOU HAVE A BAD COUGH, TAKE A LARGE DOSE OF LAXATIVES. THEN YOU'LL BE AFRAID TO COUGH.
    • YOU ONLY NEED TWO TOOLS IN LIFE - WD-40 AND DUCT TAPE. IF IT DOESN'T MOVE AND SHOULD, USE THE WD-40. IF IT SHOULDN'T MOVE AND DOES, USE THE DUCT TAPE.
    • REMEMBER - EVERYONE SEEMS NORMAL UNTIL YOU GET TO KNOW THEM.
    • IF YOU CAN'T FIX IT WITH A HAMMER, YOU'VE GOT AN ELECTRICAL PROBLEM.
      • DAILY THOUGHT: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES - NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS.

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    Goings-On

    For events farther in the future consult the Upcoming Events Page.

  • FRIDAY, 18 APRIL
  • MONDAY, 21 APRIL

    • Phonology Workshop

      Jaye Padgett (UCSC)
      Predicting vowel inventories from a dispersion-focalization model: new results
      3:15pm, MJH 126

    • Berkeley Linguistics Colloquium

      Ivan Sag
      "Processing Factors in the Study of Island Effects"
      4:00pm, 182 Dwinelle, UC Berkeley
  • TUESDAY, 22 APRIL
  • WEDNESDAY, 23 APRIL
  • THURSDAY, 24 APRIL
  • FRIDAY, 25 APRIL

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    Blood needed!

    The Stanford Blood Center is reporting a shortage of types O, A and B-. For an appointment, visit http://bloodcenter.stanford.edu/ or call 650-723-7831. It only takes an hour of your time and you get free cookies. The Blood Center is also raising money for a new bloodmobile.

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    Want to contribute information? Want to be a reporter? Want to see something appear here regularly? Want to be a regular columnist? Want to take over running the entire operation? Write directly to sesquip@gmail.com.


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    18 April 2008
    Vol. 4, Issue 23



    IN THIS ISSUE:

    Linguistic News
    •
    Look Who's Talking
    •
    Blast from the Past
    •
    Meghan's Mystery Name Game
    •
    Linguistic Levity
    •
    Goings-On
    •
    Upcoming
    •
    Sesquipedalian Staff

    Editor in Chief:
    Ivan A. Sag

    Reporters:
    Beth Levin, Lauren Hall-Lew

    Photographer:
    John Ohala

    Humor Consultant:
    Susan D. Fischer

    Assistant Editor:
    Richard Futrell

    Inspiration:
    Melanie Levin
    Kyle Wohlmut


    Previous Linguistics Department Newsletters:

    4/11/2008
    4/4/2008
    3/14/2008
    3/7/2008
    2/29/2008
    2/22/2008
    2/15/2008
    2/8/2008
    2/1/2008
    1/18/2008
    1/11/2008
    12/7/2007
    11/30/2007
    11/16/2007
    11/9/2007
    11/2/2007
    10/26/2007
    10/19/2007
    10/12/2007
    10/5/2007
    9/28/2007

    2006-2007
    2005-2006
    2004-2005
    Other Linguistics Newsletters

    UC Santa Cruz
    •
    UC Berkeley
    •
    MIT
    •
    UMass Amherst
    •
    U Chicago
    •
    Rutgers
    •
    U Manchester
    •