Stanford Linguistics
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Department News

  • Many of you have probably not appreciated just how productive our recent alum Tatiana Nikitina has been. In addition to her fellowship, research, publications, presentations, and the like, Tanya has also produced a new human being. Tanya writes:

    Василий


    We are pleased to announce the arrival of Vasily (Vasya) Borisovich Maslov, who was born to Tanya Nikitina and Boris Maslov on July 24 at 1:22 am. He is now doing very well, learning to crawl, and keeps his parents busy and happy.

    Sesquipedimazeltov!
  • Sesquifelicitations also to Tom Wasow and Ivan Sag, both of whom were just honored with endowed chairs:
    • Wasow, Thomas, Professor of Philosophy and of Linguistics, appointed Clarence Irving Lewis Professor in Philosophy, effective October 14, 2008
    • Sag, Ivan A., Professor of Linguistics, appointed Sadie Dernham Patek Professor in Humanities, effective October 14, 2008
    Tom was also just reappointed as Bert and Candace Forbes University Fellow in Undergraduate Education.
  • Attention Grad Students! If you're interested in on-line resources to help you prepare CVs, give talks, etc. (the kind of things that also get covered in Research Workshop), you might take a look at the excellent website created by *Chris Potts at UMass.

    In addition, since NSF fellowhip applications, among other things, are due quite soon, you might take a look at our own grant and fellowship page, available right HERE.


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    One More Visitor!

    Hye-Won Choi


    Hye-Won Choi: I am visiting from Seoul, Korea, where I am currently an associate professor in the Department of English, Ewha W. University. Actually, I am an alum (PhD, 1996), and between Stanford then and Ewha, I've also been at USC, UC Riverside, UB SUNY, Claremont-McKenna College in various positions. I am a syntactician, now hoping to evolve into a variationist corpus syntactician, working with Joan Bresnan and hopefully with other people here!


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    Meghan's Mystery Name Game

  • Here it is - another department member's (first = given) name to discern. Last week's winner was Jason Grafmiller, who correctly identified the name `Alex'. Jason got a pack of Ferrero Rocher. You will win something comparable if you're the first to guess this week's MMNG name, which is:



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    Look Who's Talking (about Sarah Palin)

  • Evertything You Heard is Wrong. Read what Steve Pinker said about Sarah Palin in the NY Times HERE.
  • Can Palin's sentences stand up to a grammarian? Read `Diagramming Sarah' by Kitty Burns Florey HERE.
  • Sarah Palin Baby Name Generator. Check it out HERE. If Sarah Palin were Tom Wasow's mother (heaven forfend!), his name would have been: Trowel Ogre Palin. Enjoy!
  • And just in case... you've been hibernating in the library for months or you missed the Vice Presidential debate for whatever reason -- never mind that. But you should make sure you watch the SNL version of the debate, available HERE.
  • And you simply have to visit (and click around) the PalinAsPresident.com website.


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    Linguistic Levity

    Questions that haunt me:
    • Can you cry under water?
    • How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just shot?
    • Why do you have to 'put your two cents in'... but it's only a 'penny for your thoughts'? Who's that extra penny going to?
    • Why are the tables at Round Table Pizza square?
    • How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
    • Why is it that people say they 'slept like a baby' when babies wake up every two hours screaming?
    • If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing?
    • Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?
    • Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
    • Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway.
    • Why is 'bra' singular and 'panties' plural?
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    Goings-On

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

  • FRIDAY, 17 OCTOBER

    • Speech Lunch

      Olga Dmitrieva
      "Explaining universals in geminate distribution and typology"

      12pm, Linguistics Lab

    • Department Colloquium

      VPUE Summer Intern Presentations

      • Richard Futrell: "Predicting the Genitive Alternation" (worked with Joan Bresnan)
      • Nicole Fernandez: "Abstract vs. Exemplar Theory: How do we learn to adapt to the speech of non Native speakers of English?" (worked with Meghan Sumner)
      • Kimberly Chu: "Patterns of Acquisition and Use of Irregular Plural Nouns in Young Children" (worked with Eve Clark)
      3:30pm, MJH 126

    • UCSC Linguistics Colloquium

      Jeroen van Craenenbroeck (Hogeschool-Universiteit, Brussel and NYU)
      "More ado about Nothing: Sluicing, Copular Clauses and Case"

      12pm, Humanities One Bldg, room 210, UC Santa Cruz

    • Department Social

      Gourmet delights by the Social Committee

      5:00pm, in the Department Kitchen
  • WEDNESDAY, 22 OCTOBER
  • THURSDAY, 23 OCTOBER
  • FRIDAY, 24 OCTOBER

    • Speech Lunch

      12pm, Linguistics Lab

    • Department Social

      Gourmet delights by the Social Committee

      4:00pm, in the Department Kitchen

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  • UPCOMING EVENTS (always under construction)
  • LINGUISTIC DEPARTMENT EVENTS PAGE
  • Got broader interests? The New Sesquipedalian recommends reading or even subscribing to the CSLI Calendar, available HERE.
  • WHAT'S HAPPENING AT UC SANTA CRUZ?
  • WHAT'S GOING ON AT UC BERKELEY?

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    Blood needed!

    The Stanford Blood Center is reporting a shortage of types O, A, B-, and AB+. 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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    17 October 2008
    Vol. 5, Issue 4



    IN THIS ISSUE

    Department News
    •
    One More Visitor
    •
    Meghan's Mystery Name Game
    •
    Look Who's Talking (about Sarah Palin)
    •
    Linguistic Levity
    •
    Goings-On
    •
    Upcoming
    •
    Sesquipedalian Staff

    Editor in Chief:
    Ivan A. Sag

    Photographer:
    Alyssa Ferree

    Reporters:
    Beth Levin
    Lauren Hall-Lew

    Humor Consultant:
    Susan D. Fischer

    Assistant Editor:
    Richard Futrell

    Inspiration:
    Melanie Levin
    Kyle Wohlmut

    Read Shih Comics Here
    Previous Linguistics Department Newsletters:

    10/10/2008
    10/3/2008
    9/24/2008

    2007-2008
    2006-2007
    2005-2006
    2004-2005
    What's Happening Elsewhere?

    UC Santa Cruz
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    UC Berkeley
    •
    UC Davis
    •
    UCLA
    •
    UCSD
    •
    U Washington
    •
    UT Austin
    •
    U Chicago
    •
    U Michigan
    •
    Ohio State U
    •
    U Ottawa
    •
    U Toronto
    •
    U Penn
    •
    MIT
    •
    UMass Amherst
    •
    Rutgers
    •
    U Manchester
    •
    U Edinburgh
    •