tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post6349587482378941867..comments2023-10-15T04:23:50.187-04:00Comments on College Misery: It's official ... get the fork, we're doneUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-18578512712184166012011-03-28T01:18:05.348-04:002011-03-28T01:18:05.348-04:00I teach linguistics and courses in our comp sequen...I teach linguistics and courses in our comp sequence and in almost 15 years, I have never had to "teach" a student that "fuck" is inappropriate to use in an essay. <br /><br />I also don't think it's ONLY the English comp professors' jobs to teach writing and academic language (that misconception seems to pervade academia). And as Mathesian has already pointed out,The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-12668094518839262932011-03-27T13:01:45.824-04:002011-03-27T13:01:45.824-04:00That illuminates something about Asperger's fo...That illuminates something about Asperger's for me that I'd only intuited before. I have friends with it, and they learn the rules - cognitively - and very thoroughly, and then it upsets them sincerely when other people don't follow them. But Tour Guest has obviously had training for this. When everyone suddenly stares at him as if he's said something out of left field, just Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-34761609344157076232011-03-27T12:32:28.410-04:002011-03-27T12:32:28.410-04:00I teach at the local "black college". (...I teach at the local "black college". (Not a true 'historically black' college, and black students are still a minority, but this the college of choice for black students in this and the neighboring 4 counties). It's a decent school and there's no notable difference in written-language samples from our black or white students. Spoken, very different. But one of the Wombat of the Copierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14847183793780076028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-3966887413017993742011-03-27T00:19:37.726-04:002011-03-27T00:19:37.726-04:00Anytime, Frog and Toad! :-)
And Mathesian, I agre...Anytime, Frog and Toad! :-)<br /><br />And Mathesian, I agree with you wholeheartedly that people who teach writing (particularly English profs) should converse with linguists on occasion. This would be really helpful to people teaching students who come from inner-city environments because those students usually speak, and consequently write, in AAVE (African American Vernacular English, aka Anthro Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01612319119404274650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-80426818017192101492011-03-26T21:09:55.014-04:002011-03-26T21:09:55.014-04:00Maybe I should add that I do teach writing, but th...Maybe I should add that I do teach writing, but the context so obviously formal (mathematical proofs) that students don't usually mistake it for an informal context.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-53669089805374369702011-03-26T20:56:59.071-04:002011-03-26T20:56:59.071-04:00@ Aware and Scared:
It's not the lexicographe...@ Aware and Scared:<br /><br />It's not the lexicographers' fault that your students have not been taught about register:<br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Register_%28sociolinguistics%29<br /><br />"Lol" and "fuck" are appropriate dictionary entries, as they are, in fact, English words. Presumably it is the duty of those who teach writing to clarify issues of Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-8880967005954719032011-03-26T18:55:44.323-04:002011-03-26T18:55:44.323-04:00I don't think anyone here would argue that lan...I don't think anyone here would argue that language does not evolve and adapt. <br /><br />But when the least common denominators start leading the evolution -- Darwin help us all!<br /><br />Yes, linguists can and (rightfully) do chart the shifting winds of language. But when one of them there authoritative reference books VALIDATES the vapid and mundane, flakes have a tendency to point to Aware and Scaredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14700345349806280657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-39729844459616056162011-03-26T18:36:08.588-04:002011-03-26T18:36:08.588-04:00Thanks, AnthroGirl!
Nobody with the screen name W...Thanks, AnthroGirl!<br /><br />Nobody with the screen name Wombat of the Copier could ever kill my joy. Every time I see that name and avatar, I giggle like a kid.Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-62862414875078723962011-03-26T17:51:38.278-04:002011-03-26T17:51:38.278-04:00The only killjoy on this thread is the Wombat.The only killjoy on this thread is the Wombat.The_Mythhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10621186404597424842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-46855021525014533022011-03-26T16:54:14.826-04:002011-03-26T16:54:14.826-04:00I'm sort of in the same camp as Contemplative ...I'm sort of in the same camp as Contemplative Cynic. Although these words (if you can even call them that) are part of our everyday lexicon now, they still fall under the umbrella of colloquialisms, which, under most circumstances, don't have a place in academic writing. I actually have an unwritten (i.e., not in the syllabus) policy about text-speak that I inform my students of before Anthro Girlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01612319119404274650noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-16222680165252025862011-03-26T15:32:42.076-04:002011-03-26T15:32:42.076-04:00How about just a dictionary of text-speak? I refu...How about just a dictionary of text-speak? I refuse to "speak" it but I sometimes have no idea what people are saying to me.Frog and Toadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06377542172335502858noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-59283193224642103552011-03-26T15:03:34.346-04:002011-03-26T15:03:34.346-04:00FML.FML.buddhaontheroadhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03839390074273473377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-46711279930131005842011-03-26T14:29:05.861-04:002011-03-26T14:29:05.861-04:00Normally I am all about the neologisms, but the ♥ ...Normally I am all about the neologisms, but the ♥ thing makes me want to cut a bitch. SRSLY.WhatLadderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11603489349164511704noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-44053252031524158452011-03-26T13:45:32.544-04:002011-03-26T13:45:32.544-04:00It's ye olde prescriptive vs. descriptive deba...It's ye olde prescriptive vs. descriptive debate about dictionaries.Charlotte Issyvoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11081140798331499819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-14434837243423956922011-03-26T12:33:43.207-04:002011-03-26T12:33:43.207-04:00Welcome: @Nearestlinguist. :)
Now if any of these...Welcome: @Nearestlinguist. :)<br /><br />Now if any of these show up in student essays (I have already seen the dreaded Ell oh Ell), taste the wrath of my grading pencil!!!The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-63529640519774425602011-03-26T12:30:47.891-04:002011-03-26T12:30:47.891-04:00@Wombat--I guess that I, too, am now engaging in a...@Wombat--I guess that I, too, am now engaging in an act of a small magic fire box of communication by not being equally alarmed and being more excited by the addition of these words that I use all too regularly than I apparently should be. <br /><br />BTW: your small magic fire box of communication should be in the dictionary! ;)The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-52038750040753870442011-03-26T12:29:11.328-04:002011-03-26T12:29:11.328-04:00I agree with mathesian here. Linguists love all w...I agree with mathesian here. Linguists love all words. Big words, small words. Fancy words, slang words. Some linguists might even especially love slang words. But to be clear, this doesn't mean that we don't believe in register. Even a linguist would agree that just because something is a word and should be documented as such, doesn't mean that it's appropriate for every Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-84671644169251099862011-03-26T12:26:03.821-04:002011-03-26T12:26:03.821-04:00This doesn't make them acceptable to use in ac...This doesn't make them acceptable to use in academic work. It merely acknowledges that we use them as acceptable words in our lexicon, right (as in "I heart this blog"). There are many words in the dictionary that aren't used in academia...The Contemplative Cynichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02088570661592922436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-78902186933977104222011-03-26T12:24:46.992-04:002011-03-26T12:24:46.992-04:00Look, mathesian, if you don't stop being such ...Look, mathesian, if you don't stop being such a killjoy, I'm going to use my small magic fire box of communication to say something mean about you. If only there was a more efficient way to say small magic fire box of communication...Wombat of the Copierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14847183793780076028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-5460495467353371122011-03-26T10:13:26.896-04:002011-03-26T10:13:26.896-04:00Look, if "LOL" is a word now, then it sh...Look, if "LOL" is a word now, then it should be in the dictionary. All living languages are constantly changing. Please consult your nearest linguist for further education.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883226237165701608.post-68623436947858530782011-03-26T08:05:56.231-04:002011-03-26T08:05:56.231-04:00I know, wrong dictionary but still...I know, wrong <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq2aEeaT9ZY/" rel="nofollow">dictionary</a> but still...Wombat of the Copierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14847183793780076028noreply@blogger.com