tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70845306117266423042024-03-05T11:41:19.397-03:00 Verbum Sapienti
opening a window to a world of information for lovers of words and ideasEarlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.comBlogger77125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-91619444927153097272022-06-25T11:16:00.003-03:002022-06-25T12:34:50.117-03:00From Aardvark to Woke<div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODBmMz8HZAeewX5K7JxH-3VKSneSPXodZ8JH4wO-dIMk9bXJfmZO7x_tmND-asPKfpLsvDIxp-Tk3-oW0CQ9iEstFq3LbwRkNm5wkphR4Kw55Z-IpktIP-BEIWz5chY-omch20rmtEGLBO-8xnE2FtxJVt0FADKdbJ7OfJbiYwRheNGf1HiYf4Uit/s350/aardvark-to-woke.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: 18.72px; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="350" height="145" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODBmMz8HZAeewX5K7JxH-3VKSneSPXodZ8JH4wO-dIMk9bXJfmZO7x_tmND-asPKfpLsvDIxp-Tk3-oW0CQ9iEstFq3LbwRkNm5wkphR4Kw55Z-IpktIP-BEIWz5chY-omch20rmtEGLBO-8xnE2FtxJVt0FADKdbJ7OfJbiYwRheNGf1HiYf4Uit/w200-h145/aardvark-to-woke.jpg" width="200" /> <span style="color: #252524; font-family: "Canela Text"; font-size: medium; font-weight: 400; text-align: right;">.</span></a></div></div></span></b></div></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">The <a href="https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2022/06/oxford-english-dictionary-aardvark-to-woke-oed-history" target=""><span style="color: #6aa84f;"><b>Oxford English Dictionary</b></span></a> has served</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">as a lexical record of the world's most widely spoken language and its culture </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">since its founding in the mid-19th </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: courier;">century.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiODBmMz8HZAeewX5K7JxH-3VKSneSPXodZ8JH4wO-dIMk9bXJfmZO7x_tmND-asPKfpLsvDIxp-Tk3-oW0CQ9iEstFq3LbwRkNm5wkphR4Kw55Z-IpktIP-BEIWz5chY-omch20rmtEGLBO-8xnE2FtxJVt0FADKdbJ7OfJbiYwRheNGf1HiYf4Uit/s350/aardvark-to-woke.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; font-size: 18.72px; font-weight: 700; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><br /></a></div></div></span></b></div><p> </p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="color: #252524; font-family: "Canela Text"; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></h3>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-30573634650550358332017-10-27T00:01:00.000-02:002017-10-27T00:01:06.514-02:00Making Sense of Sentences I<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrO-w-vY62KHFgMC5AYAj1W5VHPHW0kAsVbR8PI0BE3jyg1_Gm1n_fLK3y87-SE3-HPAZZn1SSRnMAl9yZ_Vl7NcIlK5N6ldwfoDO-FJOUf2jzcmMn4HErIkBsFn5_iFZiWCgMtu72JQ/s1600/the+world+is+everything.+%2526+that+is+the+case+%2528Ludqig+Wittgenstein%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="342" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKrO-w-vY62KHFgMC5AYAj1W5VHPHW0kAsVbR8PI0BE3jyg1_Gm1n_fLK3y87-SE3-HPAZZn1SSRnMAl9yZ_Vl7NcIlK5N6ldwfoDO-FJOUf2jzcmMn4HErIkBsFn5_iFZiWCgMtu72JQ/s320/the+world+is+everything.+%2526+that+is+the+case+%2528Ludqig+Wittgenstein%2529.jpg" width="273" /></a></div>
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In <i>Rhetoric</i>, Aristotle defines the sentence as a complete thought. Princeton professor and literary critic <a href="https://english.princeton.edu/people/jeff-dolven"><span style="color: blue;">Jeff Dolven</span></a> notes one objective shared by all sentences: "The purpose of a sentence is to end."<br />
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Dolven is offering his thoughts on a "beloved or bedeviling sentence" each week in his current 8-part series "Life Sentences," appearing in the <i>Paris Review</i>. The first to be <a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/10/26/the-complete-sentence/"><span style="color: blue;">dissected</span></a> comes from the pen of philosopher <a href="https://philosophyforchange.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/meaning-is-use-wittgenstein-on-the-limits-of-language/"><span style="color: blue;">Ludwig Wittgenstein</span></a>:"The world is everything that is the case."<br />
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Why not bookmark <i><a href="http://word-defender.blogspot.com.br/"><span style="color: blue;">Verbum Sapienti</span></a></i> and catch the rest of the series? <em style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; color: #414141; font-family: garamond-premier-pro, Georgia, Cambria, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 20px;"> </em><br />
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Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-60326743242860564582017-10-25T11:51:00.000-02:002017-10-25T12:04:21.604-02:00"Dirty Truth" Drives Dubious Remedy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtQ1RVEjKBmH72-pQIQV2uT8EWMwqVEdnWSQQM7159J8KrW1L2I5jQWa7PJiJdkLHJewuM2-NcRcO-I1zTnh9f7Vxg3l1DMwTpC64wYnNkd_d6F59WCy51NXYC-kkwF1qwlSDIu1rc4k/s1600/scholarly+journal+covers+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwtQ1RVEjKBmH72-pQIQV2uT8EWMwqVEdnWSQQM7159J8KrW1L2I5jQWa7PJiJdkLHJewuM2-NcRcO-I1zTnh9f7Vxg3l1DMwTpC64wYnNkd_d6F59WCy51NXYC-kkwF1qwlSDIu1rc4k/s1600/scholarly+journal+covers+vs.jpg" /></a><span class="apple-converted-space" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;">"A </span><span class="s1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;">dirty truth pervades academic publishing," </span><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/give-researchers-a-lifetime-word-limit-1.22835" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;"><span style="color: blue;">confides</span></a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;"><a href="https://www.healthpartners.com/hprf/investigators/martinson.html"><span style="color: blue;">Brian Martinson</span></a><span style="color: #333333;">, in the current issue of </span><i style="color: #333333;">Nature</i><span style="color: #333333;">, viz., that researchers write papers to gain credit in the academic marketplace. These </span><i style="color: #333333;">pubcoins</i><span style="color: #333333;">, as </span></span><span class="s1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;">Martinson, who has led NIH-funded projects in research integrity since 2001, d</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;">ubs them </span><span class="s1" style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;"><span style="color: #333333;">can be quite tangible, as </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Conde_Maca/status/876640244879249409"><span style="color: blue;">recent reports</span></a><span style="color: #333333;"> confirm.</span></span><br />
<span class="s1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;"><br /></span> <span class="s1" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;">One needn't agree with his problematic proposal to restrict research publication to concur that its motivations have shifted and the role of </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;">sharing knowledge has received short shrift in the process. Indeed, it is precisely the latter that prompts this academic editor to demur. Surely there are positive reinforcements that bear exploring </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">―</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;">revisiting how tenure is awarded, comes to mind</span>.<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , "clean" , sans-serif; font-size: 14.495px;"> </span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-49338567905983705662016-10-30T16:17:00.000-02:002016-10-30T16:22:02.310-02:00Letters From the Lettered<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12FiCvlSHImtkcABw_8ouFGv974q6Vl8T-1eYNiXfaZklEwMyG54yzcNwe23XjwCf6jnneFJVgR4HWGJ-TbprwJXaCwDN-D7xo8EMyY__jFEdjM9vxmyNomw-6DUfvS4W_ImQ7d6QGik/s1600/letter+with+quill+and+seal+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj12FiCvlSHImtkcABw_8ouFGv974q6Vl8T-1eYNiXfaZklEwMyG54yzcNwe23XjwCf6jnneFJVgR4HWGJ-TbprwJXaCwDN-D7xo8EMyY__jFEdjM9vxmyNomw-6DUfvS4W_ImQ7d6QGik/s1600/letter+with+quill+and+seal+vs.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">The devolution of culture is as exponential as it is inexorable. Its flotsam and jetsam stream across our screens each day. The decimation and impending demise of newspapers is a paradigm of this descent.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">In the 20th century, when well-educated individuals often sought my counsel in crafting their correspondence, I mused whether letter-writing was a dying art. With the rise of chat and texting in the 21st, it is the future of the letter itself that concerns me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: small;">Yet letters, particularly those penned by the literate, are literature, Such <a href="https://niume.com/pages/post/index.php?postID=143431"><i>Letters From the Lettered</i></a> may end up in the dead letter box, but their worth lies in their writing, and that is the legacy I hope to honor through this review series.</span></span><br />
<br />Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-6642917128142636442016-07-08T08:53:00.000-03:002016-07-08T08:53:40.576-03:00Return of the Prodigal Son<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKB0XgH81xrN-eeb7aqMl5U25i4yXj-KA1YeIXPVvLncSdiZqxvsw6jrmdUjNdSWePucinJerAmE0k_0OPDdlg2Kc-RBl2bjOiORUrd8Unl1QpCNWKXmDXp1Psw5OLNdGRl6FFDzuN4I/s1600/Return+of+the+Prodigal+Son+%2528Rembrandt%252C+1662-69%2529+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKB0XgH81xrN-eeb7aqMl5U25i4yXj-KA1YeIXPVvLncSdiZqxvsw6jrmdUjNdSWePucinJerAmE0k_0OPDdlg2Kc-RBl2bjOiORUrd8Unl1QpCNWKXmDXp1Psw5OLNdGRl6FFDzuN4I/s400/Return+of+the+Prodigal+Son+%2528Rembrandt%252C+1662-69%2529+vs.jpg" /></a>While a significant contributing factor, our fallen human nature is a poor excuse for our lapses and failures. Suffice it to say, this is not the first time that I have picked up my quill to write some lines here after a prolonged absence. Such is the nature of life <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">―</span> mine, at any rate, mea culpa <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">― </span>a carousel of contrition, confession, penance, amendment . . . and relapse.<br />
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I thank God for His mercy and the kindness of my confreres for affording me the opportunity to return to my post, as a prodigal son, and rejoin our common cause: language in the service of a life of reason in the quest for truth, one I've continued to wage elsewhere, however imperfectly <span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">― </span>which brings us back to the opening line. Carousel indeed, won't you join me for the ride? Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-39208181387854798432015-07-20T00:30:00.000-03:002015-07-20T00:31:36.112-03:00Effects of EFL Proficiency on Students<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-y45eNmyJ3TZ6TEEsww9hg-eIBddCaUtmERGfSl2ct1NgMb661hn5mklr0_GPyRzyu6AayLppz5RxNQgf3pC7kWOTvwcnWpUUkqbG0w3L8odK47ytx4MuqJaoqzkXxuzPQZZN2EK4BM/s1600/Student+Pulse+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS-y45eNmyJ3TZ6TEEsww9hg-eIBddCaUtmERGfSl2ct1NgMb661hn5mklr0_GPyRzyu6AayLppz5RxNQgf3pC7kWOTvwcnWpUUkqbG0w3L8odK47ytx4MuqJaoqzkXxuzPQZZN2EK4BM/s1600/Student+Pulse+vs.jpg" /></a>As language plays a key role in the transmission of information and the regulation of cognitive processes, proficiency may have profound effects on learning and development, particularly when it involves mastering a foreign language. A recent Australian study examines the experiences of five international students from Brazil, China, Colombia, Mongolia, and Saudi Arabia, and finds that the higher the level of English language proficiency, the lower the
levels of cultural stress, academic difficulties, and negative emotions. For details, see "<a href="http://www.studentpulse.com/articles/1042/the-influence-of-language-difficulties-on-the-wellbeing-of-international-students-an-interpretive-phenomenological-analysis">The Influence of Language Difficulties on the Wellbeing of International Students: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis</a>."Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-2769214873254794602015-03-16T12:54:00.002-03:002015-03-16T12:54:46.870-03:00Trade-Offs of the Elite <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT58dwUJ2DTB0QwmJixIiPuUfnoKH1dWooOjbVxsaeican6KbvoNZ9w9mlypuyBsJ92mI2eFMszlnV7ADGzao5CPN_up7VpSnV4ThRnJF8ww5xxeVn0daLHsnDm8poebP40_94h1f9Aek/s1600/Excellent+Sheep+(William%2BDeresiewicz).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT58dwUJ2DTB0QwmJixIiPuUfnoKH1dWooOjbVxsaeican6KbvoNZ9w9mlypuyBsJ92mI2eFMszlnV7ADGzao5CPN_up7VpSnV4ThRnJF8ww5xxeVn0daLHsnDm8poebP40_94h1f9Aek/s1600/Excellent+Sheep+(William%2BDeresiewicz).jpeg" /></a>"The advantages of an elite education are indeed undeniable," concedes <a href="http://www.excellentsheep.com/">William Deresiewicz</a>, whose Ivy-League Ph.D. is from Columbia. "You learn to think, at least in certain ways, and you make the contacts needed to launch yourself into a
life rich in all of society’s most cherished rewards." Given that assessment and its import in a society that has grown increasingly materialistic and expensive, it seems almost cheeky to question what may be lost in the exchange. But then again, what did Socrates observe about an unexamined life? While its a moot question for most of us and scarcely likely to prove persuasive for those for whom it is not, at least a cursory glance at the <a href="http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1446092.files/Education%20Essays/Disadvantages%20of%20Higher%20Ed.pdf">disadvantages of an elite education</a> may be in order.Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-39360862951076398522015-02-08T11:11:00.001-02:002015-02-08T11:15:15.231-02:00Spheres of Reading<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">"Knowledge expresses itself as a fusion of pre-existing ideas," <a href="http://aidenarnold.com/cv/main">Aiden Arnold</a>, a Visiting Research Scholar at the University of California, Davis' <a href="http://neuroscience.ucdavis.edu/center">Center for Neuroscience</a> observes. "Our own thinking involves permutations of basic elements into fascinating combinations," he continues in a recent essay in which he applies this data to the practice of reading to craft a tiered structure that channels the synthetic nature of our thoughts to facilitate our creative insights. Whatever your present system modus operandi </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">―</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> if any, "<a href="http://dharmaineverywave.com/combinatorial-knowledge-and-reading-in-spheres/">Combinatorial Knowledge and Reading in the Spheres</a>" is worth reading.</span><br />
<br />Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-9734743576765074352015-02-01T01:51:00.002-02:002015-02-01T01:51:45.286-02:00Major Exodus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-J8-uCTe5Q0vQz4Jmja_BxgA-jYIItSPIFEUJhQHriG-aemgYhXjCS4J3JWcQ6hif0SzYrrB98yRIYiqGF8RP4XR58sRv250OfY7DXrEPEDUpOVlfPG3GGPI1U63vRxeBnq551DxgSE/s1600/literary+arts+studies+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX-J8-uCTe5Q0vQz4Jmja_BxgA-jYIItSPIFEUJhQHriG-aemgYhXjCS4J3JWcQ6hif0SzYrrB98yRIYiqGF8RP4XR58sRv250OfY7DXrEPEDUpOVlfPG3GGPI1U63vRxeBnq551DxgSE/s1600/literary+arts+studies+vs.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">With decreasing mandated exposure to the humanities, fewer undergraduate college students are taking the introductory course that could awaken a lifelong passion for philosophy, history, or English. The latter appears to be one on the hardest hit with the <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/26/where-have-all-english-majors-gone">rapid decline in English majors</a> at the University of Maryland, College Park, reported by Colleen Flaherty in the pages of<i> Inside Higher Education</i>, a textbook case of a problem that is pervasive and growing. </span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-6167185433302837522015-01-29T11:22:00.000-02:002015-02-01T01:15:44.335-02:00Academic Writer, Heal Thyself!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvti-5ln7Hvz13rx4xteicKMjD4zoi7DkYV25XZMLBOW6HvU8z8Bps9obSwhUG7RZtpp__x1XGMV1pOb1Oc01ujDuWMHoSv1-XZhV2eykbnBRMJ4u750EGDwXO30eUf_yPiLL0h6ycyA/s1600/diy+diagnosis.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZvti-5ln7Hvz13rx4xteicKMjD4zoi7DkYV25XZMLBOW6HvU8z8Bps9obSwhUG7RZtpp__x1XGMV1pOb1Oc01ujDuWMHoSv1-XZhV2eykbnBRMJ4u750EGDwXO30eUf_yPiLL0h6ycyA/s1600/diy+diagnosis.png" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Academic writing takes time and can prove challenging. With its rigorous demands, it is seldom smooth sailing, but the problem may not be writer's block or any of the trendy syndromes with which writers may tag it. It could simply be a case of sorting out what you want to say and how to say it. You may need to talk over the writing with a colleague, read further, or revisit the data, advises </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><a href="http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/education/people/patricia.thomson">Pat Thomson,</a> Professor of Education at the University of Nottingham. To her <a href="http://patthomson.net/2015/01/29/writing-self-diagnosis/">helpful insights</a> on the pitfalls of hasty self-diagnosis, I'd simply add: feel free to talk with the editor who will help hone your draft, one who shares and supports your mission to disseminate knowledge in the most effective manner possible. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> </span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-4896964089899664042015-01-04T15:11:00.001-02:002015-01-04T15:11:53.051-02:00Simple Truths Mask Complex Losses<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBoGV0y7r4Yo46oBZ4j1sAN6fFWuQQ_2oklPwtsiMcSv5JMDtrfBUG3C2YeATx9NOjX4WQU7tcQK8vKZmfs2jnDipNsVe4YixTSMw-kp9XcigwxO0YrIIYYJZQpvKJroqShhA6vAu-Rw/s1600/Tower+of+Babel+(Heritage%2B-%2BGetty%2BImages)%2Bvs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiBoGV0y7r4Yo46oBZ4j1sAN6fFWuQQ_2oklPwtsiMcSv5JMDtrfBUG3C2YeATx9NOjX4WQU7tcQK8vKZmfs2jnDipNsVe4YixTSMw-kp9XcigwxO0YrIIYYJZQpvKJroqShhA6vAu-Rw/s1600/Tower+of+Babel+(Heritage%2B-%2BGetty%2BImages)%2Bvs.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">The days that English shares our planet with thousands of other languages are numbered. A century from now, a time traveler from our age would be apt to notice two things about the 22nd-century language landscape, predicts Columbia University's </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><a href="http://english.columbia.edu/people/profile/442">Dr. John McWhorter</a>. There are vastly fewer languages, and they are far simpler, in particular, as they are spoken. While some may lament the reduction of 6,000 different languages to just 600, the process is already underway, as the world witnesses the birth of optimized versions of old languages, McWhorter concludes in "<a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/what-the-world-will-speak-in-2115-1420234648">What the World Will Speak in 2115</a>." </span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-3801853664906553802015-01-03T11:51:00.005-02:002015-01-03T12:10:15.151-02:00How To Get Published: Editors' Advice <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaL8tBwT8gr_3nj0xKisuwKa8j2zxOmSoKnKdacKFb6LV9GCmR6kCCloqwik9Ba5743EYIeMCjyYbbOM5XueSQpxzxxhUDPDP-abS9qCce3j4PqFe07wQ1QVloIs1syhDxIWNAwxr6o0A/s1600/negotiating+the+hurdles+between+draft+&+publication+(Clint%2BHughes%2C%2BPA)%2Bvs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaL8tBwT8gr_3nj0xKisuwKa8j2zxOmSoKnKdacKFb6LV9GCmR6kCCloqwik9Ba5743EYIeMCjyYbbOM5XueSQpxzxxhUDPDP-abS9qCce3j4PqFe07wQ1QVloIs1syhDxIWNAwxr6o0A/s1600/negotiating+the+hurdles+between+draft+&+publication+(Clint+Hughes,+PA)+vs.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">A pressing challenge facing journal editors is the </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">badly written papers sent by authors eager for publication. As Brian Lucey, editor of the</span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> International Review of Financial Analysis</i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">, notes, an initial hurdle may be that English isn't the writer's first tongue. This can be overcome or compounded, as when writers fail to have their work edited by a competent editor, preferably one whose English is native. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Lucey and fellow editors offer sound </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/jan/03/how-to-get-published-in-an-academic-journal-top-tips-from-editors" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">advice on getting published</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> in their pages. As the race begins with the starting gun, don't neglect the link to </span><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/sep/06/academic-journal-writing-top-tips" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">tips on how to write for academic journals</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">.</span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-38310607830162530622015-01-01T22:27:00.001-02:002015-02-01T20:23:30.925-02:00Language Instinct or Language Myth?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_kJy3UwOYesMwZHbFDWTc1nn-wTPGcp08dHQT3I3OUtxdIz2-X5hJPL9fAdh6LVAmpARGC5RXh5-SHoLn6_VKugKTZn8K0Or5RlZDeu_C-k_H2MtjrRB6C26lCV5eWG9HqlQWXd6xHc/s1600/The+Language+Myth+(Vyvyan%2BEvans)%2Bvs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs_kJy3UwOYesMwZHbFDWTc1nn-wTPGcp08dHQT3I3OUtxdIz2-X5hJPL9fAdh6LVAmpARGC5RXh5-SHoLn6_VKugKTZn8K0Or5RlZDeu_C-k_H2MtjrRB6C26lCV5eWG9HqlQWXd6xHc/s1600/The+Language+Myth+(Vyvyan%2BEvans)%2Bvs.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Our brains and bodies are language ready, <a href="http://www.bangor.ac.uk/linguistics/about/vyv_evans.php.en">Dr. Vyvyan Evans</a>, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Professor of Linguistics at Wales' Bangor University, acknowledges</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">, but do we have a language instinct as </span><a href="http://web.mit.edu/linguistics/people/faculty/chomsky/" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">Dr. Noam Chomsky</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">, "the father of modern linguistics," and the received wisdom maintains? </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">The evidence is compelling declares Prof. Evans, whose research focuses on cognitive linguistics. The title of his latest book, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">published by Cambridge University Press, c</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">onveys his verdict: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><a href="http://www.cambridge.org/us/academic/subjects/languages-linguistics/cognitive-linguistics/language-myth-why-language-not-instinct" style="font-style: italic;">The Language Myth: Why Language Is Not an Instinct</a><span style="background-color: white;"><i>. </i>He <a href="http://aeon.co/magazine/culture/there-is-no-language-instinct/">delineates his case</a> in a recent issue of <i>Aeon.</i></span></span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-15143566355838907862014-12-21T09:47:00.000-02:002014-12-21T09:47:27.728-02:00Organizing the Humanities<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Many literary historians concede that the traditional pedagogical organization of the humanities according to national language and literature has exceeded its expiration date, yet there is little consensus on alternatives. Mobile demography, immigration, and dispersed media networks defy such categorization, but post- nationalism can blind us to the economic and national power struggles that underlie literary politics and to conflict among monocultural states and multilingual communities. Cf. <a href="http://complit.as.nyu.edu/object/emilyapter.html">Emily Apter</a>'s <i><a href="https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/engl-218-fall2010/files/Untranslatables-A-World-System.pdf">Untranslatables: A World System</a></i>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-41105985095801833412014-09-22T12:59:00.001-03:002014-09-22T13:00:55.032-03:00Whom Does the Engine Train?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteOLqc7uEJM2UzJ61Hu_Z-S6B4Sns9aoe5i-S_yUXrJtBjS7J2PAbsYOTX0gRrOMlPtbyRWsQz7Sb9pRK8jJs6Zwxugjs6rtPdaNr3Ne07S1k9cCRmrydBEkFH3Y4oHYlgeKy7FhRSNc/s1600/social+ladder+(Claudio%2BMunoz).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgteOLqc7uEJM2UzJ61Hu_Z-S6B4Sns9aoe5i-S_yUXrJtBjS7J2PAbsYOTX0gRrOMlPtbyRWsQz7Sb9pRK8jJs6Zwxugjs6rtPdaNr3Ne07S1k9cCRmrydBEkFH3Y4oHYlgeKy7FhRSNc/s1600/social+ladder+(Claudio%2BMunoz).jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">"In spite of our collective belief that education is the engine for climbing the socioeconomic ladder </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">― the heart of </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">the 'American dream' myth </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">― </span></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">colleges now are divided by wealth more than ever," Vicki Madden, a veteran teacher and instructor, observes in her <i>New York Times</i> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/22/opinion/why-poor-students-struggle.html">op-ed</a>. As a token student in my era, I am not surprised. As data amassed by Profs. <a href="http://www-personal.umich.edu/~bastedo/index.html">Michael Bastedo</a> and <a href="https://www.coe.arizona.edu/faculty_profile/1510">Ozan Jaquette</a> reveal, only 14 percent of students in America's 193 most selective colleges come from the bottom half of her socioeconomic strata and just 5 percent from its lowest quartile. The more elite the school, the greater the gap, not only among students' financial status but the students themselves. "As the income gap widens and hardens, changing class means a bigger difference between where you came from and where you are going," Madden concludes. Ah, there's the rub. The price demanded for a better life for self and family should not be the abandonment and even betrayal of your people, the kith and kin left behind where you came from. </span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-19641182881065298272014-09-20T11:48:00.000-03:002014-09-20T12:22:46.852-03:00Sense on Censorship<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6xzm8fp3TftEWfvar7g5pMa6NCIgYJg7Hh0nz0NBWaVmqTU-IBMH1aSXCQpFXrBxh35zp8s85KbLnBi18otjRxICAymKdLTthqv_JT1PPz8n_fc6iZ_kXxxP0JhlJ1mZX-7F4cRlN_Q/s1600/Censors+at+Work+-+How+States+Shaped+Literature.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd6xzm8fp3TftEWfvar7g5pMa6NCIgYJg7Hh0nz0NBWaVmqTU-IBMH1aSXCQpFXrBxh35zp8s85KbLnBi18otjRxICAymKdLTthqv_JT1PPz8n_fc6iZ_kXxxP0JhlJ1mZX-7F4cRlN_Q/s1600/Censors+at+Work+-+How+States+Shaped+Literature.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">"If the concept of censorship is extended to everything, it means nothing," <a href="http://history.fas.harvard.edu/people/robert-darnton">Robert Darnton</a>, Harvard's head librarian, <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/sep/17/what-is-censorship/?insrc=wblu">cautions</a> in <i>The New York Review of Books, </i>calling to mind analogous labels broadly applied in an attempt to stifle debate on matters to which they do not properly apply. For those genuinely concerned with defending the principle purportedly under assault, however, such charges </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">―</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"> or, not infrequently, slanders </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">― </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">are far too grave to be trivialized for partisan gain and thereby increasingly discredited among the remnant who yet dare to think for themselves. As censorship is essentially a political sword wielded by the State, Prof. Darnton, author of the upcoming </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;"><a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Censors-at-Work/">Censors at Work: How States Shaped Literature</a>, </i><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px;">is well suited to address it. </span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-90754787936109976532014-08-22T08:46:00.001-03:002014-08-22T09:00:45.319-03:00Our Processed World<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OQ2uyTkWqp2N1Gd6d4kkFC3S77BJOEAOdh33-fz_srgDP48xM2IvmqhZbKBRy8RbXUtHV2tI8IYZyNRQfUHJX9QeKdyGOEgDGuk4mjkYhyB9JxQLp6XailDNzKHC6MrzqEirzrBh9vw/s1600/Processed+World+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OQ2uyTkWqp2N1Gd6d4kkFC3S77BJOEAOdh33-fz_srgDP48xM2IvmqhZbKBRy8RbXUtHV2tI8IYZyNRQfUHJX9QeKdyGOEgDGuk4mjkYhyB9JxQLp6XailDNzKHC6MrzqEirzrBh9vw/s1600/Processed+World+vs.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">Utopian reveries spill forth daily from the pulpits of the Oracles of Progress, promising the transformation of the drone labor of our soi-disant Information </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">Age into acts of impassioned freedom by a liberated leisure class. We know </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">all too well, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">however, the painful truth about today's work routines, which have become more </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">― not less </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">― routinized, soul-killing, and laden with drudgery </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">to be beguiled. Indeed the grim contrast between the glum reality of cubicle labor </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">and its ilk with the gilded rhetoric of a technocratic Golden Age, which once enticed us, then amused us, now only galls us as we contemplate </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">our increasingly <a href="http://bit.ly/our_processed_world">processed world</a>. As <a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/833/833-h/833-h.htm">Thorstein </a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/files/833/833-h/833-h.htm">Veblen</a> presciently observed</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">at the dawn of the last century: </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">"Wherever the machine process </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">extends, </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">it sets the pace for workmen </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">― great and small."</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-12348875171955180562014-07-19T13:54:00.000-03:002014-07-19T13:54:22.488-03:00Birth of a Language<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkg2NaWqDnfx1GyDtEJlEU-taGpVv1FtpLnGCYVhFGlw2HsnsdbGsGzlgbe_B4-bguGo7X6ByXx5AaYz6_PoLek-YL2bBGGPflPiK0cxoq2CHvIepmCc7Nns90hRETjISkC4z9F8Nz5gs/s1600/Birth+of+a+Language+presented+by+Melvyn+Bragg+for+BBC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkg2NaWqDnfx1GyDtEJlEU-taGpVv1FtpLnGCYVhFGlw2HsnsdbGsGzlgbe_B4-bguGo7X6ByXx5AaYz6_PoLek-YL2bBGGPflPiK0cxoq2CHvIepmCc7Nns90hRETjISkC4z9F8Nz5gs/s1600/Birth+of+a+Language+presented+by+Melvyn+Bragg+for+BBC.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></div>
The story of the English language is an extraordinary one. It has the characteristics of a bold and successful adventure: tenacity, luck, near extinction on more than one occasion, dazzling flexibility, and an extraordinary power to absorb. And it's still going on. New dialects, new Englishes, are evolving all the time all over the world. But every story needs a beginning and, in the case at hand, who better than <a href="http://www.leeds.ac.uk/info/20015/senior_officers/33/the_rt_hon_lord_melvyn_bragg">Lord Melvyn Bragg</a> and the BBC to recount <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsVz5U76kX0">the tale of the birth of this remarkable language</a>?Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-38898412189778022402014-07-18T00:44:00.000-03:002014-07-18T00:45:53.733-03:00Visigoths at Academe's Doors?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_5y6AOeL1dLU03g35p_XeSBSh7xjCxKdqKk3MY9q2wApzS_rXkP9kqQVIx7qx5C1wmRpNB5fgcCtnvcpQLmWzyygYIYzYYpaXQnu1klB_IbyVe-WmattxKp4WRf0lHFZsfuVTKddvJI/s1600/Sack+of+Rome+by+the+Visigoths+(JN+Sylvestre,+1890)+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_5y6AOeL1dLU03g35p_XeSBSh7xjCxKdqKk3MY9q2wApzS_rXkP9kqQVIx7qx5C1wmRpNB5fgcCtnvcpQLmWzyygYIYzYYpaXQnu1klB_IbyVe-WmattxKp4WRf0lHFZsfuVTKddvJI/s1600/Sack+of+Rome+by+the+Visigoths+(JN+Sylvestre,+1890)+vs.jpg" /></a>"If the scuttlebutt about reading is true, the Visigoths are at the door,"<br />
warn Drs. <a href="http://english.uark.edu/Faculty/David_A_Jolliffe.php">David Joliffe</a> and <a href="http://www.ferrum.edu/about_ferrum/administration/meet_our_faculty/allison_l_harl.html">Allison Harl</a>. An array of national surveys<br />
and studies suggests neither high school nor college students spend<br />
much time preparing for class, the central activity of which entails<br />
reading assigned articles, chapters, and books. Similar reviews indicate<br />
college students spend little or no time reading for pleasure. As major<br />
players in general education, most of which requires substantial reading,<br />
English department faculty are increasingly asking themselves:<br />
<a href="http://whatisareader.stanford.edu/whatisareader_images/CE0706Texts.pdf">What are our students </a><a href="http://whatisareader.stanford.edu/whatisareader_images/CE0706Texts.pdf">reading and why?</a>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-21215778938323837422014-07-11T14:30:00.001-03:002014-07-11T14:30:20.871-03:00Like I Mean This Doesn't Help, You Know<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq44IIpGGyF_vtWdwNyieu-VjkabYjzryZlBJdho-VKR0fZvjLGYQ9iCSyHGRf2-KvNp9Gmtpn72SGWDnmu4Qx3ezN7gYRoWWrkcBibmNICZol9XTXhGhJtZY72nM-F8dUuRRtk6np14U/s1600/filler+words.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq44IIpGGyF_vtWdwNyieu-VjkabYjzryZlBJdho-VKR0fZvjLGYQ9iCSyHGRf2-KvNp9Gmtpn72SGWDnmu4Qx3ezN7gYRoWWrkcBibmNICZol9XTXhGhJtZY72nM-F8dUuRRtk6np14U/s1600/filler+words.jpg" /></a>"What the poor, the weak and the inarticulate desperately require is power, organization, and a sense of identity and purpose," affirmed the late U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone (D-WI), "not [the] rarefied advice of political scientists." Nor, we would add, a <a href="http://theamericanreader.com/life-sentences-the-genius-of-the-um-filler-word/">gloss</a> that deems recent <a href="http://jls.sagepub.com/content/33/3/328#aff-1">research</a> on inarticulate speech patterns, viz., the use of <a href="http://grammar.about.com/od/fh/g/fillerterm.htm">filler words</a> such as <i>um</i>, <i>like</i>, <i>you know</i>, "a minor victory for the inarticulate, who think more, even as they stumble in speech." Um, I mean, this doesn't like help, you know, even if it is easier and cheaper than constructively addressing the matter by improving our educational system.Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-34550921148926032822014-07-11T10:51:00.000-03:002014-07-11T11:01:01.558-03:00Once More into the Breech<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOrXRjQ3UyMHnIiznLJFosbr7rQ8XZs2Pr0FbH-S0265I_7BsZ3PIB7LszeZKXNPNwWV-tIG2Z9hh0fMrQYVmZXiRZZmZfegHxSLn9I-VKI1Sa1h29PIoWP6DdsSmAuNPnf1ylTfwtYo/s1600/if+you+write+a+blog+and+no+one+reads+it+is+it+still+a+blog+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBOrXRjQ3UyMHnIiznLJFosbr7rQ8XZs2Pr0FbH-S0265I_7BsZ3PIB7LszeZKXNPNwWV-tIG2Z9hh0fMrQYVmZXiRZZmZfegHxSLn9I-VKI1Sa1h29PIoWP6DdsSmAuNPnf1ylTfwtYo/s1600/if+you+write+a+blog+and+no+one+reads+it+is+it+still+a+blog+vs.jpg" /></a>First, an overdue apology for my gross inattention to these pages. I'll spare you the hoary bromide of the tree falling unattended in the forest and simply confess that like my beloved Brazil football team for a moment that seemed longer, my motivation dived. Confession is good for the soul, and reflection is good for the mind. On reflection, I recall what I've long held as a touchstone, viz., writing is not merely a means to present ideas but a catalyst to develop, organize, clarify, and even create them. In other words, it doesn't require an audience, as much as I might, after a year of labor, hope for one. Besides every thought <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">―</span> written or not <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">―</span> is contemplated by at least two minds. With that in mind then, once more into the breech! Comments as welcome as they are absent. <span style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"> </span></span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-73890453574755340032014-03-07T21:03:00.000-03:002014-03-07T21:03:15.661-03:00Too Little, Too Late?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO39GSot-K0-pl99O8_IybucCPL5sPLgi9JeVs6ZgY9Kmw2QIblktmmOQS_jskCIfW0C2PLvvK3jQ9jkXiS7_POrU9LbvIrViqOYEBTSbRIDmOGB8WetyeFAA-S3_wFzJi_8zAToOdWaA/s1600/SAT+gong+vs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO39GSot-K0-pl99O8_IybucCPL5sPLgi9JeVs6ZgY9Kmw2QIblktmmOQS_jskCIfW0C2PLvvK3jQ9jkXiS7_POrU9LbvIrViqOYEBTSbRIDmOGB8WetyeFAA-S3_wFzJi_8zAToOdWaA/s1600/SAT+gong+vs.jpg" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">Responding to <a href="http://nyti.ms/1g3r8H1">changes in the SAT announced by the College Board</a>, Leon Botstein, president of Bard College, has dismissed the modest reforms as a case of too little, too late. "The blunt fact is that the SAT has never been a good predictor of academic achievement in college," he <a href="http://ti.me/1kCGmGC">writes in <i>Time</i></a>, citing high-school grades as a better indicator. Not content to leave it at that, Botstein adds yet another charge to his litany: "SAT scores have also become an integral part of another money-making racket </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">― college rankings." He is, of course, not the only critic of the changes. In her <a href="http://wapo.st/1kCXgoj"><i>Washington Post </i>op-ed</a>, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">Alexandra Petri agrees they do not go far enough, suggesting the test should consist of a single question: "Can you use Google?"</span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-43094131184056981562014-02-27T12:27:00.000-03:002014-02-27T13:19:46.868-03:00Lord of the Ring?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0ZttnT9-AASqwthiz5mBxICzWoFIo211kRAJp1Up8CIRLat-tQrjhA007MPuxNDSn_pxvRxHr78DzmbdFnn58fzsJACf06IyPJHQSqE7ZntZ5fwaCiwiLAEYmH2CbE6mjBPhaAl2zBQ/s1600/catching+the+brass+ring+vs.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga0ZttnT9-AASqwthiz5mBxICzWoFIo211kRAJp1Up8CIRLat-tQrjhA007MPuxNDSn_pxvRxHr78DzmbdFnn58fzsJACf06IyPJHQSqE7ZntZ5fwaCiwiLAEYmH2CbE6mjBPhaAl2zBQ/s1600/catching+the+brass+ring+vs.png" /></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">Many university professors would quite willing forgo Tolkein's magical ring for a successful finale to their quest for the equally elusive one of tenure. In his two-part series in <i>Inside Higher Ed</i>, <a href="http://perfect-free.typepad.com/">Jacob Vigdor</a>, a professor of public policy and economics at Duke University, offers some advice on "How To Earn Tenure." Hopefully, it may help your mission to be Lord of the Ring. <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2014/02/24/essay-how-earn-tenure-higher-education">Part 1</a> <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2014/02/26/essay-how-craft-your-research-dossier-win-tenure">Part 2</a></span><br />
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Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-30175156628937820752014-02-26T20:31:00.001-03:002014-02-26T20:54:03.635-03:00Angelica's Journal/Angelica's Journey<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">"On top of it all, I'm stressing out over what school is going to believe enough in me to accept me. I'm afraid that if I don't get into a great school, the word will never hear Angelica Herrara," the aspiring writer wrote in her journal </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">― a practice she'd begun at age 10</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.479999542236328px;">. Thanks to it, in part, I don't believe that will be the case. "I pray somebody hears the honesty I am proclaiming in my words," she added. To which I say, amen. "If nobody listens, nobody hears the voices of the might be greats," our world will be impoverished far more than this working-class girl with a dream. <i><a href="http://faculty.salisbury.edu/~tamoriarty/compresearch/roozen/CCC0603Journals.pdf">From Journals to Journalism: Tracing the Trajectory of Literate Development</a></i></span>Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7084530611726642304.post-5210506419705224262014-02-15T21:19:00.000-02:002014-02-15T21:57:48.063-02:00The New English Empire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Till about 40, Lenovo's CEO Yang Yuanqing spoke hardly any English, but when he bought IBM's personal computer division in 2005, he immersed himself in the language. This week, he was in São Paulo for a board meeting. Like all the proceedings, save a press conference for Chinese media, it was conducted in English. Lenovo is not alone in the switch to the emerging language gold standard in business, as <i>The Economist </i><a href="http://www.economist.com/news/business/21596538-growing-number-firms-worldwide-are-adopting-english-their-official-language-english">reports</a>.Earlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09671797604980748549noreply@blogger.com0