docoflove1974

Sunny, low 70s here...will be like this all week. Was like this all of last week. I love fall in Northern California

LOL This semester I have 4 levels of courses: 2 are Intermediate Spanish, one is Beginning Spanish (aka 1st semester), a conversation/composition course, and the last is Advanced Beginner Spanish (aka 2nd semester). They're all grammar/application courses, so it's a lot of grammar, expanding vocabulary, etc. In the case of the intermediate courses, I don't really teach much grammar, but force the students to expand their usage. It's in one of the Intermediate courses that they had the food chapter.

Aw c'mon, that was good! One class this semester has the best set of chapters in the textbook, and includes in the food-themed chapter a poem by Pablo Neruda, "Ode to the potato." It's actually a great poem, showing pride for being an American (as in, of the Western Hemisphere), prideful of the fact that the humble and blind potato has conquered the hunger of the world. So for the question of the week, I ask my students to write a poem about a food they love. I reiterate that I'm not expecting greatness--after all, I pretty much suck at the art--but I'm looking for them to expand their wings. After all, these are intermediate-level students...their Spanish is getting better, and there are several native speakers in there, but there's not necessarily a confidence in their skills yet. This year, I got some really outstanding works. I'm trying to figure out a way to pay tribute to them. At the beginning of this chapter, I had them bring their favorite recipes--be it a turkey sandwich or a full-on culinary delight. What they don't know (well, they'll know come Tuesday) is that they're getting a 'class cookbook'--their recipes in booklet form. I'm thinking should do the same thing for their poetry.

*stands up to the podium* I am here to declare that I am female, have no qualms about being female, and in fact rather like being female. Thank you. *goes back to chair*

...I know!!! Eek! I think you and Bill Gates are in cahoots! Sheesh, Neph, you gotta be more careful as to what you put out there in the internet...Now you're going to have all sorts of cosmic Peeping Toms! As for the program, I love the idea as a teaching tool. Hope they do this with other 'great' civilizations; I'd love to see this for the Maya, Aztec and Inca ruins, as well as Babylonia. Heck, I could see this as part of a history course demonstration, or even ethnic studies. It would bring these ancient cultures more into the collective conscience; students seem to recognize Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, but forget about much anything else.

Thank you, m'dear...

I'm thinking they're bored...chasing sheep gets tiresome after a while.

Dammit, I gotta wait several months to watch it. After series 10, BBC America went back and now is showing series 8 as if it is new. Well, it's new to us, true...the cars aren't, nor the programs. Who knows when we'll get this current series.

It's a British impression??? I only knew it as a Greek impression, particularly after the ouzo has been cracked open....

That doesn't mean much. If that was the case, my brothers and I would have the same linguistic output. Our mother is the grammar queen, while my dad is quite the wordsmith. While all three of us are college educated, my youngest brother and I are more of the writer-types, and are more aware of grammatical constructions; my middle brother does fine, but could care less about it. All three of us are wordsmiths, but I would say my brothers are quite a bit better at it than I am. More importantly, in comparison to people with the same level of education, none of the three of us are stellar; we're about average. Like many other things, if a person has a curiosity about a subject (including a manner of doing something, like speaking a language) and has the motivation to learn and expand their knowledge, they will. If they wish to be ignorant and closed-minded, they will. If they care about something, they'll show interest. The question comes back to: can someone (or a group) always know what's best for their constituency? I'm not questioning whether these ministers are intentionally being anti-elitists (I think that's what you'd call them?)...rather, whether their best intentions are truly the best for their community. By the way, this has happened continuously in human history as long as there have been prescriptive grammarians. I love going through the Appendix Probi...yes, of course, for the linguistic revelations of Vulgar Latin. But also, I love the tone of voice that comes through; Probus is desperate to hang onto Classical Latin, because he clearly feels that it's what's best for his community. It's as if he's saying, "Classical Latin is the correct manner of communication, the best way for us to communicate and continue with tradition." Well, he was on the losing end of that battle...few things are 100% certain in linguistic change, but one thing I think most would agree upon is that the linguistic community as a whole will always win, whether it means they continue with a linguistic convention or not!

Hopefully he wasn't an American... "Flappy paddle appendage"...that had me laughing for a good 2 minutes, and giggling for quite a bit more! Talk about a phrase that'll kill the mood....

Who needs an excuse! To life!

I love human language (obviously), and I love human behavior. We are absolutely fascinating creatures. We form tribal units every where we can. Oh, sure, we don't consider them 'tribal units', but really they are. We seek out others who are like us in some way, and even go so far as to give ourselves names, a kind of identity to distinguish ourselves from the other tribal groups. Even though we interact among several of these groups, and we therefore have seemingly multiple allegiances, we still must never be alone. Quite funny, really. We even go so far as to create these tribal units in the Internet world...don't believe me? What do you think we are here? Anyway, at American community colleges (and often at the 4-year colleges and universities) there are two-types of faculty: full time and part time. Yes, there are other divisions among the full-timers, but on the community college campus, that's really the only division among faculty. Full-timers, naturally, have their time compensated on campus; they're expected to teach a certain amount of course units, serve on a certain number of committees, do some administrative work in and around campus, and continue to educate themselves either through research or professional development. Part-timers, on the other hand, can only work a maximum number of course hours, and are not compensated for extra committee work they do. Honestly, part-timers do what they do because they love it...and because they can't get a full-time job at a given campus. In fact, they often teach at 2-4 other campuses in a given semester. Some have a preference and/or identity with one campus over the others (I do); others simply employ mercenary-type attitude: I'm a hired hand, give me classes and pay me. Part-time faculty are called a number of titles: adjuncts, instructors, part-time faculty. There are slang and/or jargon terms as well. And I learned a new one today. I ran into a fellow faculty member as I pulled into the parking lot this morning...I recognized him as being a colleague in my division, but didn't know him personally. In fact, we've been running into each other often lately...kinda funny. At lunch, lo and behold, who do I run into again. This time, I introduce myself, and he does the same. Pleasant enough dude. He then asks: "Are you a frequent flyer?" Now, I know the term "frequent flyer" to refer to two things: 1) literally, a person who frequently flies; and 2) one who has a fairly long (more than 15 miles) commute to work, usually requiring one to take the freeways. Since I belong to group #2, I replied in the affirmative. But as the conversation continued, it was clear that he meant something different: frequent flyer = adjunct/part-time faculty. The logic is pretty good: adjuncts frequently work at more than one campus, often requiring them to teach at more than one place in one day. Still, it was a term I hadn't heard before, and found it intriguing. I was talking with another colleague, and she referred to the term again: "Oh, yeah, she's a frequent flyer, too. I think she's at Foothill along with here...maybe even De Anza." Clearly this term has been around a while, and has gained in popularity. My question is: do I rack up points for being a frequent flyer? Will these points be good towards some sort of full-time, tenure-track position? Or will they simply languish, never to be redeemed?

I don't see how an language academy could enforce her decisions on the mass media (at least in free societies). In Israel we also have an academy ("Academy of the Hebrew Language") and it's more complex than the way that you describe, some time it's translation of foreign words are accepted by the mass public, sometime their not and the foreign words are the one which are in wide use and sometime the mass media translate a word in a diffrent way than the academy and eventually the academy "accept" it as a valid word. In the case of the Real Academia Espa

McCain as Bruce Lee? Dunno about that one...can he karate chop someone into oblivion?

I agree completely. Changes in language, like changes in biology and the marketplace of ideas, are wonderful examples of spontaneous change through variation, adaptation, and selection. I couldn't have said it better myself! Acceptance of multiple linguistic varieties is the norm, despite what some governing bodies would lead you to believe.

Love me some NIN!!! Thanks, Moon!

Yep, they're permanent absentee voters, like me...they put their ballots in early. The hot tub helps me to stretch more, in that the heat combined with the 'weightlessness' that one feels in the water helps me get to the 'hard to reach' places. On cold days, the sauna helps more; I hate humidity, so the steam room is reserved only for when I'm so damned congested that it's the only relief. What seems to work best is common sense stuff: when I ache, don't wear heels, take an ibuprofen if absolutely necessary, and don't go on any 6 mile walks I'm lucky that it's relatively easy to control...and hopefully it will be for a while. But, considering arthritis runs strong on both sides of the family, well, who knows. The part that's frustrating is that I don't know what I did, what's causing the more-than-average swelling. Usually I can pinpoint the cause or activity...and this time I can't. It doesn't really hurt...just feels, well, extra-cushiony...kinda stiff, but no pain. Only when I'm testing my range of motion in various positions (sitting, standing, prone, supine, etc.) do I feel any pain, and it's enough to remind me to stop what I'm doing. So that's what's making me mope and pout. It pisses me off when I can't figure out a solution (and in this case, without going to a doctor who will want to put me on meds or cut me open).

(**Warning...venting allert. No advice necessary, just need to pout and mope. All is well, I promise!**) My dad picked the wrong week to go on vacation. Dammit. Usually when I have questions on certain subjects, I go to him. One is physiology. Not because he's a doctor or has any medical training whatsoever. Instead, he's someone who has done a ton of reading, has felt pain of pretty much every position on the spectrum, and is a logical person. He's the person who taught me that not everything needs a pill to make it better...in fact, most things don't need a pill. Rest, ice, heat, refraining from certain activities...you know, common sense. I have pre-arthritic conditions in most of my joints. Translated into English, I've got crappy joints, due to being a tomboy who grew a full foot in 2 years. Pretty much since the age of 11 I've had bad knees in particular, and most of my other joints creak, crack, and the like. While most of the time it's no big deal, when I change my exercise routine, wear my high heels too often, or other such pressures on my joints, I tend to feel it. But I've learned over the years to block the pain mentally, do stretches, and for me the use of glucosamine has helped quite a bit (although it doesn't work for everyone...don't know why, but it doesn't). I'm used to this...in fact, it feels pretty good to crack my ankles, as not doing it leaves them a little stiff. From the start I've had to change activity levels, figure out what I can do and what's off the table...and constantly change it. When I was heavier, I constantly complained about my knees. Funny how losing weight and becoming active aliviates the pain most of the time. Anyway, for the past couple of weeks my left knee (the more problematic one) has been overly stiff...and there's a swollen area in the back. When I went in for a massage, the masseuse pinpointed the location...typcially, it's the ligaments and tendons which are the problem children, which is the story of my life. Yesterday I went to the gym for a typical workout, and decided to test out the knee more than usual. I purposely did movements and exercises which forced me to push off my left leg, to test the strength...yeesh, not much there. Tried stretching, but that didn't help. I've iced down my knee to the point that it might be permanently blue, but I'm not sure that it's made much of a difference. But the odd part is that there is zero pain in general, and only a twinge when I do certain movements, which is normal...yet I can feel the swollen stiffness. I need to pick my dad's brain...he knows me well, and can help me out. And where's Dad? With Mom, celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary (which is today), reliving their honeymoon in the same resort in Acapulo, Mexico, that they went to 35 years ago. I have to wait a week for 'an appointment'. Same as a doctor, no less, but less BS in the result.

While the English language doesn't quite have an 'academy', they do have the OED...and various academics who will gladly tell you that they uphold the morals of language. (Sadly, I had a couple as professors....) I can't say a thing about the French Academie, but as for the Real Academia Espa

Methinks someone out in your neck of the woods needs a hobby other than random idiotry. Or a boot to the head. Not sure which.

Lanista, that image just described my exact reaction. A few years ago, a student complained to my supervisor that in class I would refer back to Latin or the sister Romance languages in explaining some of the supposed 'quirks' of Spanish grammar. Her complaint was that she was taking Spanish, and could care less about any other language. My supervisor evidently practically busted a rib trying to hold in her laughter. Somehow she managed, and proceeded to ask what this student's major was. "Biology," the ignorant student replied. "Well," countered my supervisor, "all those taxonomic processes that you must do, or all of the names for those processes and such...where do you think those names come from?" Wait for it... "Um, English..." the student replied, rolling her eyes. At which point my supervisor informed the wayward child that she probably wasn't going to win her current argument.

Here's hoping your day is full of love, wine, and song!

For a general "intro to linguistics" book, I'm still a fan Fromkin and Rodman's An Introduction to Language. The explanations are clear, and it's meant for a intro to linguistics course. You can find this book easily both new and used. For Cuneiform interests, you might want to check out Sampson's Writing Systems: A Linguistic Introduction. While I don't know it well, a friend of mine reviewed it and it was to his liking; he uses it as a reference to his Sanskrit courses.

Yeah, the US Navy has the same rules. But the naval personnel that I know tell many a 'conquest at sea' that went against said rules. Let's face it, a group of people stuck on a ship for 6-12 months...ports of call being few and far between...