SpecGram >> Vol CLXXIV, No 2 >> Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor
Dear Editors,
In “Uncountable Things You Didn’t Know You Didn’t Know”, Madalena Cruz-Ferreira quotes a student, asked to analyse a child’s utterance “I hammed it all by myself,” as responding
This child needs to be exposed to Universal Grammar and acceptable grammar.
Please could Dr Cruz-Ferreira inform the student in question that I have a PhD scholarship available.
Noah McMosky
Professor of Abstract Syntax
University of Ledworth
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Dear No Ahm... &c.,
Did you mean “inform the child in question”? He/she/it is the one in dire need of Pro hoc Desiderato immersion in syntactic abstractions. The student’s advice clearly shows he/she/it’s already been there, exposed to that.
To the Editor([s|ial staff]):
Perhaps “there is no correct way to pronounce Sadian”, but is there a correct way to pronounce “Sadian”, the exonym? As the word itself is English, I assume that the suffix is pronounced /iən/ and the stress is on the initial syllable. But is the vowel of that syllable /ej/ or /ɑ/, or perhaps /æ/?
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Whom: Consulting Linguist,
Grammarian, Orthoëpist,
and Philological Busybody
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Dear Doc,
We asked Doc Füller, “Is the vowel of that syllable /ej/ or /ɑ/, or perhaps /æ/?” Her response:
Yes, that is correct.
Make of that what you will.
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