Small things

[erratio]

* I don't think there can ever be a good ending to a sentence that starts "I don't want you to think I'm racist but.."

* last night I discovered that as a linguist there are few things more difficult to reply to than someone mildly remarking that they heard that Chomsky's theories were obsolete, especially when there's another linguist at the table whose teachers were all followers of Halliday. (mine believed in Chomsky and his theories with the fervour usually associated with messianic figures, and I'm inclined to follow Chomsky's model because it makes sense to me)

* I am heartily sick of the politics that goes on at work, especially the racially-motivated kind. And not donating to a charity drive specifically because you're pissed off at the politicking that went on at that meeting? Not cool.

Comments

[quantumkitty.livejournal.com]

I don't think there can ever be a good ending to a sentence that starts "I don't want you to think I'm racist but.."

Yeah.

I don't want you to think I'm racist but ...

[(Anonymous)]

... I love kittens!

Well, I tried.

Re: I don't want you to think I'm racist but ...

[erratio.livejournal.com]

Clearly you're racist against non-feline races. FAIL

[focality.livejournal.com]

Chomsky's detractors also dislike him because of his politics, which considered left wing because he's critical of imperialism and the manipulation of media in favor of questionable overseas activities by my country.

I first encountered his work while an undergrad at Old Dominion University (Norfolk, VA, USA). My English degree has a linguistics emphasis (their verbiage, not mine). A few of my linguistics professors were Chomsky acolytes (literally), while a few favored more "modern" theories, including the patriarchal bias inherent in English, among others.

His ideas seem to work well with artificial intelligence research, along with heavy doses of dialectology. It's through that lens that I began to why artificial intelligence isn't just about processing power and data retention. A.I. needs to understand us without the need for the speaker speaking one "preferred" form of English (or any other language).

I don't get to talk linguistics anymore. Most consider it too academic or esoteric. I've tried looking up former classmates via Facebook or LJ but no luck. Maybe they went on with serious research while I finished with a bachelor's degree and entered the workforce. So now I explain how to write properly to US military technical writers. Very humdrum.