Is "semen" a dirty word?
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
readers have been avoiding the word "semen." Ex-intern Monica "Knee
Pads" Lewinsky has a black or dark blue dress with a splotch of
President Clinton's semen on it, which she just turned over to the
prosecution. The news reporters and anchors never used the word "semen"
but spoke of "Mr. Clinton's DNA," "genetic material from the President"
or his "body fluid."
Yesterday, when the news about the stained dress finally broke in the
mainstream media (I've know of it since January 21), several reporters
and anchors did talk about Clinton's "semen." Why the euphemisms now?
Perhaps, in their rush to report the story, they did not clear the word
"semen" with the censors. Or, more likely, after the word "semen" was
aired, the stations received the usual protest calls from the usual
stupid Merkins who, like Polar, are upset by everything that is not P.C.
or S.C. (sexually correct). Others may argue that it is not dignified
to use such a blunt, direct word as "semen" when speaking of the world's
most powerful lying piece of garbage.
--
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
Editor, MALEDICTA
Santa Rosa, CA 95402, USA
http://www.sonic.net/maledicta/
Murray Arnow
used the term bodily fluids. The possibility of saliva, blood, and whatever (I
also hedge) being present may exist. If true that would certainly leave an
inference of physical contact. Then again, you may be quite correct that it
was a self-imposed censorship to avoid offending viewers during the family
hour. (Notice how I avoided saying semen as well...oops)
RossHoward
<am...@sonic.net> wrote:
>Today, on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS), the news
>readers have been avoiding the word "semen." Ex-intern Monica "Knee
>Pads" Lewinsky has a black or dark blue dress with a splotch of
>President Clinton's semen on it, which she just turned over to the
>prosecution. The news reporters and anchors never used the word "semen"
>but spoke of "Mr. Clinton's DNA," "genetic material from the President"
>or his "body fluid."
>
> Yesterday, when the news about the stained dress finally broke in the
>mainstream media (I've know of it since January 21)[...].
The Tale of the Telltale Stain has been widely covered in the
mainstream media here, and months ago included highly amusing reports
about the desperate efforts of the FBI to get their hands on the
(alleged) jizzed-up glad-rag in question -- Raiders of the Lost Frock.
The standard style is to call the stain "the alleged presidential
semen" with no female-genitals-footing whatsoever. The American
media's blushing reluctance to use the "S"-word is commented on widely
in the Spanish media today.
Ross H.
Murray Arnow
<snip>
: The standard style is to call the stain "the alleged presidential
: semen" with no female-genitals-footing whatsoever. The American
: media's blushing reluctance to use the "S"-word is commented on widely
: in the Spanish media today.
Even more interesting to me is the lack of comments, snide or otherwise,
why Ms Lewinsky would keep such a souvenir.
RossHoward
<am...@sonic.net> wrote:
>Today, on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS), the news
>readers have been avoiding the word "semen."
Following extensive research, I can report that most of the media are
just as loath to say the "S"-words ("semen" and "sperm") on their Web
sites as they are on air. Here's the latest lowdown on the "love
dress"[1] nixed-jizz biz -- the result of a quick cruise around 16
major U.S. news Web sites.
Medium Message
------ -------
ABC semen
CBS body fluids
NBC body fluids
CNN genetic material
Fox News genetic evidence
Washington Post DNA material; genetic samples
N.Y. Times semen; sperm
N.Y. Daily News semen
N.Y. Post semen
Chicago Tribune evidence of a sexual encounter
L.A. Times semen
Boston Globe DNA evidence
S.F. Examiner/Chronicle semen
Miami Herald evidence of a sexual encounter
USA Today bodily fluids
AP news-wire genetic evidence
Conclusions
-----------
1. ABC is the only TV-based medium to use either of the "S"-words; the
others -- as Reinhold Aman promptly reported -- are all euphemizing
madly.
2. Rupert Murdoch's News International empire has yet to fix a house
style on the issue -- with both "genetic evidence" (Fox News) and
"semen" (*N.Y. Post*).
3. While the *Washington Post* is going to such lengths to avoid the
"S"-words that it's even bowdlerizing quotes that feature them[2], the
*New York Times* deems them to be fit to print.
4. The major metropolitan print media tend to be less mealy-mouthed
than the TV networks.
5. None of the newspapers serving the USA's traditionally more
open-minded metropolitan areas -- New York, Los Angeles and San
Francisco -- has any problem with the "S"-words, whereas they are
avoided by the major dailies sampled that are based in other cities.
6. This may not be science, but it's fun.
NOTES: [1] *New York Post*, July 31, 1998.
[2] Compare the round-the-houses treatment of Scheck's
comments with the verbatim quotes of the *N.Y. Times*
Ross H.
PMReichold
>Even more interesting to me is the lack of comments, snide or otherwise,
>why Ms Lewinsky would keep such a souvenir.
>
>
Such questions would seem inevitable.
The use of the word "semen" does not seem unseemly to me.
--
Mike Reichold RN,C
Clearwater, FL. USA
PMRei...@aol.com
"Sometimes it's hard to tell the dancer from the dance."-WB Yeats by way of
Roger Zelazny
a1a5...@bc.sympatico.ca
wrote:
>In article <35C174...@sonic.net>, am...@sonic.net wrote:
>>Today, on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS), the news
>>readers have been avoiding the word "semen." Ex-intern Monica "Knee
>>Pads" Lewinsky has a black or dark blue dress with a splotch of
>>President Clinton's semen on it, which she just turned over to the
>>prosecution. The news reporters and anchors never used the word "semen"
>>but spoke of "Mr. Clinton's DNA," "genetic material from the President"
>>or his "body fluid."
>>
>> Yesterday, when the news about the stained dress finally broke in the
>>mainstream media (I've know of it since January 21), several reporters
>>and anchors did talk about Clinton's "semen." Why the euphemisms now?
>>Perhaps, in their rush to report the story, they did not clear the word
>>"semen" with the censors. Or, more likely, after the word "semen" was
>>aired, the stations received the usual protest calls from the usual
>>stupid Merkins who, like Polar, are upset by everything that is not P.C.
>>or S.C. (sexually correct). Others may argue that it is not dignified
>>to use such a blunt, direct word as "semen" when speaking of the world's
>>most powerful lying piece of garbage.
>>
>Maybe they were trying to be more accurate in their reporting. I think the FBI
>used the term bodily fluids. The possibility of saliva, blood, and whatever (I
>also hedge) being present may exist. If true that would certainly leave an
>inference of physical contact. Then again, you may be quite correct that it
>was a self-imposed censorship to avoid offending viewers during the family
>hour. (Notice how I avoided saying semen as well...oops)
I recently saw a documentary on the life and work of Naom Chomsky
(who described himself as an anarchical libertarian) and although
it may be suspected that the programme may have temporarily
coloured my reaction to Dr Aman's observations on these events I
am nonetheless certain that he is right and you are wrong.
I think there is no clearer example of managing the media.
a1a5...@bc.sympatico.ca
>RossHoward (rossh...@my-dejanews.com) wrote:
><snip>
>: The standard style is to call the stain "the alleged presidential
>: semen" with no female-genitals-footing whatsoever. The American
>: media's blushing reluctance to use the "S"-word is commented on widely
>: in the Spanish media today.
>
>Even more interesting to me is the lack of comments, snide or otherwise,
>why Ms Lewinsky would keep such a souvenir.
While I was tempted to reply "they shoot horses don't they?" I
say instead "they keep love-letters don't they?"
Evan Kirshenbaum
> Today, on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS), the news
> readers have been avoiding the word "semen." Ex-intern Monica "Knee
> Pads" Lewinsky has a black or dark blue dress with a splotch of
> President Clinton's semen on it, which she just turned over to the
> prosecution. The news reporters and anchors never used the word "semen"
> but spoke of "Mr. Clinton's DNA," "genetic material from the President"
> or his "body fluid."
>
> Yesterday, when the news about the stained dress finally broke in the
> mainstream media (I've know of it since January 21), several reporters
> and anchors did talk about Clinton's "semen." Why the euphemisms now?
> Perhaps, in their rush to report the story, they did not clear the word
> "semen" with the censors. Or, more likely, after the word "semen" was
> aired, the stations received the usual protest calls from the usual
> stupid Merkins who, like Polar, are upset by everything that is not P.C.
> or S.C. (sexually correct). Others may argue that it is not dignified
> to use such a blunt, direct word as "semen" when speaking of the world's
> most powerful lying piece of garbage.
I can think of three possible reasons: (1) it wasn't clear from the
reports that the fluid in question *was* semen, and nobody wanted to
be the first to commit in case it turned out to be something more
innocuous, like saliva; (2) stating that the FBI is going to check for
a DNA match is a simple factual statement, whereas stating that the
dress was stained with the president's semen is an accusation, so they
would've had to drop lots of "alleged"s in there; and (3) they didn't
want to get calls from irate parents whose little Sally came up to
them and asked "Mommy, what's 'semen'?"
I suspect number three.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |Whatever it is that the government
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |does, sensible Americans would prefer
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |that the government do it to somebody
|else.
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com | P.J. O'Rourke
(650)857-7572
RossHoward
<ev...@garrett.hpl.hp.com> wrote:
>I can think of three possible reasons: (1) it wasn't clear from the
>reports that the fluid in question *was* semen, and nobody wanted to
>be the first to commit in case it turned out to be something more
>innocuous, like saliva; (2) stating that the FBI is going to check for
>a DNA match is a simple factual statement, whereas stating that the
>dress was stained with the president's semen is an accusation, so they
>would've had to drop lots of "alleged"s in there; and (3) they didn't
>want to get calls from irate parents whose little Sally came up to
>them and asked "Mommy, what's 'semen'?"
>I suspect number three.
Me too, but isn't the scenario just as bad with the euphemisms?
Little Sally: "Mommy, what's 'body fluids'?"
Honest Mommy: "Well, honey, it means that the President might have
drooled, urinated, ejaculated, bled, vomited, syringed his ears or
burst a pus-filled carbuncle all over that nice young lady's clothes."
Smart Mommy: "Tears, hon. A big word for tears."
Ross H.
Evan Kirshenbaum
> On Fri, 31 Jul 1998 00:39:09 -0700, "Reinhold (Rey) Aman"
> <am...@sonic.net> wrote:
>
> >Today, on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS), the news
> >readers have been avoiding the word "semen."
>
> Following extensive research, I can report that most of the media are
> just as loath to say the "S"-words ("semen" and "sperm") on their Web
> sites as they are on air. Here's the latest lowdown on the "love
> dress"[1] nixed-jizz biz -- the result of a quick cruise around 16
> major U.S. news Web sites.
The BBC, at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/world/americas/newsid_142000/142659.stm
won't go any further than "stains".
ABC (Australia)'s site doesn't seem to have a story on it (although
they do have one on Clinton agreeing to testify.) How is the rest of
the world handling it? And is there the same broadcast/print split
that there appears to be here?
While checking out the ABC site, I found that they provide news in Tok
Pisin! For anyone interested in the "so near and yet so far"
experience of reading a creole lexified from English, take a look at
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newsratp/
Unfortunately, they only seem to translate news for the Pacific
region, so there's nothing about a semen-stained dress, but here's an
example, on the Japanese election:
JAPAN I KISIM NIUPELA PRAIM MINISTA.
Thursday 30 July, 1998 (10:08pm AEST)
Japan nau i gat niupela Praim Minista.
Niusmeri bilong mipela long Tokyo, Jill Colgan i tok olsem lower
house bilong Japan Palimen, em i gat bikpela pawa stret, i voutim
pinis Keizo Obuchi, man husat i bin Foren Minista bipo bilong
kantri long kamap Praim Minista.
Jill i tok, tede i bin wanpela de i pulap long ol kain kain wok
long politik insait long Tokyo.
Em i tok, nambawan samting i bin kamap em olpela Praim Minista
Ryutaro Hashimoto na olgeta memba long kebinet bilong em i bin
resign - oa oli tok oli mas pinis long wok, na bihain, vout
insait long paliment i bin bruk namel.
Lower house, em ol memba bilong Liberal Democratic pati i pulap
long en, i bon voutim olpela Foren Minista ia, Keizo Obuchi, long
kamap niupela Praim Minista.
Tasol upper house i bin voutim lida bilong Democratic Party,
Naoto Kan bilong kamap Praim Minista.
Tasol vout bilong lower house i bin bikpela moa winim vout bilong
upper house na nau Mr Obuchi i kamap namba 54 Praim Minista
bilong Japan.
Em bai tokaut long kebinet bilong em tede long nait na oli ting,
olpela praim minista, Keiichi Miyazawa, bai kamap niupela Minista
bilong Fainens.
(It may help to read it out loud.) "Lower house", "upper house", and
"resign" were in bold in the original. I suspect that means they are
considered foreign words.
As far as I can tell, except for the Japanese names, every word in the
above story comes from English.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |If all else fails, embarrass the
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |industry into doing the right
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |thing.
| Dean Thompson
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com
(650)857-7572
pet...@ms.com
rossh...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> On Fri, 31 Jul 1998 00:39:09 -0700, "Reinhold (Rey) Aman"
> <am...@sonic.net> wrote:
>
> >Today, on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS), the news
> >readers have been avoiding the word "semen."
>
> Following extensive research, I can report that most of the media are
> just as loath to say the "S"-words ("semen" and "sperm") on their Web
> sites as they are on air. Here's the latest lowdown on the "love
> dress"[1] nixed-jizz biz -- the result of a quick cruise around 16
> major U.S. news Web sites.
>
> ------ -------
> ABC semen
> CBS body fluids
> NBC body fluids
> CNN genetic material
> Fox News genetic evidence
> Washington Post DNA material; genetic samples
> N.Y. Times semen; sperm
> N.Y. Daily News semen
> N.Y. Post semen
> Chicago Tribune evidence of a sexual encounter
> L.A. Times semen
> Boston Globe DNA evidence
> S.F. Examiner/Chronicle semen
> Miami Herald evidence of a sexual encounter
> USA Today bodily fluids
> AP news-wire genetic evidence
>
> Conclusions
> -----------
>
> 1. ABC is the only TV-based medium to use either of the "S"-words; the
> others -- as Reinhold Aman promptly reported -- are all euphemizing
> madly.
>
Maybe ABC is the only one willing to jump to conclusions
or to take ML's word for what is on the dress.
Pjk
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
Francis Muir
Little Sally: "Mommy, what's 'body fluids'?"
Honest Mommy: "Well, honey, it means that the President
might have drooled, urinated, ejaculated, bled, vomited,
syringed his ears or burst a pus-filled carbuncle all over that
nice young lady's clothes."
Smart Mommy: "Tears, hon. A big word for tears."
The not-so-smart FBI might do a DNA typing, but that
would not say which body fluid, would it?
FM
Jonathan Peck
host, he wore a kilt. When asked later what he wore under his kilt, a
spokesperson for the White House said "Lipstick".
Does this help?
Jonathan Peck
James Follett
rossh...@my-dejanews.com "RossHoward" writes:
>Little Sally: "Mommy, what's 'body fluids'?"
>
>Honest Mommy: "Well, honey, it means that the President might have
>drooled, urinated, ejaculated, bled, vomited, syringed his ears or
>burst a pus-filled carbuncle all over that nice young lady's clothes."
>
>Smart Mommy: "Tears, hon. A big word for tears."
>
I liked that.
I seem to remember kids being exposed to a Captain Pugwash character
called Seaman Staynes (sp?).
--
James Follett -- novelist http://www.davew.demon.co.uk
Eric The Read
> I seem to remember kids being exposed to a Captain Pugwash character
> called Seaman Staynes (sp?).
ARRRRRRRGH!
James, old bean, I shall have to beat you severely about the head and
shoulders with a damp noodle. This is utter hogwash, as the barest
modicum of research could have told you. See
<URL:http://www.urbanlegends.com/tv/cpt.pugwash/index.html> for more
info.
-=Eric
Gary Lum
> I seem to remember kids being exposed to a Captain Pugwash character
> called Seaman Staynes (sp?).
Not forgetting Master Bates
Vesa Raiskila
> The use of the word "semen" does not seem unseemly to me.
Nor, it would seem, to an English friend of mine, who some time ago
suggested that I write an essay on the topic 'Se + Men'.
Vesa
--
http://www.jyu.fi/~raives/
I welcome corrections to my English. To reply via e-mail, please delete
DEL. from my e-mail address.
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
> In article <35c1b96e...@noticias.ibernet.es>,
> rossh...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
> > On Fri, 31 Jul 1998 00:39:09 -0700, "Reinhold (Rey) Aman"
> > <am...@sonic.net> wrote:
> > >Today, on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS), the news
> > >readers have been avoiding the word "semen."
> > Following extensive research, I can report that most of the media are
> > just as loath to say the "S"-words ("semen" and "sperm") on their Web
> > sites as they are on air.
[snipped Ross's excellent documentation of censorship]
> > 1. ABC is the only TV-based medium to use either of the "S"-words; the
> > others -- as Reinhold Aman promptly reported -- are all euphemizing
> > madly.
> Maybe ABC is the only one willing to jump to conclusions
> or to take ML's word for what is on the dress.
No jumping to conclusions needed, Peter; perhaps you're in denial about
Clinton or in the dark, as so many Americans are. (This is also a reply
to Murray Arnow's comments in the "semen" thread). The splotch on
Monica's dress is Clinton's ejaculate a.k.a. cum. She said so to Linda
Tripp; and Monica's mother knows, too, that her daughter told Tripp that
she has a dress (she even showed it to Tripp) with a cum stain from
Clinton on it. For this reason, and for this reason only -- the
President's semen on *her* dress --, Monica vowed never to wash that
dress.
Let's be *realistic*, folks: if that stain were merely Bubba Clinton's
blood or sweat or tears or spit or snot, it would not be worth
mentioning it to Tripp or anyone else, or saving the dress as a
souvenir. But this splotch (a lovely word, by the way) on Monica's dark
dress is *genuine CLINTON CUM* -- that's why that romantic, sentimental
young thing gets moist panties just thinking about it; she wanted to
preserve forever that tender and magic moment when the Arkansas rube
shot his load on *her* dress! Oh, bliss! Oh, happiness! Oh, romance!
"Mom, the most powerful man and lady-killer in the world came on *my*
dress! Please hide it, so Starr can't ever find it and destroy my
happiest moment, mom!"
That's cold reality, folks. Everything else are lies, denials,
excuses, bullshit.
My personal interests in this case are not politics or dried ejaculate
but language and its misuse, especially euphemisms and lies. Clinton
will deny this matter under oath and perjure himself again and again.
A few examples of this brazen and pathological liar Bill Clinton:
1) "I did not have sexual relations with that woman." (Fact: he licked
Monica's pussy over a time span of 18 months and got blowjobs for 18
months.)
2) He declared that he would tell the truth, "... more rather than
less, sooner rather than later." (Fact: he has stonewalled since
January and tried every ridiculous and nasty legal trick to avoid having
to tell the truth.)
3) He will "testify completely and truthfully" before the grand jury
on Aug. 15th. (He also never inhaled and never used hard drugs, even
though his half-brother Roger said that Bubba "has a nose like a vacuum"
when snorting cocaine with him and a bunch of young girls.)
4) He is "anxious to testify." (Yeah, in the sense of "worried and
distressed," not what "to be anxious to" usually means.)
5) He's "looking forward to the *opportunity* to testify" before the
grand jury. (That's why he did everything in his power to avoid this
opportunity for six months.)
6) He'll testify "voluntarily." (Bullshit: he had refused to do so for
months, until Mr. Starr finally *subpoenaed* that lying bastard and
*forced* him to appear before a grand jury -- the first time in American
history that a sitting president has been subpoenaed as a suspected
criminal and felon.)
Peter Moylan
>ja...@marage.demon.co.uk (James Follett) writes:
>> I seem to remember kids being exposed to a Captain Pugwash character
>> called Seaman Staynes (sp?).
>
>
>James, old bean, I shall have to beat you severely about the head and
>shoulders with a damp noodle. This is utter hogwash, as the barest
>modicum of research could have told you. See
><URL:http://www.urbanlegends.com/tv/cpt.pugwash/index.html> for more
>info.
I'm not sure whether the Captain Pugwash series is still shown in
its country of origin, but they run the old repeats on Australian
TV. I have, with my own ears, heard the references to Master Bates
and Roger the cabin boy. I'm less certain about Little Willy and
Seaman Staines, but my (50% reliable) memory tells me that I heard
those names on TV before I heard the so-called urban legends.
--
Peter Moylan pe...@ee.newcastle.edu.au
Peter Moylan
>RossHoward (rossh...@my-dejanews.com) wrote:
><snip>
>: The standard style is to call the stain "the alleged presidential
>: semen" with no female-genitals-footing whatsoever. The American
>: media's blushing reluctance to use the "S"-word is commented on widely
>: in the Spanish media today.
>
>Even more interesting to me is the lack of comments, snide or otherwise,
>why Ms Lewinsky would keep such a souvenir.
For many years, my first wife faithfully guarded a broken beer glass.
(I don't know whether she still has it.) It was just an ordinary glass,
but it had the special property of having been broken (in her presence)
by Bob Dylan, after he'd had a drink from it. If he had, in addition,
left some of his Precious Bodily Fluids on her clothing, then I have no
doubt that she would have refrained from washing the affected garments.
Why would anyone want to play with the Presidential plonker? It could be
sexual lust, of course, but frankly I doubt it. It's more likely to be
related to the thrill of being close to the centre of power: where the
big knobs hang out. For someone with that sort of motivation, it makes
sense to keep the souvenirs. One day she can tell her grandchildren about
her intimate moments with A Very Famous Person.
I can still impress some people - present company excepted - by saying
that I once spent a night in Olivia Newton-John's bed. As it happens
Olivia was not occupying the bed at the time, but that doesn't entirely
ruin the story. For the majority of people there's a special mystique
attached to having hobnobbed with someone famous.
--
Peter Moylan pe...@ee.newcastle.edu.au
Bob Cunningham
said:
>Murray Arnow <mar...@wwa.com> wrote:
>>RossHoward (rossh...@my-dejanews.com) wrote:
>><snip>
>>: The standard style is to call the stain "the alleged presidential
>>: semen" with no female-genitals-footing whatsoever. The American
>>: media's blushing reluctance to use the "S"-word is commented on widely
>>: in the Spanish media today.
>>
>>Even more interesting to me is the lack of comments, snide or otherwise,
>>why Ms Lewinsky would keep such a souvenir.
>
>For many years, my first wife faithfully guarded a broken beer glass.
>(I don't know whether she still has it.) It was just an ordinary glass,
>but it had the special property of having been broken (in her presence)
>by Bob Dylan, after he'd had a drink from it. If he had, in addition,
>left some of his Precious Bodily Fluids on her clothing, then I have no
>doubt that she would have refrained from washing the affected garments.
Over the years we've seen references in the news to 'the first lady',
'the first daughter', 'the first cat', 'the first beagle', . . . . In
the current news scene, has anyone gotten around to mentioning 'the
first semen'?
Geoff Butler
>James Follett wrote:
>
>> I seem to remember kids being exposed to a Captain Pugwash character
>> called Seaman Staynes (sp?).
>
That legend isn't quite as urban as the "Seaman Staynes" one, but the
character in question was "Master Mate".
-ler
Justmeยฎ
> Over the years we've seen references in the news to 'the first lady',
> 'the first daughter', 'the first cat', 'the first beagle', . . . . In
> the current news scene, has anyone gotten around to mentioning 'the
> first semen'?
To my knowledge, no; but last night, I heard reference to the
"smoking dress" on ABC radio.
-- Ginny
"Honesty and fair dealing are the way to get ahead.
If you can fake those, you've got it made."
-W.C. Fields
Chris J. Gull
>RossHoward (rossh...@my-dejanews.com) wrote:
><snip>
>: The standard style is to call the stain "the alleged presidential
>: semen" with no female-genitals-footing whatsoever. The American
>: media's blushing reluctance to use the "S"-word is commented on widely
>: in the Spanish media today.
>
>Even more interesting to me is the lack of comments, snide or otherwise,
>why Ms Lewinsky would keep such a souvenir.
Think of all those American tourists in London and elsewhere in
Europe, and think about all the crap they take back to the states with
them calling it "a souvenir".
"Hey look Mary-Jane, an original English dog turd, take a photo of me
with my arm around it."
"Anti-American, me? Naaaaa."
--
Chris Gull
Andrew C Taubman
Peter Moylan wrote in message <6q0gs5$b59$2...@seagoon.newcastle.edu.au>...
>related to the thrill of being close to the centre of power: where the
>big knobs hang out. For someone with that sort of motivation, it makes
Oh, felicitous phase !
Free will is worth what you paid for it
-----------------------------------------
Bob Cunningham
But the punch line of the old, old joke goes: "I'd like to present my
friends: Mr and Mrs Bates, and their son Master Bates."
Murray Arnow
father.
Father: This is my wife Mrs. Bates, my daughter Mistress Bates, and my son
Master Bates.
Lincoln: I wouldn't brag about that.
No doubt someone will come up with a similar story attributed to Wellington.
Arian Hokin
> While checking out the ABC site, I found that they provide news in Tok
> Pisin! For anyone interested in the "so near and yet so far"
> experience of reading a creole lexified from English, take a look at
>
> http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newsratp/
>
> Unfortunately, they only seem to translate news for the Pacific
> region, so there's nothing about a semen-stained dress, but here's an
> example, on the Japanese election:
>
<article snipped because of fussy software>
>
> (It may help to read it out loud.) "Lower house", "upper house", and
> "resign" were in bold in the original. I suspect that means they are
> considered foreign words.
>
> As far as I can tell, except for the Japanese names, every word in the
> above story comes from English.
>
Yes, I think you're right. Snazzy, isn't it? It's actually harder to
understand when spoken, because native speakers go too fast (as is
usually the case) for foreigners to pick out the words they know. But I
love Tok Pisin; it does contain words without an English origin, but
there don't happen to be any of them here. It's scarcely unusual in a
creole developed originally for use by a colonising power to contain far
more high-status colonisers' words than words from the languages of
those colonised, and those that do exist are mainly terms for things
that didn't have an English name. But not exclusively.
The word I like best in that article is "niusmeri" as a word for a
female reporter.
Arian Hokin
Mark Odegard
Arian Hokin <ar...@mail2.northnet.com.au> in
<35C51C11...@mail2.northnet.com.au> wrote
|Evan Kirshenbaum wrote:
|> http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newsratp/
[...]
|But I love Tok Pisin
Extraordinary. It's like the first time I looked at Dutch -- so
different, yet oddly familiar, and at moments, passing as real
English.
One observation. I suspect Tok Pisin is based on non-rhotic
English, with an orthographic system that drops the unpronounced
Rs. Thus, I assume (decipher?) that 'oa' is 'or'. I'd bet it's
easier for Brits, Aussies or Suthrons to pick up than for a
hyper-rhotic Yankee like myself.
How quickly can one pick up Tok Pisin? Is there a web-based
intro?
--
Mark Odegard. (descape to email)
Emailed copies of responses are very much appreciated.
vfra...@fea.net
> > While checking out the ABC site, I found that they provide news in Tok
> > Pisin! For anyone interested in the "so near and yet so far"
> > experience of reading a creole lexified from English, take a look at
> >
> > http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newsratp/
Is Tok Pisin also known as Melanesian Pidgin English? If so, I've got
a lexicon and a New Testament sent to me from someone living in
Papua New Guinea. Thanks for the web site info. This is such a FUN
linguistic experience!! Someone can be using it immediately, be
fairly functional in a month, though I am sure that native-level
fluency would take longer (say, 3-6 months?).
-Vince Francis
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
> Is Tok Pisin also known as Melanesian Pidgin English?
Yes. Other names are "Neo-Melanesian," "Pidgin English" and "Pidgin."
There are regional variants in addition to the standard.
> If so, I've got a lexicon and a
> New Testament sent to me from someone living in
> Papua New Guinea. Thanks for the web site info. This is such a FUN
> linguistic experience!! Someone can be using it immediately, be
> fairly functional in a month, though I am sure that native-level
> fluency would take longer (say, 3-6 months?).
> -Vince Francis
Three to six months for native-level fluency? Think again. Five years
for near-native-level fluency is more realistic. I know three whites --
American, English and Australian -- who speak Tok Pisin fluently, after
having spent many years with the natives, but they still haven't
mastered the fine nuances.
For _Maledicta_ (vol. 11), I edited a long and unique glossary of "bad
words" (_tok nogut_) in Tok Pisin and learned to respect the intricacies
of that "simple" language. It *looks* deceptively simple and easy to
pick up, but it isn't. It's a foreign language with many "false
friends."
Just to give you a taste: what do you think the following words and
phrases mean?
-- maus bilong baret
-- blakpela waitman
-- bulmakau meri
-- donabeta
-- rintfi
-- lesbaga
-- laplap bilong rot
-- liklik masta
-- pam
-- pakimas
-- kan
-- kukiboi
-- pekpek as yu
-- sit bilong lam
-- sak meri
The last one is from "shark" + "Mary" but means "female shark" and
"expensive prostitute."
Peter Moylan
>
>> > While checking out the ABC site, I found that they provide news in Tok
>> > Pisin! For anyone interested in the "so near and yet so far"
>> > experience of reading a creole lexified from English, take a look at
>> >
>> > http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newsratp/
>
>a lexicon and a New Testament sent to me from someone living in
>Papua New Guinea. Thanks for the web site info. This is such a FUN
>linguistic experience!! Someone can be using it immediately, be
>fairly functional in a month, though I am sure that native-level
>fluency would take longer (say, 3-6 months?).
It's undoubtedly the same language; but Tok Pisin is now the
official language of an independent nation, so it's no longer
polite to refer to it as a pidgin.
--
Peter Moylan pe...@ee.newcastle.edu.au
Evan Kirshenbaum
I've also seen it called "Neo-Melanesian" and "New Guinea Pidgin
English". From a linguistic standpoint, it's not only impolite to
call it a pidgin, but incorrect, as it is fully regular and has many
native speakers.
FWIW, "Tok Pisin" is Tok Pisin for "Pidgin language".
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |We never met anyone who believed in
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |fortune cookies. That's astounding.
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |Belief in the precognitive powers
|of an Asian pastry is really no
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |wackier than belief in ESP,
(650)857-7572 |sublaxation, or astrology, but you
|just don't hear anyone preaching
|Scientific Cookie-ism.
| Penn and Teller
Evan Kirshenbaum
> The word I like best in that article is "niusmeri" as a word for a
> female reporter.
Yeah. "Niusmeri bilong mipela long Tokyo" is "our (female) Tokyo
correspondent", literally "the newswoman related to us in Tokyo". For
those unfamiliar with the language, "meri", which means "female" comes
from "Mary". (Tok Pisin for "male" is "man".)
I was a little bummed that the excerpt I chose didn't include the word
"pikinini", which is simply Tok Pisin for "child", as that would've
doubtless engendered a lively discussion.
I think that my favorite pieces of linguistic trivia about this
language are (1) that it gets by with two (count 'em) prepositions:
"long" and "bilong" (ok, there are a few phrases like "insait long"),
and (2) that the words "brother" and "sister" were imported as, IIRC,
"bruta" and "susa", but they were changed to denote Melanesian kinship
relationships: "bruta" is a sibling of the same sex and "susa" is a
sibling of the opposite sex, so two sisters are each other's "bruta"s,
and a brother and a sister are each other's "susa"s.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |The Elizabethans had so many words
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |for the female genitals that it is
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |quite hard to speak a sentence of
|modern English without inadvertently
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |mentioning at least three of them.
(650)857-7572 | Terry Pratchett
K1912
<snip>
>Just to give you a taste: what do you think the following words and
>phrases mean?
>
> -- maus bilong baret
> -- blakpela waitman
> -- bulmakau meri
> -- donabeta
> -- rintfi
> -- lesbaga
> -- laplap bilong rot
> -- liklik masta
> -- pam
> -- pakimas
> -- kan
> -- kukiboi
> -- pekpek as yu
> -- sit bilong lam
> -- sak meri
>
> The last one is from "shark" + "Mary" but means "female shark" and
>"expensive prostitute."
Rey, the only one I think I can decipher is "liklik masta," which sounds like a
female request (or offer) to a man for cunnilingam. (I took your phrase "Just
to give you a taste" as a subtle hint.) Seriously, though, Tok Pisin doesn't
look "deceptively simple and easy to pick up" to me. Please translate your
list as soon as possible ("laplap bilong rot" mean jock itch?)
George
K1912
Simon R. Hughes
> It's undoubtedly the same language; but Tok Pisin is now the
> official language of an independent nation, so it's no longer
> polite to refer to it as a pidgin.
Is creole OK?
--
Simon R. Hughes
| Mail not sent directly to | http://skrik.home.ml.org |
| my reply address will be | |
| deleted without being read. |(Last updated 1st August 1998)|
Evan Kirshenbaum
> Reinhold (Rey) Aman wrote:
>
> >Just to give you a taste: what do you think the following words and
> >phrases mean?
> >
> > -- maus bilong baret
> > -- blakpela waitman
> > -- bulmakau meri
> > -- donabeta
> > -- rintfi
> > -- lesbaga
> > -- laplap bilong rot
> > -- liklik masta
> > -- pam
> > -- pakimas
> > -- kan
> > -- kukiboi
> > -- pekpek as yu
> > -- sit bilong lam
> > -- sak meri
>
> Rey, the only one I think I can decipher is "liklik masta," which
> sounds like a female request (or offer) to a man for cunnilingam. (I
> took your phrase "Just to give you a taste" as a subtle hint.)
> Seriously, though, Tok Pisin doesn't look "deceptively simple and
> easy to pick up" to me. Please translate your list as soon as
> possible ("laplap bilong rot" mean jock itch?)
I second the request. God, I wish I could find a source for a
dictionary and/or text for this language! (Any Oceanics care to help
me out?)
I'm pretty sure that "rot" is derived from "road", so (given that this
is a list of "bad words") I'd guess something like "streetwalker".
Other WAGs: "Kan" is probably "cunt", and "kukiboi" might be a male
homosexual. "Rintfi" sounds like "rent fee", so maybe "payment for
services rendered"? Is a "blakpela waitman" anything other than a
Black person who comes from Africa rather than New Guinea/Australia?
The more I look at it, the more "pekpek as yu" looks like "kiss my
ass", but I can't remember if that's how the imperative is formed.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |It's gotten to the point where the
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |only place you can get work done is
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |at home, because no one bugs you,
|and the best place to entertain
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com |yourself is at work, because the
(650)857-7572 |Internet connections are faster.
| Scott Adams
Evan Kirshenbaum
> Thus Spake pe...@PJM2.newcastle.edu.au (Peter Moylan):
>
> > It's undoubtedly the same language; but Tok Pisin is now the
> > official language of an independent nation, so it's no longer
> > polite to refer to it as a pidgin.
>
> Is creole OK?
Yes, as long as you don't try to hold it up as an example against
Bickerton's bioprogram hypothesis. (It doesn't have the predicted
structure, but it's history also has several features that rule it out
as the type of "pure creole" that would be subject to the hypothesis.)
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
HP Laboratories |Those who would give up essential
1501 Page Mill Road, Building 1U |Liberty, to purchase a little
Palo Alto, CA 94304 |temporary Safety, deserve neither
|Liberty nor Safety.
kirsh...@hpl.hp.com | Benjamin Franklin
(650)857-7572
a1a5...@bc.sympatico.ca
>Reinhold (Rey) Aman wrote:
>
><snip>
>
>>Just to give you a taste: what do you think the following words and
>>phrases mean?
>>
>> -- maus bilong baret
>> -- blakpela waitman
>> -- bulmakau meri
>> -- donabeta
>> -- rintfi
>> -- lesbaga
>> -- laplap bilong rot
>> -- liklik masta
>> -- pam
>> -- pakimas
>> -- kan
>> -- kukiboi
>> -- pekpek as yu
>> -- sit bilong lam
>> -- sak meri
>>
>> The last one is from "shark" + "Mary" but means "female shark" and
>>"expensive prostitute."
>
>Rey, the only one I think I can decipher is "liklik masta," which sounds like a
>female request (or offer) to a man for cunnilingam. (I took your phrase "Just
>to give you a taste" as a subtle hint.) Seriously, though, Tok Pisin doesn't
>look "deceptively simple and easy to pick up" to me. Please translate your
>list as soon as possible ("laplap bilong rot" mean jock itch?)
>
>George
>
>K1912
I think that last one is what happens if you sak meri berbak.
Kathy Brunetti -- see sig
> > > While checking out the ABC site, I found that they provide news in Tok
> > > Pisin! For anyone interested in the "so near and yet so far"
> > > experience of reading a creole lexified from English, take a look at
> > >
> > > http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newsratp/
I have an anti-AIDS comic book I picked up in PNG that is in Tok Pisin.
The opening goes something like this::
Yah! Fotenight brata! Sapos yumi biem bia na pinem meri na wokem pati?
No, mi worri tumas long sik nogut olicallem AIDS.
If you know that fotenight =fortnight (pay day) and meri=woman, you can
get the rest by reading aloud. Try "Suppose you and me buy some beer,
find a woman and work up a party." The comic goes on to recommend that "Yu
stap tru onetime man o onetime meri" or at least use a "gummi o condom."
--
Kathy Brunetti
The From is a fake, courtesy of my ISP. Try this one that humans can read:
kbrunet at ns.net
av...@pacbell.net
exw...@ix.netcom.com (Bob Cunningham ) wrote:
> On Sun, 2 Aug 1998 19:25:22 +0100, Geoff Butler
> <ge...@gbutler.demon.LoseThisBit.co.uk> said:
>
> >Gary Lum <gl...@ozemail.com.au> writes:
> >>James Follett wrote:
> >>
> >>> I seem to remember kids being exposed to a Captain Pugwash character
> >>> called Seaman Staynes (sp?).
> >>
> >>Not forgetting Master Bates
> >
> >That legend isn't quite as urban as the "Seaman Staynes" one, but the
> >character in question was "Master Mate".
>
> But the punch line of the old, old joke goes: "I'd like to present my
> friends: Mr and Mrs Bates, and their son Master Bates."
Then, of course, there was "Lincoln Bates". Paging Mr. Aman!
--
Avi Jacobson | When an idea is
av...@pacbell.net | wanting, a word
| can always be found
| to take its place.
| -- Goethe
lin...@my-dejanews.com
pe...@ee.newcastle.edu.au wrote:
> vfra...@fea.net <vfra...@fea.net> wrote:
> >
> >> > While checking out the ABC site, I found that they provide news in Tok
> >> > Pisin! For anyone interested in the "so near and yet so far"
> >> > experience of reading a creole lexified from English, take a look at
> >> >
> >> > http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newsratp/
> >
> >a lexicon and a New Testament sent to me from someone living in
> >Papua New Guinea. Thanks for the web site info. This is such a FUN
> >linguistic experience!! Someone can be using it immediately, be
> >fairly functional in a month, though I am sure that native-level
> >fluency would take longer (say, 3-6 months?).
>
> official language of an independent nation, so it's no longer
> polite to refer to it as a pidgin.
>
community rather than purely as a means of communication with people from
outside that community it has become a creole. Once the language is a 'mother
tongue' it has moved along the continuum to become a language.
Or at least, that's what I recall from my days in the sociolinguistics
lectures.
Linz
Graeme Thomas
writes
>Once the language is a 'mother
>tongue' it has moved along the continuum to become a language.
pidgin, creole, or dialect) is whether it has an army or navy.
--
Graeme Thomas
Aaron J. Dinkin
<gra...@graemet.demon.co.uk> wrote:
That's just to distinguish a language from a dialect. "Pidgin" and "creole"
are absolute terms describing, respectively, the nature of a
pseudo-language and the origin of a language (as a pidgin). Haitian, for
example, has an army and a navy, I suppose, but remains a creole.
-Aaron J. Dinkin
Dr. Whom
Simon R. Hughes
> shu...@geocities.com (Simon R. Hughes) writes:
>
> > Thus Spake pe...@PJM2.newcastle.edu.au (Peter Moylan):
> >
> > > It's undoubtedly the same language; but Tok Pisin is now the
> > > official language of an independent nation, so it's no longer
> > > polite to refer to it as a pidgin.
> >
> > Is creole OK?
>
> Yes, as long as you don't try to hold it up as an example against
> Bickerton's bioprogram hypothesis. (It doesn't have the predicted
> structure, but it's history also has several features that rule it out
> as the type of "pure creole" that would be subject to the hypothesis.)
As if I would even dream of doing such a thing. %-ยง
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
> In article <6q4k0p$nkp$1...@seagoon.newcastle.edu.au>,
> pe...@ee.newcastle.edu.au wrote:
> > vfra...@fea.net <vfra...@fea.net> wrote:
> > >
> > >> > While checking out the ABC site, I found that they provide news in Tok
> > >> > Pisin! For anyone interested in the "so near and yet so far"
> > >> > experience of reading a creole lexified from English, take a look at
> > >> >
> > >> > http://www.abc.net.au/ra/newsratp/
> > >
> > >Is Tok Pisin also known as Melanesian Pidgin English? If so, I've got
> > >a lexicon and a New Testament sent to me from someone living in
> > >Papua New Guinea. Thanks for the web site info. This is such a FUN
> > >linguistic experience!! Someone can be using it immediately, be
> > >fairly functional in a month, though I am sure that native-level
> > >fluency would take longer (say, 3-6 months?).
> > It's undoubtedly the same language; but Tok Pisin is now the
> > official language of an independent nation, so it's no longer
> > polite to refer to it as a pidgin.
> Nor, indeed, accurate. Once a pidgin language starts being used within a
> community rather than purely as a means of communication with people from
> outside that community it has become a creole. Once the language is a 'mother
> tongue' it has moved along the continuum to become a language.
>
> Or at least, that's what I recall from my days in the sociolinguistics
> lectures.
Both Pete the Prof and Linz miss the point: "a pidgin" is not the same
as "Pidgin." Whether it's P.C. or not, one of the standard names for
Tok Pisin is "Pidgin," be it a pidgin, creole or language.
vfra...@fea.net
> Three to six months for native-level fluency? Think again. Five years
> for near-native-level fluency is more realistic. I know three whites --
> American, English and Australian -- who speak Tok Pisin fluently, after
> having spent many years with the natives, but they still haven't
> mastered the fine nuances.
The question mark in my original estimate indicated (quite ambiguously) a
wild guess and mild sarcasm. I have no doubt that native-level fluency takes
several years, if it can be truly achieved by one who does not grow up
speaking the language. Your humorous point is well taken.
Regardless of what category we use for this linguistic phenomenon (language,
pidgin, Pidgin, creole, etc.) it seems that the only accurate title is Tok
Pisin (it's what native speakers use). My lexicon/dictionary is 10 years old.
Any recent edition probably uses a title other than "Melanesian Pidgin
English," but I have no means of checking book stores in Papua New Guinea,
etc., at present.
Do you have any connections for obtaining an updated lexicon?
-Vince
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
> k1...@aol.com (K1912) writes:
>
> > Reinhold (Rey) Aman wrote:
> >
> > >Just to give you a taste: what do you think the following words and
> > >phrases mean?
> > >
> > > -- maus bilong baret
> > > -- blakpela waitman
> > > -- bulmakau meri
> > > -- donabeta
> > > -- rintfi
> > > -- lesbaga
> > > -- laplap bilong rot
> > > -- liklik masta
> > > -- pam
> > > -- pakimas
> > > -- kan
> > > -- kukiboi
> > > -- pekpek as yu
> > > -- sit bilong lam
> > > -- sak meri
> > Rey, the only one I think I can decipher is "liklik masta," which
> > sounds like a female request (or offer) to a man for cunnilingam.
It's clean, meaning "white boy." _Liklik_ is not what it looks like
but means "small" (from Gazelle Peninsula languages). BTW, what's
"cunnilingam," a hermaphrodite? You probably meant "lingamlingus" and
"cunnilingus."
> > (I took your phrase "Just to give you a taste" as a subtle hint.)
> > Seriously, though, Tok Pisin doesn't look "deceptively simple and
> > easy to pick up" to me. Please translate your list as soon as
> > possible ("laplap bilong rot" mean jock itch?)
It's from German _Lappen_ (a rag or cloth) + belong + road.
_Laplap_ means "loincloth, rag, skirt" and "common prostitute." _Laplap
bilong rot_ literally means "skirt of the road" = a whore. A cute one:
_laplap bilong kok_ = foreskin, lit., "cock's cloth."
> I second the request. God, I wish I could find a source for a
> dictionary and/or text for this language! (Any Oceanics care to help
> me out?)
The best place for books on Tok Pisin is Australia. The
bibliography in the _Maledicta_ article cited below has about 65 entries
and is the most up-to-date source for works on Pidgin.
> I'm pretty sure that "rot" is derived from "road", so (given that this
> is a list of "bad words") I'd guess something like "streetwalker".
Good guess. I wonder what you thought _laplap_ means.
> Other WAGs: "Kan" is probably "cunt",
It's from "cunt" but means "vulva, vagina" (i.e., it's not vulgar).
> and "kukiboi" might be a male homosexual.
Nope.
> "Rintfi" sounds like "rent fee", so maybe "payment for
> services rendered"?
Way off. _Rintfi!_ is from the German exclamation _Rindvieh!_
(lit., "cattle," a stupid person) and means the same in Tok Pisin: "You
stupid person!"
> Is a "blakpela waitman" anything other than a Black person
> who comes from Africa rather than New Guinea/Australia?
From black + fellow + white + man. It means "American Negro."
> The more I look at it, the more "pekpek as yu" looks like "kiss my
> ass", but I can't remember if that's how the imperative is formed.
You probably thought that _pekpek_ is a reduplication of _pek_,
from "to peck" = kiss. It's from pekpek + ass + you. _Pekpek_ is from
Gazelle Peninsula languages and means "shit" (verb + noun). The
exclamation _Pekpek as yu!_ means "You shit-ass!"
Anyone seriously interested in "bad words" in Tok Pisin (insults,
slurs, curses, sexual and excretory term, etc., not found in
dictionaries; plus an extensive introduction) has to read Thomas Slone's
excellent and unique "Tok Nogut" in _Maledicta_ vol. 11 (1995), pp.
75-104.
If you wanna buy the 160-page book containing this article (instead
of making illegal, copyright-violating photocopies, as many pekpek
professors do), see
http://www.sonic.net/maledicta/contents11.html
or pay about $5 more by ordering it from Amazon.com.
Reinhold (Rey) Aman
>
> > Three to six months for native-level fluency? Think again. Five years
> > for near-native-level fluency is more realistic. I know three whites --
> > American, English and Australian -- who speak Tok Pisin fluently, after
> > having spent many years with the natives, but they still haven't
> > mastered the fine nuances.
> The question mark in my original estimate indicated (quite ambiguously) a
> wild guess and mild sarcasm. I have no doubt that native-level fluency takes
> several years, if it can be truly achieved by one who does not grow up
> speaking the language. Your humorous point is well taken.
> Regardless of what category we use for this linguistic phenomenon (language,
> pidgin, Pidgin, creole, etc.) it seems that the only accurate title is Tok
> Pisin (it's what native speakers use). My lexicon/dictionary is 10 years old.
> Any recent edition probably uses a title other than "Melanesian Pidgin
> English," but I have no means of checking book stores in Papua New Guinea,
> etc., at present.
>
> Do you have any connections for obtaining an updated lexicon?
One of our Australian AUEers may order and mail you a copy. For what
to buy, check the mind-boggling bibliography on various pidgins compiled
by my friend Thomas Slone at
http://members.tripod.com/~THSlone/MPEB.html
(This info is also for Evan.)
Sasq...@my-dejanews.com
> to buy, check the mind-boggling bibliography on various pidgins compiled
> by my friend Thomas Slone at
> http://members.tripod.com/~THSlone/MPEB.html
>
> (This info is also for Evan.)
You the MAN!!! Thanks.
H.W.M.
Reinhold (Rey) Aman wrote:
> Today, on all four major TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS), the news
> readers have been avoiding the word "semen."
I wish they would then get a chance on commenting on the sperm whale !
--
Henry Wilhelm >>> henry.w @ gnwmail.com <<<
*********************************************
* I could be bounded in a nut-shell, *
* and count myself a king of infinite space,*
* were it not that I have bad dreams *
*********************************************
Evan Kirshenbaum
> One of our Australian AUEers may order and mail you a copy.
> For what to buy, check the mind-boggling bibliography on various
> pidgins compiled by my friend Thomas Slone at
> http://members.tripod.com/~THSlone/MPEB.html
>
> (This info is also for Evan.)
Thanks. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to point to anything likely
to be in print. The most likely candidate was Dutton & Thomas's 1985
_A New Course in Tok Pisin_, from ANU, but they claim that anything
before 1992 is probably unavailable.
An Amazon search for "Melanesian Pidgin" did turn up one
not-yet-published dictionary by an author in Slone's bibliography, so
there may be one available soon.
--
Evan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------
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