With apologies to our readers who might already know, Indefinite Hyperbolic Numerals* (IHNs) are words like zillion, jillion, and umpteen. Or, to be exact : “Indefinite hyperbolic numerals (IHN) are words that (1) resemble numerals morphologically, and (2) act as numerals morphosyntactically within numeral phrases, yet (3) whose direct numerical referent remains indefinite.” For an […]
Tag: words
The RAT Trace, the CAT Trace, and the MAN Trace
Say “rat”, say “cat”, and say “man”. Then read this study, if you want to: “Phonological similarity and trace degradation in the serial recall task: when CAT helps RAT, but not MAN,” Anthony B. Fallon, Kim Groves, and, Gerald Tehan, International Journal of Psychology, vol. 34, nos. 5/6, 1999, pp. 301-307. The photo, warped though it […]
Speaking whilst breathing-in (not restricted to ventriloquists)
Humans mostly tend to ‘breathe out’ whilst speaking (or making other vocalisations). Mostly but not exclusively. So-called Ingressive Speech is quite prevalent worldwide – and not just amongst ventriloquists. Take for example, a Scottish male saying “Aye aye I ken” (“Yes, yes I know”). [.wav audio file here] http://www.ida.liu.se/~robek28/audio/ingressive-Eklund_JIPA_2008_Fig_7b_ingr-aye_egr-aye-i-ken_male.wav Robert Eklund, who is Associate Professor […]
It’s complicated, dude (sociolinguistic investigations)
Scott F. Kiesling, who is a Sociolinguistic Professor at the Cathedral of Learning, Department of Linguistics, University of Pittsburgh, reminds us, via his blog, that complexity abounds. “I find myself saying (usually to myself), several times a day: “It’s not that simple!” One of things that really gets to me about the world is the […]