Colloquial Terms Research Articles

Attributes of Questions and Interviewers as Correlates of Interviewing Performance

A basic tenet of survey research is that respondents must answer standardized questions. Consequently, interviewers are trained to ask questions verbatim. Yet evidence from monitoring studies shows that interviewers frequently depart from the prescribed wording (Brenner 1982; Cannell, Lawson, and Hausser 1975; Marquis 1971). A few studies have explored the correlates of this error, such as question features or interviewer characteristics. Cannell and Robison (1971) found open questions were less apt to be misread than closed ones. The same effect was observed by Mathiowetz and Cannell (1980) and Bradburn, Sudman, et al. (1979), but it was very small. By contrast, Oksenberg (1981) reported that open questions were more likely to be misread than closed ones. In their experimental comparison with sensitive items, Bradburn, Sudman, et al. (1979) found interviewers made somewhat fewer reading errors when questions were short than when they were lengthened by nonsubstantive introductions and when they contained standard language as opposed to colloquial terms. In addition, they reported that older interviewers and those with the longest experience made more errors, but these differences were not statistically significant. The present study replicates parts of this earlier work and extends it to other interviewer and question characteristics. We reasoned that the less exposure interviewers had to a question the less likely it would be read verbatim. If this is true, then questions that are part of frequently invoked skip patterns would be misread more often. Two considerations led us to expect that the later a question ap-

Reviewing a festschrift: what are we doing with our scientific lives?

Writing reviews of festschrifts is a dangerous occupation for at least two reasons. A review of a festschrift may mistakenly be treated as a review of the person whom it is intended to honour. Even if this misunderstanding is avoided, a review of a festschrift is fraught with unknown risks, like a walk along a dark road on a stormy night. It affects a network of people who know one another in mysterious ways. Who better than ecologists to know that negative feedback in one area of a network may provoke catastrophic responses from another unexpected area of the network? Or, to put it in more colloquial terms, 'let sleeping dogs lie'. My own recent experience in this area is that sleeping dogs may not only be testy when awakened, they may be positively rabid (Harvey 1990). Life is short, and who needs more enemies, right? (Reviewing an ordinary symposium volume may give similar problems, but I will concentrate on festschrifts now.) Not long ago I spoke to a colleague who privately voiced misgivings about a festschrift he was reviewing. (I thought 'mixed feelings' was actually a charitable assessment.) Yet when the review appeared, it was as if the reviewer had experienced a miraculous conversion on the road to Damascus. Presumably he had considered the above constraints, and stepped quietly around the dog. Even if one avoids these two political minefields, reviewing a festschrift can strike at the heart of our deepest, darkest fears as ecologists: what are we doing with our scientific lives? Are we really getting anywhere? Recent experience with symposia and symposium volumes suggests to me that if the Wright brothers had been ecologists, we would still be sailing to Europe to attend symposia where groups of ecologists discussed the many different shapes and colours of wings one finds in birds and butterflies. Is it our pastime to get together in groups and give erudite papers about old problems citing the latest work of our friends, or is it our profession to make concrete progress towards solving real problems? I enjoy going out for a beer with friends as much as the next person (and possibly more), but don't need a scholarly symposium as an excuse to socialize. I am increasingly convinced, however, that many practitioners of ecology enjoy getting together to talk about the plants and animals they have seen, without any real concern for the discipline. Peters (1980) has already written about this distinction between natural history and ecology, but given how rarely this paper is cited, one presumes that this fundamental distinction doesn't trouble most workers on a day-to-day basis. But I digress. Being aware of the above pitfalls, let me lay out in advance four criteria which we may use to evaluate festschrifts. I offer them here explicitly in the hope that they will constrain future reviewers, and future planning committees for festschrifts (and symposium volumes in general). 1. Is there a clear, focused, timely theme? 2. Does the literature cited provide students with an overview of key references? 3. Are there significant new insights into the selected theme? 4. If none of the above, do the papers at least illustrate the diversity of approaches being used, providing graduate students with a tool box?

Meet MIRAT Legal Reasoning Fragmented Into Learnable Chunks

The ubiquitous aim of legal education is for students to learn how “to think like lawyers”. It has often been noted that this is a frustratingly imprecise educational goal. Nevertheless, some students stumble upon, or methodically work out, an analytical style of thought, writing and speaking which is rewarded at law school by nods, ticks, high grades, scholarships and envy. “Thinking like a lawyer” is also a depressingly inaccurate goal as we know very little about how the many sub-cultures of lawyers think, speak or behave. In the writer’s limited experience, most lawyers think, speak and write in layers of styles and street cunning which often obscure the foundational analytical style (rightly) emphasised in foundational legal learning. What is this analytical style of expression that is a part of the behaviour of many lawyers? Certainly it is a deviant style as most lawyers tend to stand our so quickly in a meeting (and not only due to their confidence, motor vehicles and dress patterns). In colloquial terms lawyers’ contributions to any discussion tend to be exact, argumentative, insightful, reserved, balanced, evasive, obscurantist, precise and uncommitted. 4 Can the learning process at law school towards these much admired, sometimes despised qualities, be demystified? Behaviourist or task analysis approaches to education are creeping into law schools mainly via the current interest in learning “skills”.

What do you call a person from. . .?: a dictionary of resident names

This dictionary deals with place name derivatives, and catalogues many different words, places and people. It also looks at the origins of nicknames, slang and colloquial terms.

Sons and Lovers: A Novel of Division and Desire , and: The Legacy of D. H. Lawrence , and: D. H. Lawrence: New Studies (review)

Reviewed by: Sons and Lovers: A Novel of Division and Desire, and: The Legacy of D. H. Lawrence, and: D. H. Lawrence: New Studies Daniel R. Schwarz Ross C. Murfin . Sons and Lovers: A Novel of Division and Desire. Boston: Twayne, 1987. 147 pp. $18.95. Jeffrey Meyers , ed. The Legacy of D. H. Lawrence. New York: St. Martin's, 1987. 207 pp. $25.00. Christopher Heywood , ed. D. H. Lawrence: New Studies. New York: St. Martin's, 1987. 184 pp. $25.00. In the past decade we have had many excellent specialized studies of Lawrence. But, in my judgment, Lawrence now needs a substantial synthesizing critical study that takes account of what we now know of his historical and personal background and of his relation to other writers and thinkers. Collectively, the books under review certainly contribute to our understanding of Lawrence. Yet what we need is a major study by a powerful critic, who would create a dialogue between texts and theory, between newer theory and traditional approaches, even while sifting through the vast research on Lawrence with intelligence and verve. Among the questions that should be asked: How and why did Lawrence's form develop and evolve? How did his concept of character and characterization change? How does his "carbon" theory of the psyche as outlined in the famous letter to Garnett reflect developments in the English and European cultural and intellectual milieu? What are the appropriate theoretical questions to ask about Lawrence's language? Do we need an aesthetic and narratology for Lawrence that is different from the other writers of the modern British period? How does Lawrence's language signify in the intense and strained passages, such as the opening and closing chapters of The Rainbow and the famous "Ever and Again" passage of the chapter "Anna Victrix"? How can we discuss the symbolic speech acts of such works as The Man Who Died and St. Mawr? How does Lawrence's use of idiomatic and colloquial speech undermine such poststructuralist master terms as "writerly"? How does Lawrence use his letters as a threshing ground to test his ideas and fictional voices? (Of The Rainbow he wrote: "Now you will find [Freida] and me in the novel, I think, and the work is of both of us" [#718, Letters].) What are the reasons that his political fiction founders? Is Lawrence less a primitive and more of an intellectual—albeit a quirky one—than we thought? Ross C. Murfin's study of Sons and Lovers is part of a new Twayne Series devoted to individual works. Apparently, each of these volumes will abide by a formula that stipulates chapters on "Historical Context," "The Importance of the Work," and "Critical Reception" before doing a critical analysis and concluding with an annotated bibliography. If, as I suspect, these books are intended for a student audience and for prospective teachers, it would be nice if they were available in inexpensive paperbacks. Murfin is a sophisticated critic whose prior work on Lawrence's poetry deserves respect and makes him a good choice for such a volume. Murfin reads closely and is attentive to the novel's intricacy and evolving form; he discusses the Miriam-Paul relationship with insight and sees how Paul is the source of their problems: "Lawrence's achievement lies in suggesting that there is a tragic tension inside the self—between primoridal instinct and modern Western reason, between sensuality and a counterforce called 'virginity,' even between 'male' and 'female' habits and yearnings—that produces tragic conflicts without." But if this is Lawerence's achievement, does it happen in part because of the breakdown in distance? One wonders if Murfin shouldn't be somewhat self-conscious about [End Page 279] method and show an awareness of the current critical environment. I believe that the oscillating relationship between Lawrence and the narrator as well as between the narrator and Paul is crucial to the form of Sons and Lovers and to the interpretation of every scene. Although Murfin alludes to these relationships, he needs to be more aware of them, and the issue of how we discuss an author in a text needs to be addressed. While this is not...

Making sense of 'keratospeak'. A classification of refractive corneal surgery.

Most specialized fields develop their own technical terminology and jargon. Corneal surgery is no exception. The penchant for professional shorthand has produced jargon such as keratorefractive surgery, a Greek-Latin hybrid that flows easily from the tongue and pen of those enamored by neologisms. Some surgeons have become keratotomists, and their patients are keratotomized. Words have been invented, such aslenticle, instead of the correct term,lenticule—the piece of tissue or synthetic material used to change corneal shape. Commercial trademarked terms have appeared; the donor lenticule used in epikeratoplasty has been dubbed Kerato-Lens. Eponyms abound. Common use of some colloquial terms has fixed them in our vocabulary. For example, some say myopic (Is the keratomileusis myopic?), instead of the more precise designation, keratomileusis for myopia. Thus far we have been spared myopic radial keratotomy. To clarify the language we use in this rapidly changing area of ophthalmology, I propose

Anomie and drug use in high school students.

The use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs as it relates to anomie was studied in 11th grade students. A questionnaire was administered to 1,314 11th grade students which included Srole's Anomie Scale as well as items pertaining to the usage of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, LSD, heroin, amphetamines, barbiturates, and methaqualone. The name of each drug was given along with the colloquial terms typically used to identify each drug. Substance users showed significantly higher anomie scores than nonusers on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, LSD, amphetamines, and barbiturates. Although the results were not statistically significant for cocaine, heroin, or methaqualone, the differences between substance users and nonusers were all in the predicted direction.

Appalachian: People, Dialect and Communication Problems

There were three major purposes of this research: (1) to determine the linguistic structure of the Appalachian region in terms of functional vocabulary, misused words, colloquial terms and corrected functional vocabulary; an overall list of misused words, their corrected forms, colloquial terms and their explanations were developed; (2) to determine the relationship between education, urban contact and media contact and functional vocabulary, misused words, colloquial terms and corrected functional vocabulary; and (3) to determine the relationship of age, sex and income to functional vocabulary, misused words, colloquial terms and corrected functional vocabulary. An analysis of 117 hours of spoken discourse, or 471,656 words, revealed that rustic speakers have a smaller functional vocabulary than modern and cultured speakers, and modern speakers have a smaller vocabulary than cultured speakers in six states. The variations in average functional vocabulary were greatest among rustic and least for cultured speakers. The data supports the hypothesis that rustic speakers misuse more words than modem speakers and modern speakers misuse more words than cultured speakers. The corrected functional vocabulary increases with an increase in the degree of an individual's linguistic sophistication. An overall variation of 19.4 percent of Appalachian English from the “standard English” leads us to believe that there is a distinct pattern or linguistic structure throughout the Appalachian region.

Arthur Miller And The Common Man's Language

THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, Arthur Miller has shown a marked tendency to argue general propositions in colloquial terms. "Listen!" a character shouts in "That They May Win" (1944), a one-act play about returning veterans: "We the people gotta go into politics. Politics is just another way of saying how much rent you'll pay; and how much bread, chopped meat and milk your food dollar will buy, and what you'll have to pay for junior's new shoes! You have to go to those Senators and Congressmen you elected and say, 'Listen here, Mister! We're your boss, and you have to work for us!'" Later, of course, Miller became more adept at shaping an outlook with the mannerisms as well as the rational content of speech, but all his writing reveals his penchant for voicing ethical abstractions, usually of wide social relevance. This habit evidences high seriousness; unfortunately, it has also caused stylistic problems.

Studies in Chinese Communist Terminology. By Li Chi. Berkeley: East Asia Studies, Institute of International Studies, University of California. [No. 1] General Trends of Chinese Linguistic Changes under Communist Rule. July 1956. iii, 42. [No. 2] Preliminary Study of Selected Terms. July 1956. 24. No. 3, Part I, Literary and Colloquial Terms in New Usage; Part II, Terms Topped by

Studies in Chinese Communist Terminology. By Li Chi. Berkeley: East Asia Studies, Institute of International Studies, University of California. [No. 1] General Trends of Chinese Linguistic Changes under Communist Rule. July 1956. iii, 42. [No. 2] Preliminary Study of Selected Terms. July 1956. 24. No. 3, Part I, Literary and Colloquial Terms in New Usage; Part II, Terms Topped by Numerals. April 1957. Lx, 51. No. 4, Part I, The Communist Term “The Common Language” and Related Terms; Part II, Dialectal Terms in Common Usage; Part III, Literary and Colloquial Terms in New Usage (continued). Dec. 1957. iv, 88 (mimeo). - Volume 17 Issue 4

Glossary of Colloquial and Dialect Rock Terms

English Rock Terms Chiefly as Used by Miners and Quarrymen. By Dr. W. J. Arkell and Dr. S. I. Tomkeieff. (University of Durham Publications.) Pp. xx + 140. (London: Oxford University Press, 1953.) 21s. net.

A List of Slang and Colloquial Expressions of Mexico City

U NDOUBTEDLY all language teachers at one time or another have had students ask them the meaning of certain slang or colloquial expressions either in their own language or in the particular foreign language they are studying. Frequently, in reading Mexican literature, the student runs across terms and expressions which are peculiar to the country and even to a certain region or locality. Sometimes these expressions may be classified as colloquial and others they may be classed as slang or even cal6 or germania. The visitor in Mexico constantly hears expressions that are not part of his college or high school Spanish. With this in mind, I decided to compile the following list. In gathering material for it I came across a similar compilation for the southwestern part of the United States.' The similarity is amazing at first, but when we think of the influx of Mexicans into that section of the country, it is understandable. However, many changes in the meaning of a word or expression can be pointed out. A great many expressions which may seem contemporary to modern Mexicans are already found in Fernandez de Lizardi, Guillermo Prieto, Cuellar, etc. The slang and colloquial terms presented here are the product of my high school and college days in Mexico City and my familiarity with the language during subsequent visits as well as a study of vocabulary used by contemporary Mexican novelists. No attempt has been made at compiling a definitive Vocabulario de mexicanismos, but merely an introductory glossary is here presented. Many vulgar terms are included which should be used in public only under expert guidance to avoid embarrassment. The list includes expressions which have been used in or around Mexico City in the past twenty or twenty-five years; though, of course, many of these terms have come directly from Spain and have thrived for centuries in Mexico. Some have suffered Aztec influence; others retained their old Spanish flavor and meaning. We leave it up to more expert linguistic students to make a scientific study of these and similar terms. Our task is limited to the presentation of these words and the clarification of their

The Problem of Vocabulary Levels in Teaching French

Author's Summary— Teachers of French insist upon too rigorous a standard in the quality of French. They reject as “bad French” good colloquial terms used by cultivated people. Professor Fries has shown that no odium attaches to the word “colloquial.” The French scholars, Dauzat and Damourette and Pichon, have proved that there is small difference between literary French and good colloquial French. Students must understand various levels of vocabulary if they are to read intelligently. Care should be taken in textbooks to indicate the levels of vocabulary by signs. Suitable translation requires an adequate knowledge of both English and French. The life of American slang is much shorter than that of French slang.)

The British Woodlice, being a Monograph of the Terrestrial Isopod Crustacea occurring in the British Islands

AT present in England there are only two dozen species of these little land crustaceans on record. The number, combined with their love of obscurity, may remind us of the regal feast at which four-and-twenty blackbirds were served up concealed in a pasty. When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing. In correspondence with the daintiness of such a dish, the apostles of œcology are now earnestly trying to persuade society that all nature is tuneful. Those who are afflicted with toneless ears may assume a haughty indifference towards the resounding harmony, while they are themselves the objects of pity rather than of pride. The bright little volume under review is an excellent example of what can be done under the new impulse given to the old practice of “nature-study.” It shows how members of our fauna, that have long suffered from negligent and contemptuous treatment, may in friendly hands receive their proper meed of appreciation. Though, out of deference to tradition, the book goes by the unprepossessing name of “The British Woodlice,” its subtitle redeems the subject from prejudice by assigning it to its true place in classification. The many scurrilous colloquial terms that have been applied to these terrestrial isopods have, to the ordinary observer, obscured the fact that they are really made of one flesh and blood with the epicure's cherished treasures, the lobster and the prawn. Their use medicinally in old times would probably have been robbed of half its charm had this been understood, since in those days curative agencies seem to have been valued in proportion to the pain and disgust they inflicted on the patient. So lately as 1883, W. G. Black, in his “Folk Medicine,” writes:— The British Woodlice, being a Monograph of the Terrestrial Isopod Crustacea occurring in the British Islands. By Wilfred Mark Webb Charles Sillem. Pp. x + 54; with 25 plates and 59 figures in the text. (London: Duckworth and Co., 1906.) Price 6s. net.