Date:    Mon, 15 Jun 1998 10:56:30 -0500
<br>From:    Mark Mandel <Mark[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]DRAGONSYS.COM>
<br>Subject: PREPONE
<br>
<br>This word, especially written in uppercase (all caps), has been in my vocabulary for some 20 years, but not very
<br>actively, and not exactly in English. Let me explain.
<br>
<br>In American Sign Language (ASL) the sign usually glossed 'postpone' -- or 'POSTPONE', according to the common
<br>convention of referring to signs by uppercase glosses (useful, sloppy, let's not get into that here) -- incorporates a
<br>forward movement. This movement goes along ASL's morphological time line, which maps distant past, near past,
<br>present, near future, and distant future onto a continuum along the sagittal (back-front) axis and is basic to time
<br>representation.
<br>
<br>Not surprisingly (in terms of ASL morphology), the sign has an antonym, differing only in the direction of the movement:
<br>backwards (toward the signer). "PREPONE" was the logical gloss for this sign. I don't know how long it has been in use
<br>among sign linguists and interpreters; it may have been already standard when I came to the field in 1975 or so.
<br>
<br>I'm not putting this forward as an antedate or to force anyone to back down, and I don't see any evidence that the word
<br>advanced into broader use from this cross-lingual background. But it is a usage, albeit limited, that has existed in the US
<br>for decades.
<br>
<br>-- Mark
<br>
<br>       Mark A. Mandel : Senior Linguist : mark[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]dragonsys.com
<br>    Dragon Systems, Inc. : speech recognition : +1 617 796-0267
<br> 320 Nevada St., Newton, MA 02160, USA : http://www.dragonsys.com/
<br>