Date:  Sat, 3 Feb 1996 19:27:47 EST

From:  Larry Horn <LHORN[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]YALEVM.CIS.YALE.EDU>

Subject: Re: socks and shoes



Lynne Murphy objects,



>all the conjunction rules have failed to explain to me why we have

>the twin cities of champaign-urbana, illinois, wherein there is the

>university of illinois at urbana-champaign.



Au contraire. The former order follows from the fact that Champaign (58,000

or so) is larger and presumptively more important than Urbana (35,000 or so)

in the view of Illinois or the world as a whole, while the latter is explained

by the greater significance of Urbana with respect to Champaign in the context

of the University of Illinois. In particular, while departments and

university buildings may be scattered across both communities, it is Urbana

which has always housed linguistics.



--Larry