Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 22:39:57 EDT

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

Subject: Re: Dialects that could have been



Sure is packed in there tightly, as information goes, is it not? I suppose

there's not much choice with the word counter in effect. I'm always afraid

this sort of exercise loses the uninitiated, while it's pointless for the

well-informed. But then I remember there's folks in the middle, or those who

may need pointers.



[time out--I have "Relativity" on in the background, you know, the pilot

for the new Zwick/Herskovitz show, successor to 30-something and MSCL, and

the guy says to the woman (who has another fiance'), "If I'm not mistaken,

you just told me you can't tell me you don't love me. I'm sorry -- I'm

confused, it must be the double negatives..." Remember, these are the

folks who brought us "Is he a FRIEND friend, or a \\FRIEND// friend?"]



Anyway, it looks fine (the informatics; I'm uncommitted on Relativity yet).

Mind, I wouldn't object to a small mention of a little CLS parasession paper

on some of this stuff published in '86 or thereabouts, but I suppose I can't

(or shouldn't) insist... Speaking of bibliography, though, would you

say that Halliday 1967 is a direct link to Lambrecht, or just an earlier

mention of the term "information structure"? I somehow don't see Lambrecht as

in Halliday's tradition, but I could be wrong (and I don't have the book on

me). If not, Halliday can maybe just be added to the "Other approaches"

sentence at the end, and I'd want Kuno 1972 in there too, and maybe a direct

mention of functional sentence perspective (with Firbas cited there along with

Kuno). What do you think? And should we throw Givon a bone (no rhyme

intended)? L