Table of Contents
1. Self ...in
which our hero advertises himself : résumé, images of qualification
documents, references, photograph, publications etc.
2. Teacher Training Materials - lectures
delivered by Thor in South Korea to graduate trainee teachers
- 2b. Seminars given by Thor to Chinese English teachers, 2008
3. Samples of ESL Teaching Materials ... brain surgery with a blunt axe
4. Language Teaching Methodology & Critique ...a selection of papers
5. Technical Stuff .... papers in a) linguistics, and b) other
technical writing (reports etc.)
6. Thor's Unwise Ideas - a forum
for The Passionate Skeptic with regular additions
7. Thor's Korea Diary (September
2000 ~ )
8. Thor's
China Diary (August 1998 - July 2000)
9. Thor's Travel
Notes - Miscellaneous travel essays
10. Photography - The world caught with a sideways glance
11. Poems...time
out
12. Stories
... tales from long ago and far away
13. Links
to Other Sites
14. The Plain & Fancy Language
Company - Thor's editing service
15. Thor's Shop -
Books 'n stuff Thor has for sale (or would like to have for sale !)
16. Thor's Videos - quick spoken productions for YouTube.com from materials on this site.
[go to top]1.Self ...in which our hero advertises himself
- A formal Curriculum Vitae
A detailed description of Teaching Experience
A statement of Teaching Philosophy
Print Publication List
Photos of Thor
Australian Passport - Thorold May (page 1) : available on authorized request
Thor's The Ages of Man, Part 5 (a YouTube.come video autobiography of the years in South Korea, 2000 to early 2007)
The other parts of "The Ages of Man" can be seen on the Video Page
(Thor May 2005 - qualifications translated into Korean : pdf file)
Documentation for Thor May
1. Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Candidate, 2006-2008, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Thesis topic : "Language Tangle : Predicting and Facilitating Outcomes in Language Education".The thesis has been examined (mid 2008) and revisions requested. A chapter summary and conclusion from this thesis can be seen here.
2a. Master of Applied Linguistics, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia - Testamur 2005 (The University of Newcastle is a government owned university).
2b. Transcript - Master of Applied Linguistics, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia 2005; [high distinction in all subjects]
2c.Transcript key - Master of Applied Linguistics, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia4. Master of Arts in Formal & Applied Linguistics,Greenwich University, Hawaii 1994 - This document no longer has formal recognition since the supporting university became defunct in 2004. However, certified transcripts are available under the stewardship of Akamai University at http//www.greenwich.edu. The degree itself was based on extensive prior doctoral research and publication at the University of Newcastle, NSW, and examined by staff there who are still willing to certify its standard.
- Diploma Document
4b. Master of Arts in Formal & Applied Linguistics
- Thesis Approval Document
4c. Master of Arts in Formal & Applied Linguistics
- Thesis - "Purposive Constructions in English"
4d. Master of Arts in Formal & Applied Linguistics
- Degree Approval Document
4e. Master of Arts in Formal & Applied Linguistics
- Transcript Document 1
4f. Master of Arts in Formal & Applied Linguistics
- Transcript Document 2
4g. Master of Arts in Formal & Applied Linguistics
- Transcript Document 3
5. Masters Qualifying in Linguistics. 1st Class Honours (Equivalent) - Letter of Approval University of Newcastle NSW, Australia (1978). The research essays supporting this were also reviewed by an external examiner (Macquarie University). Most institutions today would document this one year program as a coursework Masters degree.
6. Bachelor of Arts - Testamur Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand (1974); majors in Linguistics and Social Anthropology
13. Bachelor of Arts - Transcript Document (1974)
7. Postgraduate Diploma of Teaching - Transcript Document Auckland Secondary Teachers College, New Zealand (1975; now a division of Auckland University); Teaching English as a Second Language specialization. Many institutions today would document this one year program as a coursework Masters degree.
8 . RSA/Cambridge Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language 1996, Melbourne
9 PhD Enrolment Records, University of Melbourne, Australia, 1991, 1992, 1993 [note that Australian PhDs are on the British model, which does not involve coursework and therefore does not yield transcripts. The thesis production to date (about 50,000 words) has been fully supervised by Professor Nicholas Evans, and may be viewed on this website under Generative Oscillation, as well as the published paper, Postsupposition and Pastiche Talk]
References - Korea
6. Letter of Recommendation, April 2007, from Professor Park Byungjoo, Department of English, Chungju National University, 123 Geomdon-ri, Iryu-myeon, Chungju-shi, Chungbuk 380702, South Korea. Tel. +82 (0)43 841 5497; e-mail bjpark@cjnu.ac.kr. Professor Park hired me for Chungju National University in 2004.
5. Letter of Recomendation from the Graduate TESOL Students
of Pusan University of Foreign Studies, 2004 [in Korean]In 2003-2004 Thor May lectured these students in English Grammar and Second Language Acquisition for a graduate certificate in TESOL (the course content is listed here). This course was taught to international standards and accepted for cross-crediting for a Masters in TESOL at various American universities. (Although the program was in English, the students felt they could express their intentions more precisely here in Korean).
4 Letter of Recommendation from Professor Han Young-ju
Dean of General English at Youngsan University, Bansong-dong Campus
Youngsan University, 249 Bansong-dong 612743, Busan, South Korea
tel. 82 +051 540 7273; e-mail yjhan@ysu.ac.kr
Professor Han Young-ju was my immediate superior in 2003
3. Letter of Recommendation from Professor Chon Hong-sik
Director of the Institute of Language Education
Youngsan University, 249 Bansong-dong 612743, Busan, South Korea
tel. 82 +051 540 7250; cell phone 011 855 1761; e-mail chonhs52@ysu.ac.kr
Professor Chon Hong-sik was responsible for my initial engagement
by Sungsim College (nowYoungsan University) in 2000
2. Letter of Recommendation (in English) from Professor Eunjoong Kang
Letter of Recommendation (in Korean) from Professor Eunjoong Kang
Professor, School of Asian Business, Youngsan University
San 150, Junam-ri, Ungsang-up, Yangsan-shi, Gyongnam 626-847, South Korea
tel. 82 +55 386 9114; fax 82 +55 383 4374; e-mail ejk@ysu.ac.kr
Professor Eunjoong Kang was Dean of Academic Affairs & President
at the time of my initial appointment to Sungsim College** in 2000
[**note: in 2003 Sungsim College of Foreign Languages was absorbed
by Youngsan University]
1. Letter of Recommendation (in Korean) from Professor Kang Uk-ki
Professor of Korean, French and English, Youngsan University
249 Bansong-dong 612743, Busan, South Korea
tel. 82 +055 380 9213; h.p. 016 557 5116; e-mail kang@ysu.ac.krParent's & Associates' References - Korea
1. Letter of recommendation from Dr Jeong Jin-Hwan, PhD, dental surgeon. From January 2007 until August 2007 I did a 2 hour language exchange twice a week with Dr Jeong and his family in Chungju, South Korea. His contact: mobile 82 +02 043 854 1298.2. Letter of recommendation (Korean) from Mrs Seong Su-jeong, teacher and parent
Sungsim Information High School, 249 Bansong-dong 612743, Busan, South Korea
tel. 82 +051 542 1810; e-mail ssj5020@hanmail.net
She observed my children's classes regularly.
3. Letter of recommendation (English) from Mrs Kim Jung-hee, teacher and parent
Letter of recommendation (Korean) from Mrs Kim Jung-hee, teacher and parent
Sungsim Information High School, 249 Bansong-dong 612743, Busan, South Korea
tel. 017-596-1170; e-mail birog@hanmail.net
She observed my children's classes regularly.References - China
1. Letter of Recommendation from Professor Zhang Longsheng,
Head of the Teaching Group for Graduates, Dept. General English,
Huazhong (= Central China~) Normal University, Wuhan, China;
tel. 86 +27 8767 24 51 ; fax 86 +27 8787 6070 ; March 2000
2. Letter of Recommendation from Mr. Zhai Jianjun,
Director of the International Office, Huazhong (= Central China~)
Normal University, Wuhan, China; tel./fax 86 +27 8787 5696
e-mail ccnuwb@public.wh.hb.cn ; March 2000
3. Letter of Recommendation, from Dean of Studies, Hubei Foreign Trade School
Wuhan, China; fax [86] 27- 8780 3917; tel. [86] 27 - 8780 2011;
January 2000
4. Letter of Recommendation [in Chinese] from Mr Heng Bin,
Dean of Studies, Affiliated Middle School, Wuhan University of Hydraulic
& Electrical Engineering Wuhan, China; e-mail bheng@wuhee.edu.cnReferences - Australia
1. Certification and Recommendation from Professor Nicholas Evans, University of Melbourne, on Doctoral Research work [2004]
2. Statement of Service / Reference from Kangan Batman Institute of TAFE, 1998
3.. Statement of Service / Reference from Batman Institute of TAFE, 1997
4. Letter of Appreciation from the Director of John Batman Institute of TAFE
5. Reference from Professor N.R. Cattell, University of Newcastle, NSW
6. Note of Appreciation from Assoc. Professor Nicholas Evans, University of
Melbourne, on my withdrawal from a Ph.D. candidacy in 1996
7. Letter of Appreciation/Reference from the Co-ordinator, Language Studies,
Northern Metropolitan TAFE, Victoria, 1995
8. Reference from the Victorian Supervisor, Adult Migrant Education, 1978
Sales Awards [.. for a few months in 1998, between jobs, I decided to pay the rent by working in telesales. The pitch was to solicit donations for a charity, then put in a hard-sell on gift items. The ethics were uncomfortable, and it was tough cold-calling ! But I learned some useful lessons, and managed to score a few bouquets ... ]
1. April 1998 -- Highest donations for the month -- Postel Australia
2. May 1998 -- Highest donations for the month -- Postel Australia
3. May 1998 -- Salesperson of the month -- Postel Australia
4. May 1998 -- Sales Team of the month -- Postel Australia
Lectures for trainee teachers on Language Acquisition
Lectures for trainee teachers on Language Acquisition
- both lecture series were delivered to graduate trainee teachers in a South Korean university as part of a TEFL certificate course, cross-credited to articulate into Masters programs in a number of American universities.
- the materials here include Powerpoint slides, and links to extensive resources
3.Samples of ESL Teaching Materials
...brain surgery with a blunt axe
Overall index of materials prepared for ESL, including those developed in South Korea. Also an extensive list of links to ESL/EFL resources.Materials developed specifically for tertiary students in South Korea. Most of these students have been at the lower end of the tertiary ability scale, with very limited English language skills.
English for Mechanics ..Paragraph Units on Topics in Automotive Mechanics for teaching to NESB students (non-English speaking background) and others
Over ninety units of this material have been written and trialed with overseas trained mechanics who are learning English in Australia. It has also been used with unskilled immigrant men who are interested in mechanics. In 1996 it was licensed for use by a mining company in Indonesia. The content requires some further development, especially with regard to diagrams and extra learning activities.English for Mechanics is for sale commercially by download or as a printed book, so only sample extracts are provided on this web site.
Short Texts from Oz .. ..Paragraph Units on topics drawn from Australian culture and lifestyle for teaching to NESB students (non-English speaking background) and others
Sixty-eight units of material are displayed here. All the units have been trialed over a number of courses with adult immigrants to Australia. Each unit is accompanied by about ten questions. The content is intended to be delivered and questioned orally (after dicussion and priming for vocabulary), then distributed in written form later. It can be put to many uses, and should be adapted flexibly, expanding or contracting units for particular situations. Although the themes are Australian, their application is often universal and interesting cultural contrasts can be made. Short Texts From Oz can thus be used with foreign language students as well as immigrants.
Bus to Heaven A quirky story of unexpected events in an ordinary life... for teaching to NESB students
Practice Dialogues for English Conversation
These little dialogues are best practised between pairs of students in a class after modelling by the teacher. They are deliberately a bit whimsical (that helps recall) and should be delivered with expression. Most of the scripts were written for industrial students in the city of Melbourne, Australia.
![Letter of Recommendation [in Chinese] from Mr Heng Bin](tmref_hengbin2.gif){kind=link}
4. Language Teaching Methodology & Critique
... a selection of papers
Basic Tips for Language Teachers 2300 words; seminar outline, 2008
Abstract : This is an outline from one of a monthly series of seminars by Thor May on teaching skills. The seminars are given as a teacher inservice for Chinese English teachers in Zhengzhou, Henan, China. This seminar was conducted on 10 June 2008
The notes consist of three parts :
1. Some short backround notes on the profession of teaching languages;
2. A few useful links for teaching tips and content;
3. A collection of ten activities which the seminar presenter has invented or borrowed, and found to be popular with students.
Grammar for Language Teachers 1595 words; seminar outline, 2008
Abstract : This is the outline of a seminar on grammar teaching given as a teacher inservice for Chinese English teachers in Zhengzhou, Henan, China, on 13 May 2008. Thor May is currently (2008) employed as a "foreign expert" (language) in a joint venture between Holmes Colleges (China & Australia) and Zhengzhou Railway Vocational & Technical College. He has been teaching language and linguistics since 1976.
Fractional Language Learning; 5218 words;published at Asian EFL Journal Quarterly Vol. 9, No.4, December 2007; presentation : Global Congress English International Language Conference, Korea University, Seoul, May 26, 2007
Abstract : Many users of a second language, especially English, have little productive mastery of the language. Rather, some requirement in their life forces them to use limited subroutines (maybe quite small and formulaic) which are effectively encapsulated as special elements within L1.
This paper proposes that fractional language learning is a valid objective for large numbers of users, and briefly examines some of the contexts in which it has a pragmatic application. It notes that much fractional language learning occurs outside of formal educational environments, and then goes on to consider how both the classroom teaching and evaluation can be adapted to give proper recognition to student achievements on a fractional scale. The paper suggests that this kind of graduated recognition is in fact likely to enhance outcomes across the full spectrum of language teaching, and can be consciously incorporated into curriculum design.
A paradigm shift to teacher acceptance (and community acceptance) of fractional language learning has strong implications for assessment practices. Most current measures of language assessment offer little or no recognition to the achievements of learners in the pre-production phase of acquisition. Attempts at language use in this phase are routinely punished by existing assessment tools. Partly as a result of this discouragement, large numbers of students never progress to independent language production. Fractional language objectives are one remedy for this deep flaw in language teaching outcomes. [more]
Corruption and Other Distortions as Variables in Language Education ; 8877 words; (pre-publication draft on this site); TESOL Law Journal, Vol.2 March 2008
Abstract : This paper examines some of the ways in which foreign language education has been affected by corrupt practices and various other distortions of best teaching practice. Particular attention is paid to South Korea. The nature of corruption and its social origins are identified. Pressures affecting students, teachers and institutions are all seen to play a part. It is noted that mass education is a simulation which leaves space for fraud, whereas actual live language performance is its own test. Perhaps as a consequence, the gradual insertion of a new language code like English into a speech community might succeed over the long term even where immediate educational practices suggest failure.When Grammar Doesn't Help (an analysis of the role of grammar in language teaching), [ 6000 words; external publication pending; pre-publication draft on this site]
Abstract : This paper questions the role of grammar in language teaching and learning. Firstly it identifies the constituencies in academic language teaching, and their often conflicting notions of language programs. Several kinds of learners are discussed, with particular attention to the large group who are uncomfortable with any technical analysis, including formal grammars. Some conventional ideas about what a natural language grammar actually is are challenged. The consequences of a connectionist view of language processing are briefly explored. The power of collocation sets is identified as a key to language acquisition. Language is set in the broader cognitive context of memory processes and patterns of generalization. Pedagogical grammars are viewed as forced external generalizations with little organic presence in memory, but some suggestions are made about how to make use of them. Actual student language memory, as well as teacher self-insight into L1 are both contrasted with the idealized patterns assumed by academic language programs. Finally, the stubborn problem of average teacher behaviour is set against the real ways in which people appear to use grammars and learn languages.Standing Room Only - Posture, Space and the Learning Process in ESL Classes, [ 4800 words; external publication pending; pre-publication draft on this site ]
Abstract : This article explores the role of posture in the language learning process, and concludes that it is sometimes critical for learning success. Principles of learning and moving are outlined. The history of physical movement in study is briefly traced. A Korean case study is presented of “failed” tertiary students who learn to learn on their feet. The paper is a practical guide for teachers who wish to experiment with physical movement and location in their own ESL/EFL classrooms .Rude Thoughts About Information Technology in Language Education [2005; 7,000 words; full version on this site; a slightly shorter version published by IATEFL Poland, vol.5/2 May 2005; an earlier version published the Asian EFL Journal vol.1 2005 ]
Abstract : Information Technology in language teaching probably began with papyrus. It has attracted admirers and detractors ever since. This paper takes a slightly irreverent look at current IT, as well as its actual and potential uses in foreign and second language education. The power of commerce in IT development has always been a prime motivator, so the analysis here recognizes the essential economic context, with the resulting effects on language learning.South Korean Language Policy - A Letter to President Roh Moo-hyun
An open letter to the President on his inauguration in 2003, with some suggestions for language policy in South Korea.
Evaluating Linguistic Difficulty [guidance for teachers]
Note 1: This paper was first published in TESOL News Vol. 8 NO 3 1987 (Australian Commonwealth Schools Commission). The analysis it contains is still very relevant to ESL teachers.
Note 2: At the time of writing Thor May, was preparing a doctoral dissertation in theoretical linguistics, and teaching in the Department of Language and Communication Studies at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology.
This Is Your Problem, Friend, Not Mine: Towards A Cure For Formal
Language Errors In Papua New Guinea (& Elsewhere) (advice for teachers]
The material in this article is as relevant as it was a decade ago. Some things don't change. It was first published in Guidelines - A Periodical For Classroom Language Teachers, Vol.8, No.1, June 1986, SEAMEO Regional Language Centre, Singapore. This is an extended version of a paper given at the TESLA Conference in Goroka, PNG, in July 1985.
Plain Speaking: Judging an Oratory Contest
[advice for teachers & speech judges]
Although this paper was first written in 1989, the state of oratory has not changed much, and the skills involved in judging oratory continue to receive little attention. This professional neglect is especially true of the "speech contests" which are held regularly all over the world where people are learning English. The requirements imposed for these speeches are always deeply affected by the cultural and educational values in each locale. This is understandable, but frequently such requirements, and the attitudes behind them, have little to do with good English speech. Of course, "good English speech" is itself a contested idea. Even putting aside all of the expected cultural biases, the judging of these speeches is very often a travesty.
In general, the "speech judges" have no training at all in judging speeches, and have never thought analytically about the task. If they are native English speakers, they are considered to be automatically qualified. Of course, they are not qualified, and if challenged are rarely able to offer a coherent defence of their preferences. The whole process is manifestly unfair to student language learners who think they are receiving an expert evaluation of their abilities. This little paper is an attempt to identify at least some of the issues involved in student speech contests. It deals with a specific speech contest in Fiji, but most of the comments can be usefully generalized to other situations.
Technical & Further Education in Australia: Is there a star to
steer by?
This document has been tabled (December 1996) in the Senate of the Australian Parliament as a submission to the Enquiry into the Status of Teachers. It has also been published in: Campus Review (a nationally distributed Australian newspaper); April 16, 1997 The News (weekly publication of the Australian Education Union); May 29, 1997
The De-Skilling of 100,000 Skilled Tradesmen
This document was sent to:
The Hon. John Howard, Prime Minister reply from A. Greer, 1st Asst. Secretary,
VET Division, DEETYA 3/10/97
The Hon. Kim Beazley, Leader of the Opposition
reply from Kim Beazley 29/8/97 ; reply from Martin Ferguson 29/9/97
The Hon. Jeffrey Kennett, Premier of Victoria
reply from Phil Honeywood 18/9/97 (Minister for Tertiary Education & Training)
The Hon. John Brumby, Leader of the Victorian State Opposition reply from John Brumby 18/8/97
The Hon. Cheryl Kernot, Leader of the Australian Democrats Party
Note: This letter was sent to The Australian (newspaper) on 17 September 1997 in order to assist informed community debate. Nobody has a monopoly of wisdom on issues as complex as this one..
Apprentice Literacy: Designs for a Bonfire of the Vanities
[ref. CBT (competency based training), self-paced learning]
This piece was commissioned by Fine Print, journal of VALBEC (Victorian Association of Literacy and Basic Education Council) for publication in December 1997. Although the paper is structured around questions of literacy, it also raises issues about the New Apprenticeship Scheme, CBT (competency based training), self-paced learning and course evaluation.
The National Reporting System: A Critique
[ref. CBT]
A shorter version of this paper was first published in Fine Print Vol.18, No.1 1996 (Journal of the Victorian Adult Literacy & Basic Education Council). The analysis it contains is still very relevant to ESL teachers in Victoria.
Observations on the Adult Migrant Education Service's
Certificate in Spoken & Written English [ref. CBT]
This paper, and another entitled Assessment in the AMES CSWE, were circulated as memoranda in the Adult Migrant Education Service teaching centres, Victoria, in early 1993.
Assessment in the AMES Certificate in Spoken
& Written English [ref. CBT]
This paper, and another entitled Observations on the AMES Certificate in Spoken and Written English, were circulated as memoranda in the Adult Migrant Education Service teaching centres, Victoria, in early 1993.
Fraudulent Certificates of Language Competency [ref. CBT]
This was a letter forwarded to the Federal Ministers of Immigration and Employment, Education & Training on 31 July 1997. Their minders showed no real sign of wanting to know about the issues raised. The communication followed internal critiques of CBT which I had made to the Adult Migrant Education Service, Victoria.
Colour Sheet Publishing
[proposal for publishing standards in tertiary institutions]
Note 1: This paper makes a number of concrete suggestions about publication standards within TAFEs. However, it goes beyond simple technical recommendations to identify an existing situation of plagiarism and low publication standards which undermines the very educational mission of tertiary institutions.
Note 2: The document has been circulated privately to educational managers and others, twice, within a two year interval. The silence has been deafening: there simply seems to be no genuine interest in reform.
Productivity in an Educational Institution
The Director of John Batman TAFE* in 1995 had hectored staff at length on the need for improved productivity. He was dealing with "productivity" in the economic rationalist mode. It seemed useful to give a reasoned response.
end [go to top]Note 1: This letter, written to the director of Kangan Batman TAFE in early 1998, records my exit from the institution. There are thousands of such departures every day from Australian workplaces. The details of this one are not of any special significance. However, taken out of its personal context, the letter is a kind of historical window, for this moment in time, into the reality of teaching in a TAFE.
Note 2: Reply from John Parish, Director of Kangan Batman TAFE
Note 3: Reply from the Hon. Phil. Honeywood, Minister for Tertiary Education and Training, Victoria
A. Linguistics
Generative Oscillation Model
Content: a unique proposal for language generation; PhD thesis work discontinued in the 1990s, but now (2005) informally recommenced - about 50,000 words, subject to much revision. Not for publication elsewhere !Postsupposition & Pastiche Talk
Abstract : Natural languages are examined as members of the class of complex dynamic systems in nature. The mathematical models of Complexity Theory have shown that complex dynamic systems as diverse as cyclones, the stock market and the human genome have the properties of a) being self-organising, b) existing in a precarious state of cyclical activity which alters slightly on each cycle, and c) containing an inherent indeterminacy. This last property, indeterminacy, is taken as a cue to develop an argument that language cannot be entirely representational, or altogether functional. It is proposed that in the generation of language there is a constant oscillation where thought sometimes gives rise to language, and alternatively, where unmotivated fragments of language force the development of post-rationalised ideas. Evidence is sought from the behaviour of formulaic phrases and apparent presuppositions
Purposive Constructions in EnglishAbstract : This thesis explores some of the syntactic & semantic properties of Purposive Constructions in English. The term "purposive" is recognized as a semantic concept which finds regular expression in a small range of syntactic configurations. Purpose Clauses (PCs) and Rationale Clauses (Rat.Cs) are examined in some detail. Briefer reference is made to several other configurations, notably Because Clauses, So-That Clauses and Infinitival Relatives. In general Purposive Constructions comprise rather fuzzy semantic categories. Nevertheless, the main syntactic features are fairly clear. Interpretation of the constructions requires a systematic account of the control of empty slots (ellipted NPs) by thematic elements in the matrix clause. General conditions of Government and Binding appear adequate to predict the distribution of gaps in most Purposive Clauses. However, the relationship between propositions predicated of a common argument in these constructions is found to sometimes require matching conditions too subtle for syntax alone to predict. A concept of Thematic Coextensiveness is introduced to account for such matching.
Verbs of Result in the Complements of Raising ConstructionsAbstract : The analysis considers the manner in which a class of matrix verbs, the so-called raising verbs, have been fitted into some generative linguistic models. Taking as a cue the difficulty posed for these models by sentences of the kind, *Linda believes Gary to murder David, the analysis proceeds beyond existing criteria for "raising" to the notion of Relative Tense.
It is found that Relative Tense has a direct bearing on the infinitival complements permitted by raising-to-object verbs and some raising-to-subject verbs. The relevant constraints are formulated for incorporation into Bresnan's Lexical Functional Grammar as the Independent XCOMP Singularity Condition. The IXCSC may be recorded for convenience in the functional structure of LFG as a complex feature. When IXCSC carries a positive marking the functional structure of a sentence, that sentence may only be interpreted if ASPECT (AUX) is also marked as positive.
Language in Suva: language use and literacy in an urban Pacific communityAbstract : This paper is a preliminary report on a sociolinguistic field survey. It records the beliefs which 834 permanent residents of Suva, Fiji had about their own language and literacy skills in 1988-89. The interview subjects were selected from five census enumeration districts with populations ranging from 430 to 1200, and chosen for having a roughly equal ethnic composition of Fijians and Indo-Fijians. Bilingual interviewers (linguistics students) invited and assisted subjects to complete an extensive questionnaire, and offer unstructured comments. The collated and analysed outcome gives a complex and sometimes surprising picture of urban language change.
Language Shift and Language Maintenance - A Contrarian Viewpoint from Thor May
Linguists' arguments for language maintenance are often ideological. It is an ideology which tends to rationalize the linguists' own interests as a surrogate for the interests of language speakers in affected communities. Both interests may actually coincide, but often enough they do not. If a debate amongst linguists on language maintenance is to be honest and practical, it has to begin by identifying the values and self-interest of linguists (which are as legitimate as any others in their own domain). Next, and separately the interests of various social groupings, political entities, institutions and finally affected speakers themselves need to be addressed....
Human Language and Machine Intelligence - a linguist's reply to Dr Koji Kobayashi
[ article in Electronics Today International, 1984] - Dr Kobayashi on behalf of a Japanese conglomerate had declared that thinking, talking machines capable of interacting in a human-like ways with people would shortly be on the market. This article examines why the claims were not credible from a linguistic and cognitive viewpoint ...
Banjalang Transcript for a Language Course 1983
[middle Clarence dialect, NSW; 4Mb pdf file]. This is a rudimentary phrase book for the Australian aborignal language Banjalung, constructed in co-operation with a surviving speaker and designed to encourage Banjalung language revival. It was untertaken at the request of Southern Cross University and local community members.
B. Technical Writing (reports etc.)
Consultant's Interim Report: J.B.I. Technical English Program at P.T. Koba Tin, Pulau Bangka, Indonesia,
15 April 1996; pp.1-20Consultant's Project Report: J.B.I. Technical English Program at P.T. Koba Tin, Pulau Bangka, Indonesia,
22 April 1996; pp.1-26Note 1 : These reports were the formal outcome of an offshore consultancy conducted by Thor May on behalf of John Batman Institute of TAFE, Melbourne Australia. JBI had extensive training contracts in heavy engineering mechanics throughout Indonesia. The purpose of this consultancy at the mining site of P.T. Koba Tin was to facilitate the training of Indonesian mechanics in technical English skills.
essays on a wide range of topics with regular additions
TOPICS
42. Life, Content Mangagement Systems,
and the Answer to EverythingFrom time to time I have picked at the CMS/blog machine, and wondered how to migrate the now denigrated "static" html of my sprawling site to the tidy content of databases. The main attraction has been the incorporation of some way to give readers a voice, assuming there are any readers left out there. A few years ago, they used to send a steady stream of e-mails, but now expect something more instant and public. The voices have fallen silent.... more
The dishcloth has landed. It was unfair, but the phrase kept nibbling at my ear, one of those ear-worms like an advertising jingle. Maybe that was the problem. I have never met the man, and the TV cut of an election victory speech is not the best way to get someone at their avuncular best....
40. Managing Downward Spirals - Getting from Here to There
Hey, will you be here tomorrow? Seg back twenty years and all the news was of a planet overrun by recklessly breeding humans. Today in the media of rich nations, the slightly hysterical whisper is that liberated women are on a baby strike and we’ll all be doomed to robot care in our old age. This downward spiral of fertility is an almost sedate affair in the grand scheme of things. Compare it to the supposed disappearance of dinosaurs after the nuclear winter from earth's traffic accident with a giant meteor. People though, count for more than dinosaurs, don't they...
39. North Korea - Pick Your Godfather
My friendly neighbourhood supermarket checkout girl greeted me with a joke about emigrating to Australia. Geopolitics is not the currency of daily conversation in this small, sleepy city in central South Korea, so clearly something was up....
38. The Doctor's Dilemma - Reading versus Active Experience
Long ago (1967) in a freshman literature class, in response to one of my jabs the tutor asked sarcastically if I thought I was an educated person. For her that meant quoting a canon of classic English literature. Even then I thought that like the rest of us, she was an 'uneducated person'. I was damn sure she wouldn't have a clue how to start her car with a wet distributor. I remain irredeemably uneducated in vast areas of human interest ...
(continued ...)
37. Some Mysteries of Language Learning
I'm a veteran failed language learner, always a thousand miles from success, and an eternally hopeful beginner..
36. Teacher, I Saw Two Foreigners Kissing!
"Yeah, I've got something to tell you; listen up please. Yesterday, I went to Haeundae Beach. And I saw two foreigners kissing each other right in front of me... It was a real scene ^^ . I was shocked..." [student]
35. Why Our Schools Are Failing (... are they?)
In many ways "mass education" is a contradiction in terms ..
34. Ethnicity and Racism - Stirring the Pot
Of course, I have some sentimental interest in England, because that is where my ancestors came from, but I would never consider England to be my home. Ethnic "Koreans" born in Australia will have some sentimental interest in Korea, but they are unlikely to feel that they "belong" in Korea...
33. Euthanasia - Whose Final Choice?
When a student asks my direct opinion, I try to give an honest answer. It is not always easy. Try this one...
32 A Harvest of Souls - Talking to Those Other Fools
..the Bushites were able to marry anti-intellectualism to a faith based movement. Faith corrupts, and absolute faith corrupts absolutely...
31. Article removed from the Internet
In 1945 the atom bombs used by Americans seemed to make any future atomic wars between states unthinkable (not that the leaders of nation states have ever stopped thinking about just that). Now any failed state with a chemical fertilizer factory can probably achieve the same devastation...
29. The American Beacon of Post-Industrial Failure
The Darth Vader face of America also has its analogues on every continent. The especially horrible aspect of the American Darth Vader though is that it forces its way into the lives of all the Earth's other peoples, squawking with electronic self-righteousness that it is the harbinger of freedom...
...yes, there are men and women who have obtained their jobs unfairly. They are legion, and the burden of their incompetence has sunk countless companies and economies. Yet amongst their number are individuals of great ability, who lacking beauty, mediocrity or some other qualification of 'meritorious selection' by average fools, would never have had the chance to exercise their gifts without the unfair intervention of some wiser sponsor..
27. How to Get The Degree You Want OR Are You A Fake?
Are you a fake? This was the engaging header on an e-mail which recently arrived in my mailbox. Well, I admit to a fake tooth, but I think the rest of me is as real as real can be. Truth to tell, the odds are good that the world in general doesn't give a damn if I'm plastic, ivory or Martian rock. Still, the writer had in mind a qualification...
26. So You Wanna' Write a Poem??
We watched as he carefully unwrapped his little bundle from a scarlet kerchief, and spread it out on the dirt floor before our altar. It was given with a good heart, we could see. But we sighed. That sigh of a god who is sick to death of gifts of chicken feathers, and milk, and honey. Should we tell him? Damn it all man, we want GOLD ......
The Third World is a state of mind. It is not a geographical place. It is not the plumbing in a man's house. The geographical place may be a stage for Third World living, and the plumbing may be a symptom of Third World limits.
The "Third World" itself though, if the metaphor is to be predictive at all, is a collection of designs for living -- that is, cultures -- which dominate the thinking of particular, critical masses of people.....
24. 9/11 and the Constituencies of Dissent
...the US is waging war on a certain category of terrorists, notably those posing a threat to current American interests. That is a credible and normal objective for a nation state. Further, the United States has also declared that it will ignore the sovereign rights and interests of all other states and peoples in pursuing such terrorists. This is neither wise nor defensible...
23. Pissing On Every Lamp Post - the paradox of scholarship
Scholarship is that process of becoming familiar with, ordering, and acknowledging the thinking of earlier workers in a particular line of inquiry. It can easily become a lifetime task. The process is obviously valuable. Subduing the arrogance of an ignorant mind (especially one's own) is very healthy. Scholarship not only helps to avoid past mistakes and save the waste of "reinventing the wheel", but can also be a stimulus for new and more sophisticated ideas about a topic.
However, the largest body of scholarship always remains inert, not only failing to stimulate new ideas, but actually forming a bulwark against the intrusion of fresh thinking...
Gender differences are the great distractor, source of misery, spice and occasional joy, but to make the most of more important human things, not shared by dogs, cats and goldfish, you have to settle for some kind of working compromise on gender relationships. One of the nice things I've found about being fifty-six is that it is at last occasionally possible to talk to a woman without both sides secretly (or not so secretly) sizing up the sexual equation...
At this moment I looked around the carriage, and a chill went through my body. Of all those passengers, not a single one showed the slightest signal that one of their number had collapsed, and might be in mortal danger. The bodies remained lax, the eyes unfocussed, the woman on the floor invisible to their attention. It was surreal.
My disbelief gave way to outrage, and throwing decorum to the winds, in a loud voice I demanded in English, "SOMEBODY CALL A DOCTOR". Nobody looked at me, but an uneasy twitch rippled through the crowd...
We kidded ourselves for a while that Star Wars had gone away. We pretended that flower power was winning. But in our heart of hearts, in our 3 a.m. nightmares, we knew that no toy of destruction, once conceived of, has ever been left to rest....
19. The God Of Cracks Between The Floorboards
...Far more important to a wretched bug like me, is what the other silly critters of my species actually DO with their lives and TO mine. If they suspect there are gremlins at the bottom of the garden, then they'll act on that belief and affect my welfare. We have to live with the stubborn illusions and simple hopes of common people. Many a merry philosopher, realizing this, has set up shop as a fortune teller or guru to make a tidy income from their wishful thinking...
18. When Is It Rude To Be Rude?
(Korean translation also available)Rapid global social change, the transmigration of millions of people within and across national boundaries, and the internationalization of employment have all made the preservation of social harmony both more important and more difficult. The traditional dependence upon formulaic politeness persists, but the swift punishment which might have followed violations of form in traditional societies is no longer sensible. In a dynamic and ever changing world, we wish each other well, but pause after each handshake to see if the other fellow is holding an olive branch or a gun behind his back....
17. Student Activism: Truth & False Prophets
The personal legacy of this Vietnam consciousness raising in young adulthood was a lifelong skepticism about power and the would-be powerful. But there were other spin-offs too. One was the assumption that the causes adopted by the educated youth of the age, that is, the students, would always be in the vanguard of enlightenment. That is certainly how students would prefer to see themselves.
Alas, accumulated experience and a wider reading of history, has made me increasingly skeptical of the proposition that students are typically in the vanguard of anything but their own fashion statements. Sometimes they are on the side of the angels, but just as often they are dupes...
16. Individualism or the Group?
Now let´s take a plane trip and look at the real world. Better, like me, let´s work for a while in a fair sampling of both supposed archetypes of culture. What do we find? We find that the real social content behind those supposedly individualistic and group-oriented labels is drastically at variance with the stereotypes...
15. Virtue Rewards Confucian Communists(?)
Ah, now this business of Rule by Virtue. Virtue's Reward is indeed an ancient and potent principle. Machiavelli and Confucius would both approve. The problem confronting all ambitious men and women on grasping power is how to discourage upcoming competitors. Ruthless opportunism which has been so successful for the winner must be discounted somehow. Uneasy rests the head that wears the crown, and never more so than in a community without rules. The Chinese crown nowadays is definitely made of thorns..
14. Why Grasshoppers Don't Have a Problem
Sometimes whole populations enter a downward spiral of lethargy, neglect and failure, so that by the minimal criteria of maintaining a mere animal population they begin to fall by the wayside. Grasshoppers and, say, fungal viruses, seem to have no such problem. What do humans need that grasshoppers don't in order to remain energetic, goal directed and productive? ...
Well how about your own pain? Could you do without it? You will fight to the death to keep your comfort zone, yet the edge of pain defines and heightens your sense of the real. Without it you would live in cotton-wool land, the mere shadow of a living creature. And here is one of the great paradoxes of life. We crave, as it were, the knowledge of pain, but shrink from its sensation. At the point of pain our courage fails us, we flee, or paralysed by fear, we surrender all autonomy and submit in misery to the conqueror....
12. The Case for Political Impotence
The most successful democracies seem to be those in which the office of president and/or prime minister carry strictly limited authority. These are not jobs for Great Men, but for corporate managers who can make reasonable decisions in an orderly manner, cheer the team along a bit, and keep an eye on the main game...
11. The Conundrum of Men & Women
Out in the backblocks of unreconstructed macho males and pumpkin scone women they never had a problem. They played the eternal seasons of struts and giggles, infatuated romance, white weddings, bawling babies, economic drudgery, drink and abuse, spreading waistlines, kitchen divorce and dad's shed up the backyard. Was it so different, after all, from some middle-eastern religious proscription on the genders?
Late, too late to play the game again, we realized our mistake. Regretted that nature had been politically incorrect and unfair in the apportionment of talent...
10. Teaching as a Subversive Activity
Enter the teacher. A teacher's role is to induce new knowledge into the knowledge systems of other beings. A desperate task, universally unwelcome to the owners of those working systems, no matter that they willfully put themselves in harms way by enrolling for a "course" in this or that. Until the moment of having to learn new knowledge, it doesn't occur to them that a threat to old knowledge is being posed. They bite, swallow a mouthful of the new stuff, and gag. It's foreign matter...
9. Nation States and Other Extremities
The state as an instrument of power will always be hostile in its purpose and ultimately corrupt in its methods. The nation-state, so conceived, has serious limitations. The state as an instrument of service has always had trouble maintaining the integrity of its service because its agents have always succumbed to the methods of power...
The acid bath of fear will quickly reduce our average man to average savagery, whatever the price of his suit. It follows that every situation, organization or government which subsists by some degree of fear will harbour captive agents to spread its terror...
The common experience of every adult is that the stated principles in a culture frequently fail to match the outcomes that they claim to promote, and indeed often seem to generate results that either contradict or block the realization of their intent. Why?...
The conclusion which I am drawn to then, is that, as with most natural phenomena, the tendencies to "goodness" and "badness" follow a normal distribution curve in the population. I sense that beneficence is favoured in the largest number of individuals (maybe an outgrowth of the need to nurture), but only favoured weakly. That is, most people are easily lead astray either by misinformation, or by temptations of money, status, sex, ambition etc. However, their attachment to "evil" is likely to be as weak as their attachment to "good"...
So how does a writer differ from the language makers all around him, the cacophony of chatterers? By writing a symphony. The disproportions of our conversation are artless, for where there are patterns they are unconscious, and where there is significance, it is selfish. The writer is able to create patterns of disproportion which create newly defined significance. He marshals the trivia of random occurrence into an enterprise with purpose and direction, just as a musician marshals noise into music...
The truth is that when cultural paradigms start to fall apart, a few heroic souls will hold out against the tide, but most will bend. If we want virtue, then there must be incentives to virtue. It must be made advantageous and easy for your average timid soul to act professionally, honestly and humanely in his daily life...
With telesales there is a large component of luck. That is, in any bunch of telephone numbers there are X number of sales waiting to happen, and if you do something wrong they won't happen. I doubt very much if I ever persuade anyone who wasn't inclined to buy in the first place. The X number of available sales varies quite considerably, and unpredictably, from shift to shift...
2. The Poor Man's Fountain of Youth
Nobody argues that walking is bad for your legs, or looking bad for your eyes. More locally, procreation is Nature's basic use for all living things. The general pattern is, the organism breeds and then dies. Sexual organs which remain unused, or rarely used, may well send the biological signal that the organism as a whole has completed it's natural cycle. Wouldn't it be ironic if one quick wank a day fooled Nature into constant renewal, a perpetual lease in lieu of immortality. Maybe those gents as rich as Croesus had a point, but were let down by their wily concubines...
1. The Human Mind as an Error-Checking Mechanism
...nowadays I pay the rent (barely) by working as an evening telesalesperson, flogging a pen set at an outrageous price and fraudulently in the name of a charity (which actually receives 6%). This is the world of the salesman, where truth is contracted to the immediate goal of securing a sale. I hear from the booths all around me the insouciant lies of a sales contest. They are earnest, genuine, and wholly promiscuous. Once won, the customer like a fallen woman, loses all respect...
...Is the sales team so different from TAFE managements in so-called educational institutions? I think not. I have seen and heard them lying shamelessly about "competency", and "quality", and nonexistent specialist staff skills in order to secure contracts and tenders. "Yep, we can do that. ISO9000 certified". They don't see themselves as lying at the time. The presentations are also earnest, genuine and wholly promiscuous. Once the tender is won they lose all serious interest in meeting educational commitments...
short takes
Thor's Aphorisms 1988 to 2005
The two paths to a quiet life are to say nothing to anybody about anything, or to say everything that comes into your head. The second way is easily the most effective. Sooner or later the absolutely discrete person will be blackmailed or persecuted for something they didn't say. However, the purveyor of utter candour is regarded with mute horror by all dignified persons, and given a wide berth. Thus, like much else on this website, the Aphorisms have done a great deal to guarantee Thor perfect social obscurity.
religion
..an arm-wrestle with the persistence of religion
This assembly of comments and speculations was mostly written in 1997. Of course, a few things have changed inside my head since then, but the basic tenor remains the same.
Here is a more current remark (2005) from Thor's Aphorisms :
God is to human language as the zero is to mathematics. Thus god in an infinitude of isolation is without substance or value, but makes the most useful of all digits when dreams are multiplied by words. There is no doubt about the power of the god digit in any discourse amongst humans, and we cannot discount it there, for human actions follow where thought leads. Yet when our voices cease, my bet (another empty value to be sure) is that all kingdoms of heaven and hell will come to a zero sum game.
older collections
1. notes to myself from the bottom of the world
Part I : Qualities and Values
[dropping an anchor against the tide]
Part 2: The Human Circus
[looking askance at political culture]2. Social Innovation
(and resistance to...)
[ the odd idea to kick around ]
bizarre extras
Super-Culture & the Ghost in the Machine
(a whimsical essay on keeping the batteries of civilization charged)EDINN: Respinning Intellectuals into the Social Fabric (coffee shop babble ... or sparks for a new social order?)
Psychological Time & May's Constant
A Personal Declaration of Membership in the Human Community
(would you like to sign?)Signatories to the Personal Declaration of Membership in the Human Community
(... the pioneers)
some political leftovers
South Korean Language Policy - A Letter to President Roh Moo-hyun [2003]