Theory snark

Mr. Verb mentions in an offhand way that some linguists consider Optimality Theory to be "the String Theory of our field." I wish! If that were the case, I'd have a cushy academic job instead of having to write ads for drugs.

For anyone interested, Eric takes Mr. Verb to task for his comments about opacity.

Wasting time

English only

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman JOHN E. ROONEY

District 39 (Bergen)

Assemblywoman ALISON LITTELL MCHOSE

District 24 (Sussex, Hunterdon and Morris)

Assemblywoman MARCIA A. KARROW

District 23 (Warren and Hunterdon)

SYNOPSIS

Provides that English shall be the official language of the State.


CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

An Act designating the English language as the official language of the State and supplementing chapter 9 of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. The English language is designated as the official language of the State of New Jersey.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Same-sex Marriage

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman MICHAEL J. DOHERTY

District 23 (Warren and Hunterdon)

Assemblyman RICHARD A. MERKT

District 25 (Morris)


Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman McHose, Assemblymen Russo, DeCroce, Rooney and Thompson


SYNOPSIS

Includes same sex marriages among marriages declared void; provides that New Jersey will not recognize marriages in other jurisdictions which are void in New Jersey.


CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

An Act prohibiting same sex marriages and amending R.S.37:1-1 and supplementing Title 37 of the Revised Statutes.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. R.S.37:1-1 is amended to read as follows:

A man shall not marry any of his ancestors or descendants, or his sister, or the daughter of his brother or sister, or the sister of his father or mother, whether such collateral kindred be of the whole or half blood. A woman shall not marry any of her ancestors or descendants, or her brother, or the son of her brother or sister, or the brother of her father or mother, whether such collateral kindred be of the whole or half blood. Persons of the same sex shall not marry. A marriage in violation of any of the foregoing provisions shall be absolutely void.

(cf: R.S.37:1-1)


2. (New section) A marriage solemnized in any other county, state or territory, if valid where solemnized, is valid here unless it is a marriage that would be prohibited and declared void in this State pursuant to R.S.37:1-1 or R.S.37:1-10.

3. (New section) Marriage between persons of the same sex is against the public policy of the State of New Jersey.

4. This act shall take effect immediately.


STATEMENT

This bill provides that marriages between persons of the same sex are prohibited and void in New Jersey. The bill additionally provides that a marriage solemnized in any other county, state or territory, if valid where solemnized, is valid here unless it is a marriage that would be prohibited and declared void in this State pursuant to R.S.37:1-1 (which would include same sex marriages) or R.S.37:1-10 concerning New Jersey's policy of not recognizing common law marriages.

This bill expressly affirms public policy in support of marriage and makes clear that marriage is limited to marriage between a man and a woman. The bill further provides that same sex marriages and others not recognized in this State, whether or not sanctioned by another state, are not recognized in New Jersey.

You hear it first

Looks like the mainstream linguistic blogs have finally gotten around to talking about this Priscilla Dunstan baby language bullshit.

See posts at Language Hat and Langauge Log. Hmm. Only a few weeks late.

Linguistic snake oil

My mother in law called up the other day to tell us about a woman on Oprah who speaks the secret language of babies! It turns out that Priscilla Dunstan has used her incredible photographic memory to decode the secret, universal language of newborns.

years of research has found that this is a language shared by all babies throughout the world. A simple language you will soon be able to hear and understand. Welcome to The Dunstan Baby Language.

After nearly a decade of research, Dunstan Baby has found that newborns use specific ‘words’ to express basic needs, such as hunger, gas or tiredness. The Dunstan Baby Language teaches parents how to identify these words within their baby’s cries, therefore allowing them to respond appropriately to their baby’s physical need and eliminating any trial and error by the parents that often leads to frustration and a decrease in self-confidence.

Here are some of the words you can learn to comunicate with your child (before the age of 3 months):
1. "neh" = hungry
2. "owh" = sleepy
3. "heh" = discomfort
4. "eair" = lower gas
5. "eh" = burp
And it's only $60 for 2 (count 'em, two!) full-length DVD's to learn the entire system. This is better than sign-language!

There's something wrong with NJ libraries

Last weekend the wife asked the refence librarian in Hawthorne for a copy of the first Star Wars movie and she came home with Episode I. Now the library in Passaic is displaying pseudoscience.

Librarian and Curator Jim Bordone, above, said he first became acquainted with the theory when he read Erich Von Daniken's book "Chariots of the Gods."
Alien archaeologists theorize that aliens bred the "global elite" -- modern-day politicians, corporate managers, heads of think tanks and secret societies. Bordone said that one prominent author identified Robert Gates, the man slated to replace Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, as one of the aliens' descendents. Also predicted, he said, was that alien-descendent George W. Bush would win the 2000 presidential election.