Muses from Helsinki (+ live from Washington, D.C.)

[oloriel]

If I want to get finished with my university time, I really, really ought to write a term paper for that Corpus Linguistics seminar.

I just couldn't come up with a topic. That is, I tentatively had one in mind - the advent and disappearance of Latinate relative clauses like who am and who art (as in, "I, who am the least among his ministers" or "Our father, who art in heaven") - but that looked like one of those things for which there is either no data at all, or so much that it'd bust the frame of a 20-page paper, but nothing in between. I could not check since I do not yet have access to any helpful corpora (Cologne University fails in that respect). So the only option was asking the prof what he thought, but without anything to actually show him, planning-wise, that would probably have turned out horrible. (And I couldn't prepare anything to show him because, again, I do not have access to the corpora.)

That was the state of things until today the muse dropped by and pointed a wonderful topic out to me. The muse goes by the name of Terttu Nevalainen (she's famous among people who do Corpus Linguistics), and she did a presentation on Historical Sociolinguistics as Corpus Linguistics and happened to brush the perfect topic for me.

It's so blatantly obvious that I really have no idea why I did not think of it before; there are already some studies on it, but none exhaustive or conclusive; and it makes my inner fangirl squee and giggle childishly.
In Elizabethan times, there was a gradual replacement of the 3rd person singular -(e)th by -(e)s, first only in certain environments and contexts and under certain circumstances, later in every instance. After the reign of Elizabeth I -(e)th was already rather archaic, even though it managed to survive in formal poetic and religious contexts well into the 20th century.
Just when, how and why did that happen?
Well, that's what I'm going to write my paper on, isn't it. :D
The replacement of the interdental fricative by the alveolar. That is going to be SO much fun. (And if I get stuck I'm sure the mad Noldorin linguist in my brain will have a word or two to contribute on the topic.)

- - -

In other "yay" news: Are Malia and Sasha Obama adorable or what? *fangirl*

EDIT: What do you mean, "John William composed this especially for the inauguration"? Half of it is stolen from "Lord of the Dance"!
EDIT-EDIT: "Arranged it" sounds more like it. Stoopid German commentary.

EDIT 2: He forgot the "to the best of my ability" bit altogether - of all things, the safe-word of the presidential oath. Poor nervous man!

But - SQUEE! it's happened!

Comments

[satismagic.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, poor nervous man!

And the judge who administered the oath didn't help at all. He sounded JUST as nervous as Obama, both of them stumbling over the words like that.

Though I think it's s good sign, really.

And he's calm now, great speech!

[etoilepb.livejournal.com]

John Williams composed this arrangement particularly for the Inauguration.

Actually Aaron Copland's arrangement -- generally called "Simple Gifts" in the US, and always said to be "an arrangement of a Quaker Hymn," given different words from the "Lord of the Dance" version -- is one of the most popular pieces in the history of American composition, so I'm not surprised that what Williams wrote was a variant quartet on that theme.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Ah, that makes more sense. See, we got the whole thing served with German commentary here, and they kept saying that the entire thing was composed especially for this occasion.
Of course, German commentary on anything tends to be made of fail. (Actually commentary on the whole tends to be made of fail. JUST LET IT HAPPEN; I CAN LOOK FOR MYSELF.)

[etoilepb.livejournal.com]

This is so nuts for me, that friends around the rest of the world are watching this just as intently as we are.

I've been running an all-day thread on my journal, and you can see the part (probably the most amusing part) where macnbc and I started talking BACK to the commentators...

(Oh, and P.S. the commentary on the music was full of fail on this side of the ocean, too; I just happen to have 20 years' background as a classical musician and so know better. ;) )

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I think this is the first time that TV here actually airs the full inauguration of an American president. In the past years, a note on the day's news was enough.
It definitely wouldn't have been enough today.

(Heh!)

[allie-meril.livejournal.com]

*beams so, so hugely*

Malia and Sasha are the cutest things ever. (I have a vid that shows that cuteness, but the HuffPost seems to be down... Ha, broken by jubilant inauguration watchers!)

John Williams arranged it, not composed it. Lord of the Dance? The great bit of it was an arrangement of a song called "Simple Gifts," which I'm pretty sure predates LotD... LOL!

Oh wow, poor guy! Forgetting that bit!

I'm so, so happy. Words can't describe it. :D :D :D :D

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, etoilepb already pointed that out. That's what I get for having to put up with German commentary. :D

*dances around*

[allie-meril.livejournal.com]

Silly commentators!!

*joins you jubilantly*

[allie-meril.livejournal.com]

*facepalm* I do know Lord of the Dance! I used to sing it in my church choir when I was little. The name just slipped right through my brain as "OK, a song I don't know set to the same tune as 'Simple Gifts.'"

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Well, "Simple Gifts" is still a hundred years older than the "Lord of the Dance" lyrics, so you're still right ;)

[etoilepb.livejournal.com]

"Lord of the Dance" is actually a separate set of words, set to the same hymn. "Simple Gifts" is the version modern Americans usually know, and there's a reason for that.

I had started to write out the lyrics to both, but then I thought, "Wiki is easier." Compare:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Gifts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_of_the_Dance_(hymn)

They mark two different modes of American Christianity.

Hurrah, 20 years of studying music history suddenly becomes relevant! ;)

[allie-meril.livejournal.com]

Hey, I do know that song! I have sung that song in my church choir when I was little. And I'm so discombobulated that I totally didn't remember it!

[heliology]

I sang it too, I know what you mean!

[heliology]

What do you mean, "John William composed this especially for the inauguration"? Half of it is stolen from "Lord of the Dance"!

OMG I THOUGHT THE SAME but I love John Williams. ♥

Sasha and Malia are sooo cuuute

(And if I get stuck I'm sure the mad Noldorin linguist in my brain will have a word or two to contribute on the topic.)

XD

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

To be fair, the CNN commentator said the same thing, if I remember correctly. No clue, no clue.

Definitely YES on Malia and Sasha. <3
And to be fair again, it was the judge who messed it up first, then causing Obama to go huh? and mess it up as well. I think. But nvm, he was president already by that time, because they were running behind schedule ever so slightly. ;) But, SQUEE.

And heh, the paper. Would your muse give me a topic for a paper in Contrastive Linguistics as well? *flail* We're supposed to present an exerpt before the semester ends and I have no idea beyond 'something diachronic'. >_<

Also, any news on the trip/housesitting thing? If I'm supposed to look after everything, I'll need a date? (And possibly a guided tour of the front door. ;))

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

No no, the judge messed up at an earlier point, but he did the whole sentence correct, and Obama missed out on the life-saving "to the best of my abilities".
Or perhaps that was intentional. Weasel words? Do not need!

Actually - according to our commentary, so I suppose that doesn't mean much - he was NOT. The time marks the end of the old presidency, but the oath marks the beginning of the new. No oath, no president. Five minutes of a power vacuum.
(But of course they may have had that wrong, just as the composing/arranging thing.)

Which doesn't matter either, because president or not he missed some rather helpful words.

Depends on what you did during the seminar, no?

Lots of news, but I'd rather discuss those in private. ;)

[ladyelleth.livejournal.com]

Hm. As far as I recall (again from CNN commentary), the judge messed up first by placing some part of the sentence at the end while Obama had the sentence correct but got confused by the different word order and subsequently stumbled over his words. As for the beginning of the presidency, and that's something I remember clearly, they said the new presidency began at noon, oath or no oath (they even used that phrase), so he was president already by the time he said the oath, which was just a ceremony/formality thing and not really necessary. But how cool was it that he swore on the Lincoln Bible? Indeed, no weasel words. What for? Obama doesn't strike me as particularly weasel-y. ;)

And as for the news... you got me curious now, but that will either have to wait until Friday, or be worked out via PM, take your pick. *snuggle*

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

*g* As I said, that was ARD commentary. They, at any rate, said explicitly that the old presidency ended at noon, but the new didn't necessarily start then, and that had gone wrong already when George W. Bush came into office because he, too, swore five minutes too late, leaving the country leaderless for those looong five minutes. Then again it wouldn't be the first time they got it all wrong...

The "weasel words" bit came from my inner specialist on oath-swearing, who, if only he had thought of the words "to the best of my ability", could have spared his sons a hell of a lot of trouble. I would not necessarily consider them weasel-y. Wise, more like. ;)

Aaand you've got mail!