Saturday, June 25, 2011

archeology; graffiti; Israel

Archaeologists Unscramble Ancient Graffiti In Israel

June 19, 2011 Tomb graffiti is "a spontaneous verbal outburst" that can help archaeologists learn more about ancient communities. The history sleuths decipher the messages and learn about the personal and private lives of ancient Jews.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

London Anthro Days 2011; also at U.Manchester

University of Manchester School of Social Sciences
'Discover Social Anthropology': 30th June 2011

http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/disciplines/socialanthropology/undergraduate/discover/
This is a departmental open day to enable teachers and 6th form students to discover what social anthropology and its new A-level is all about and can mean for their teaching/studies.
 
[L.A.D. 2011 DETAILS TO FOLLOW]

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

linguistics quirk, "foreign accent syndrome"

wherein a damage suffered to a specific spot in the language processing region results in systematic shifts in vocal production so that the person gives the impression of speaking with a foreign accent:
 
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/06/01/136824428/a-curious-case-of-foreign-accent-syndrome
 
[excerpt]
When Karen Butler went in for dental surgery, she left with more than numb gums: She also picked up a pronounced foreign accent. It wasn't a fluke, or a joke — she'd developed a rare condition called foreign accent syndrome that's usually caused by an injury to the part of the brain that controls speech.
 
Butler was born in Bloomington, Ill., and moved to Oregon when she was a baby. She's never traveled to Europe or lived in a foreign country — she's an American, she says, "born and bred."