acronym enquiry (SFL)/ genres, values & tensions
Rolfe Windward (rwindwar who-is-at ucla.edu)
Wed, 21 Aug 1996 18:03:44 -0700
I suspect Judy has her own concerns about the matter but I would say that
the two modes of expertise have rather dramatically different connotations.
In the case of the doctor, who I visit rarely, I can challenge his/her
opinion if I wish--my opinion may be challenged by expertise in return of
course (and I would hope a wise physician would do so if my opinion were
really foolish) but s/he can not silence my voice. In the case of the expert
linguist, the very medium and essence of my challenge--the voice that I use
every day--may, in principle at least, be technically condensed and thereby
sublimated.
Heady stuff but whether it is the stuff of taboo I can't say, not being a
linguist -- I'm not a big fan of taboo in most matters anyway.
Rolfe Windward [UCLA GSE&IS: Curriculum & Teaching]
e-mail: rwindwar who-is-at ucla.edu (Text/BinHex/MIME/Uuencode)
70014.0646 who-is-at compuserve.com (text/binary/GIF/JPG)