40 research outputs found
An appeal with folded hands
No full textAn original metric poem sung by its author, Subba [Limbu Headman] Khadga Bahadur Nembang of Pauwa village, Pauwasartap VDC, Panchthar District, Nepal. The occasion was a meeting of local cultural figures in the presence, in January 1956, of a visiting linguist, Dr Richard Keith Sprigg (1922-2011), Lecturer in Phonetics at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, who recorded the performance. The singer urges his compatriots to study Limbu tradition (mundhum) and script, and to avoid alcohol and other evils. According to Bairagi Kainla (Til Bikram Nembang), son of the singer, its composition was inspired by the presence of Dr Sprigg, who was conducting research into the Limbu language and script. It is composed of 22 two-part lines, many in couplets (not indicated in the display), with transitions marked by an introductory “eeeee!”, or a concluding “oorillo!”. The end of the song is announced in Nepali (“That’s it!”), and is followed (at the suggestion of the audience; there is a break in the recording) by a sung postscript, in which the author/singer identifies himself. The transcriptions and Nepali translation were kindly prepared by Bairagi Kainla
An appeal with folded hands
No full textAn original metric poem sung by its author, Subba [Limbu Headman] Khadga Bahadur Nembang of Pauwa village, Pauwasartap VDC, Panchthar District, Nepal. The occasion was a meeting of local cultural figures in the presence, in January 1956, of a visiting linguist, Dr Richard Keith Sprigg (1922-2011), Lecturer in Phonetics at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London, who recorded the performance. The singer urges his compatriots to study Limbu tradition (mundhum) and script, and to avoid alcohol and other evils. According to Bairagi Kainla (Til Bikram Nembang), son of the singer, its composition was inspired by the presence of Dr Sprigg, who was conducting research into the Limbu language and script. It is composed of 22 two-part lines, many in couplets (not indicated in the display), with transitions marked by an introductory “eeeee!”, or a concluding “oorillo!”. The end of the song is announced in Nepali (“That’s it!”), and is followed (at the suggestion of the audience; there is a break in the recording) by a sung postscript, in which the author/singer identifies himself. The transcriptions and Nepali translation were kindly prepared by Bairagi Kainla
Science and the Knowledge of God: From Machine to Metaphor
No full textAfter a review of how the machine model of nature has been used to argue both for and
against the existence of God, the author makes the case that metaphors borrowed from the
sciences can suggest new information about God
The inefficiency of 'tone change' in Sino-Tibetan descriptive linguistics
No full textI wish to acknowledge my debt to the author of the phonetic and phonemic part of Love Songs of the Sixth Dalai Lama tshangs-dbyangs rgya-mtsho (Peiping, 1930) for the liberating principle whereby he allows his two tones to have overlapping phonetic realizations.Published versio
Review of "Das Märchen vom Prinzen Čobzaṅ"
No full textThe volume under review is the sixth in a series on the oral literature of Tibet. Earlier volumes dealt with traditional narrative in central and eastern Tibet, in Amdo and Trayap, among the herdsmen of western Tibet, and, as volume 3 in the series, another contribution by the author of Das Mnrchen on oral texts among the herdsmen of Kyirong and Tingri, in southern Tibet, Viehzuchter-Erzählungen sowie Erzählgut aus Skyid-gron und Din-ri.Published versio
The Limbu s-final and t-final verb roots, after Michailovsky 1979 and Weidert 1982
No full textI had originally chosen Taplejung as the most suitable
place in Limbuan for a research programme into the phonetics
and phonology of Limbu planned for the early part of 1956 in
order to concentrate on a northern dialect; but I chanced to
meet a young Limbu author and poet, Kajiman Kandangwa, who
persuaded me to go to Panthar instead, where I could count on
help from his friends in studying the, language as spoken in
the eastern part of the Limbu area, towards Ilam.Published versio
A Maximum-L ikelihood Search for
No full textthis article focuses on emp irical method. The author introduces maximum-likelihood se arch as a means to objectively identify the group -size thresholds at which ethnic group s might assert dominance and thereby destabilize a nation. The resultsp rovide new evidence to sup ort thep rop osition that instability increases when a socia l majority becomes large enough, but not too large. The article emp hasizes the uniqueness of emp irical est imates. JEL Classifications: C23; C25; Z10 I am grateful to Sean O'Brien for guidance regardi ng his earlier results. I also thank George Backus for help ful comments. This work was sup p orted by the Laboratory Directed Research and Develop ment (LDRD)p rogram a t Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia National Labor atories is a multip rogram laboratory op erated by Sa ndia Corp oration, a Lockheed Martin Comp any, for the Uni ted States Dep artment of Energy under contract DE-A C0494AL85000. The data for this analysis is available at bothwww.geocities.com/seanob88and www.yale.edu/unsy/jcr/jcrdata.htm. Maximum-L ikelihood Search for Escalatory Ethnic Dominance emp irically estimate a relationship between et hnic homogeneity and national stability raise debate in the areas of theory, data, and emp irical method; this article focuses on emp irical method. The author introduces maximum-likelihood s earch as a means to objectively identify the group -size thresholds at which ethnic group s might assert dominance and thereby destabilize a nation. The results p rovide new evidence to sup ort thep rop osition that instability increases when a socia l majority becomes large enough, but not too large. The article emp hasizes the uniqueness of emp irical est imate
Comments on Retallack, G. J. 2011: Problematic megafossils in Cambrian Palaeosols of South Australia
No full textThe purpose of this comment is to question the organic nature of the material described by Retallack (2011) as 'problematic megafossils' from the Moodlatana and Balcoracana Formations, Lake Frome Group of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. By way of introduction, we note that there is a considerable history of structures described from sedimentary rocks as fossils that do not stand up to scrutiny (Hofmann 1971, 1992, 2005). The literature is replete with what Hofmann (1992) regarded as dubiofossils. The onus should always be on the author to demonstrate biological origins. Retallack (2011, p.1223) in discussing the need to name problematic fossils states that 'Vendobionta were informally noted by Mawson (1938, p. 259) as 'fossil impressions resembling brachiopod or bivalve form', but formal description of five species by Sprigg (1947) was needed before their global distribution and importance as Ediacaran fossils could be appreciated (Fedonkin et al. 2007).' This is misleading because Mawson's complete sentence is 'Fossil impressions resembling brachiopod or bivalve form, but probably merely impressions of clay galls'. Mawson was in fact describing a section through what would now be termed the Ediacaran Rawnsley Quartzite, from about 1.6 km north of Parachilna Creek and about 50 km to the south east of where Sprigg (1947) initially found the Ediacara biota near Ediacara in the Rawnsley Quartzite
The Physics of Turbulence-Free Ghost Imaging
No full textSince its first experimental demonstration, ghost imaging has attracted a great deal of attention due to interests in its fundamental nature and its potential applications. In terms of applications, the most interesting and useful feature, perhaps, is the turbulence insensitivity of thermal light ghost imaging, i.e., atmospheric turbulence would not have any influence on the ghost images of sunlight. Inspired by ghost imaging, a new type of camera is ready for turbulence-free imaging applications. This turbulence-free camera would be especially useful for long distance imaging, such as satellite imaging. How could fluctuations of thermal light produce an image? Why is it turbulence-free? This article addresses these questions.The author acknowledges partial supports from NSF (National Science Foundation) and MII (Maryland Innovation Initiative). The author thanks Jane N. Sprigg and Tao Peng for helpful discussions and Lab works; and thanks his former students and coworkers for their contributions to the research of ghost imaging. This article was prepared for the special issue: Quantum Imaginghttps://www.mdpi.com/2227-7080/4/4/3
