Michael, Congratulations. The topic of sociolinguistics reminds me of a comment by Frank Anshen, a linguist who was visiting the U. of Hawaii, where he taught a course on sociolinguistics.
At one point, Frank was talking about ethnic slurs, which usually contain guttural sounds with Ks and Gs. But in Hawaiian, the ethnic slur for whites is the mellifluous word 'haole'. Then a polite young Japanese woman said, "But Professor Anshen, what about the full form?" Frank innocently asked, "Oh, what is the full form?" Answer: "Fookin haole." Frank had a lot of good anecdotes. At one point, he went to a linguistics conference in New Delhi, where he took a taxi from the airport to the hotel. The taxi driver was a Sikh, wearing the characteristic turban. During the whole trip, he was speeding on winding mountain roads and through villages with cows, chickens, and people flying in all directions. Meanwhile, he kept turning around and talking. Frank was in the back seat, holding on for dear life, when the driver said "We Sikhs are the best drivers in the world. Do you know why we Sikhs are the best drivers in the world?." In a shaky voice, Frank said "No, why?" Answer: "Because we Sikhs are not afraid to die!" John
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