I had assumed that the message from APS was a not terribly subtle April fools
prank (Alan Kraut is a mischievous fellow). For those who hadn't seen it or
who aren't APS members, see below: ....Scott
Silent No More:
The Case for Changing Our Pronunciation
At its December 2009 meeting, the APS Board of Directors was unanimous in
support of a proposal by the APS Pronunciation Committee to change how we say
the words psychology and psychological (and psychologist) to include the
initial "p" sound. In keeping with APS bylaws, such a change in pronunciation
needs to be decided by a vote of our membership. If approved, members would be
required, or at least strongly encouraged, to pronounce the "p" sound in the
name of our science.
The word psychology has a long and hallowed tradition, having been coined in
the 16th Century by the German theologian Melanchthon based on the Latin
psychologia, meaning"study of the breath" - exactly what the word means for
today's researchers. From then until early in the last century, the initial
phoneme in psychology was said aloud. Psycholinguists speculate that
nonpronunciation of the "p" can be traced to none other than James McKeen
Cattell, who idiosyncratically left the sound off, and to his students and
colleagues, who imitated his affected way of saying psychology in the hope of
posthumously getting a Cattell sabbatical award. Thus the silent "p" has its
origins in sycophantism, much like the Castilian lisp. Since Cattell's time,
the "p" has remained silent.
However, increasingly the trend among both professionals in the field and
laypeople alike is to once again pronounce the "p," and the APS initiative
represents an attempt to keep our relatively young organization in step with
the times. This change would also better distinguish our Association from other
organizations whose members continue, anachronistically (and, we think,
pretentiously), to leave the "p" silent. In the halls of psychology
departments, and at meetings, it will no longer be difficult to tell who is a
member of which organization: How you pronounce psychology will be like a badge
of loyalty: Are you a scientist or are you ... something else?
And there is a final, long-term consideration. The trend in written English is
toward simplification of spellings to conform to how words are commonly
pronounced. Witness the words plow (formerly plough), catalog (formerly
catalogue), and the increasingly common CUL8R ("see you later"). If this trend
continues and English speakers continue to leave the "p" silent, the time may
soon come when psychology is spelled sykolojy. Our acronym would then become
ASS. Nobody wants that.
So, we respectfully submit, let's look again at the pronunciation of our
Association's middle name. Think it over, members, and decide.
As an added note, the APS Pronunciation Committee is also currently considering
a motion to pronounce the first, silent "c" in science as a hard "c" - i.e.,
"skience." If approved by the committee, this proposal will also be put to a
vote. Stay tuned!
Scott O. Lilienfeld, Ph.D.
Professor
Editor, Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice
Department of Psychology, Room 473 Psychology and Interdisciplinary Sciences
(PAIS)
Emory University
36 Eagle Row
Atlanta, Georgia 30322
[email protected]
(404) 727-1125
Psychology Today Blog:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist
50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology:
http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-140513111X.html
Scientific American Mind: Facts and Fictions in Mental Health Column:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/sciammind/
The Master in the Art of Living makes little distinction between his work and
his play,
his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his
recreation,
his love and his intellectual passions. He hardly knows which is which.
He simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does,
leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing.
To him - he is always doing both.
- Zen Buddhist text
(slightly modified)
-----Original Message-----
From: Marc Carter [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 9:44 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS)
Subject: [tips] APS
rocks.
Henceforth, it is to be pronounced PUH-sy-KOL-uh-gee.
--
Marc Carter, PhD
Associate Professor and Chair
Department of Psychology
College of Arts & Sciences
Baker University
--
The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments thereto ("e-mail")
is sent by Baker University ("BU") and is intended to be confidential and for
the use of only the individual or entity named above. The information may be
protected by federal and state privacy and disclosures acts or other legal
rules. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are
notified that retention, dissemination, distribution or copying of this e-mail
is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error please
immediately notify Baker University by email reply and immediately and
permanently delete this e-mail message and any attachments thereto. Thank you.
---
You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected].
To unsubscribe click here:
http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13509.d0999cebc8f4ed4eb54d5317367e9b2f&n=T&l=tips&o=1671
or send a blank email to
leave-1671-13509.d0999cebc8f4ed4eb54d5317367e9...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of
the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged
information. If the reader of this message is not the intended
recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution
or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly
prohibited.
If you have received this message in error, please contact
the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the
original message (including attachments).
---
You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected].
To unsubscribe click here:
http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=1672
or send a blank email to
leave-1672-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
