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Discussion Groups / British English / January 2006How to get respondents?
Hello, as you could see some time ago, I'm looking for British people who would be so kind as to fill in a questionnaire about British English. I'm really thankful for the help three Britons provided me with, but I need at least twenty respondents. I'd be great if you could give me some ideas, e.g. addresses of other websites where British respondents can be found. This is what I've done so far: I wrote a note in English, printed it out, made several copies, posted them on the premises of my faculty, in the British Centre in Gdansk, whose secretary I consulted, I went to the British Library in Gdansk and spoke to the librarians, I sent e-mails to all of my friends, asking them to forward the message to all Britons they know, I spoke to almost every acquaintance of mine who knows British people. So far I only have answers from six persons, three of whom I met here at Google Groups. If you know what else can be done (apart from becoming barmy and begging the British in Birmingham), do tell me. Thanks in advance. Let me say once again that if any of you would like me to be a respondent in a language survey, I'll be happy to do it. > Hello, > as you could see some time ago, I'm looking for British people who > would be so kind as to fill in a questionnaire about British English. Send the link again and I'll give it a try. It's not a link, but an e-mail with a MS Word file, so I'll send you the text of the questionnaire, so that you can hand in the answers via e-mail as well. By the way, I'd rather my respondents weren't professional linguists, because they know too much about the field. I have a state-of-the-art virus protection program, so do not worry about unsolicited surprises that could be attached to messages from me. Thanks (if you're a professor of normative linguistics, do not hesitate to inform me ;-). > It's not a link, but an e-mail with a MS Word file, so I'll send you It'll bounce so don't bother. This is not a link, but an MS Word file I can send via e-mail. See below for more details. I am a fifth-year student of English Philology at the University of Gdansk, Poland. I am currently writing my MA thesis on sociolinguistics, a significant part of which is a questionnaire to be completed by native speakers of British English, i.e. people born and educated in Great Britain, whatever their origin. The questionnaire consists of several specimens of the written and the spoken language and the task of the judges will be to assess them. Completing it does not take more time than doing a small crossword. The judges will not be asked to reveal their personal data such as their name, age or address and no attempts whatsoever will be made to estimate their command of English or general knowledge. If you would like to participate in the project, thus contributing to my dissertation, please send me an e-mail and I will send you an MS Word file containing the questionnaire. You can hand in your answers either by e-mail or by post. If you are unable to help me in person, please ask if someone from your family and friends could be of assistance. You can read about the department where I am studying at <http://www.fh.ug.gda.pl/struktura_wydzialu/instytut_anglistyki/anglis...> (in Polish); alternatively, check <www.univ.gda.pl> and go to the English version. Thank you in advance. Yours faithfully, Y. Sociolinguist, Gdansk University, Poland. spooky...@interia.pl > This is not a link, but an MS Word file I can send via e-mail. See > below for more details. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > on sociolinguistics, a significant part of which is > a questionnaire to be completed by native speakers of British English, http://emlab.berkeley.edu/users/bhhall/e244/sampsel.pdf Giles Thank you for the link. I'm not a mathematician and I never took the Polish version of A-levels in Maths, hence my survey is based on counting the score in the simplest way possible. My M.A. supervisor does not want me to use advanced statistical methods and use them I shall not. I understand you want to show me that conducting a research is no easy task. I know what you mean, but I really can't pay attention to all technicalities of the trade if my survey itself is not complicated. Cheers. > Thank you for the link. I'm not a mathematician and I never took the > Polish version of A-levels in Maths, hence my survey is based on [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > to all technicalities of the trade if my survey itself is not > complicated. Cheers. Fair enough, just so long as you and your supervisor are both aware that your results will be both statistically and practically worthless unless you do pay attention to sample selection. Giles  SignatureI don't know why I bother sometimes. to Giles Todd: You really needn't (make me) worry about that. The survey is all about giving scores from 0 to 5. It does not take into account the respondents' age, sex, education, ethnic origin, etc. as criteria regulating the results in practice. I'd be ideal if I could work in cooperation with several British universities and ask a group of 100 or more people of different ages, social backgrounds and coming from different parts of the UK to fill in the questionnaire. In practice, I have to count all the responses I can possibly obtain. C'est la vie. Besides, the only task of my survey is to show how a concept I am going to present can be made use of in sociolinguistic practice. Maciek In message <1136903110.718832.143770@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>, at 06:25:10 on Tue, 10 Jan 2006, Young Sociolinguist <spooky.fm@interia.pl> wibbled >Besides, the only task of my survey is to show how a >concept I am going to present can be made use of in sociolinguistic >practice. With respect Maciek, you are going to have to demonstrate that your concept can be translated into practice - and that means you do have to consider statistics, samples etc. If you don't consider them, then you will find it very difficult to have your concept accepted for use. In for a penny.... OK, send me your .doc file and I'll complete it and get SWCSE to complete it as well and I'll send both back in the same email. That might just show your supervisor that you do have to consider samples as SWCSE and myself are at pretty much the opposite ends of the scale as regards fluent English. My Reply-To: works and spooky.fm@interia.pl is now on the accept list for documents until I get the .doc file. SignaturePedt Thank you for your interest as well as for your opinion on the matter, but there is nothing I could possibly add to my previous message. Unfortunately, your e-mail address visible here is obliterated, so that I cannot send you the file unless you send me an e-mail or make the whole of your address visible at Usenet. I'm looking forward to hearing from you. Y.S. At 07:12:52 on Sat, 14 Jan 2006, Young Sociolinguist <spooky.fm@interia.pl> wrote in <1137251572.775573.312300@g44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com>: >Thank you for your interest as well as for your opinion on the matter, >but there is nothing I could possibly add to my previous message. >Unfortunately, your e-mail address visible here is obliterated, so that >I cannot send you the file unless you send me an e-mail or make the >whole of your address visible at Usenet. The address is visible throughout Usenet. But *you* aren't using Usenet. You're using GoogleGroups, which is a horrible malformed interface to the real Usenet, and I strongly recommend that you use a real newsreader instead. It is Google which munges e-mail address, to avoid spambot harvesting on the web. Try clicking on Options (or whatever similar link Google offers) and looking for Original Message, or Raw Text, or some similar wording, which will enable you to see the post before Google messed around with it. This should also, incidentally, take you to a link whereby you can quote enough of the post to which you are replying to provide a little context, in the way that you will have seen the rest of us do. SignatureMolly Mockford They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) > At 07:12:52 on Sat, 14 Jan 2006, Young Sociolinguist > <spooky.fm@interia.pl> wrote in [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin > (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) That won't work. You can, however, click on the email address in question, and Google will ask you for a code to enter (one of those graphic windows used to defeat spammers), then let you see the whole address. Ivan >You can, however, click on the email address in >question, and Google will ask you for a code to enter (one of those >graphic windows used to defeat spammers), then let you see the whole >address. I hope that it shows the Reply-To rather than the From address. (In any other newsgroup, I would have said "hopefully", but I thought that might be unwise here. :) SignatureJohn Hall "I am not young enough to know everything." Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) > >You can, however, click on the email address in > >question, and Google will ask you for a code to enter (one of those [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > "I am not young enough to know everything." > Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) It's the From address. Ivan Try as I might, I couldn't do it. The whole address is visible, but it contains signs that cannot appear in an e-mail address, so that Outlook Express refuses to send my message. Dear Pedt, if you are keen on taking my survey, please send me an e-mail at spooky.fm@interia.pl Thanks >Try as I might, I couldn't do it. The whole address is visible, but it >contains signs that cannot appear in an e-mail address, <snip> That's because Google is evidently showing you Pedt's From address, which contains those funny characters, and not his Reply-To address, which doesn't, is valid, and is the one that should be used when sending email responses. But if Google won't reveal it, you are rather stuck. SignatureJohn Hall "I am not young enough to know everything." Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) At 17:48:05 on Sun, 15 Jan 2006, John Hall <nospam_nov03@jhall.co.uk> wrote in <26rg+2AVroyDFwCE@jhall.demon.co.uk>: >>Try as I might, I couldn't do it. The whole address is visible, but it >>contains signs that cannot appear in an e-mail address, [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >which doesn't, is valid, and is the one that should be used when sending >email responses. But if Google won't reveal it, you are rather stuck. Yes, I've double-checked, and there seems to be no way to extract a Reply-To address from GoogleGroups. All the more reason to use properly designed newsreader software. (Or even Outlook Express.) SignatureMolly Mockford They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) > At 17:48:05 on Sun, 15 Jan 2006, John Hall <nospam_nov03@jhall.co.uk> > wrote in <26rg+2AVroyDFwCE@jhall.demon.co.uk>: [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin > (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) Yes, there is. Click on the "..." portion of the address in question. Google will prompt you for a code. The it will return you to the thread, where you have to find the message in question again. Then click on "show options," then click on "show original." This will contain both the from and Reply-To addresses. Ivan At 11:17:27 on Sun, 15 Jan 2006, Ivan <vorotyntsev@yahoo.com> wrote in <1137352647.877808.56790@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>: >> Yes, I've double-checked, and there seems to be no way to extract a >> Reply-To address from GoogleGroups. All the more reason to use properly >> designed newsreader software. (Or even Outlook Express.) >Yes, there is. Click on the "..." portion of the address in question. >Google will prompt you for a code. The it will return you to the >thread, where you have to find the message in question again. Then >click on "show options," then click on "show original." This will >contain both the from and Reply-To addresses. Heavens, what a palaver! SignatureMolly Mockford They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin (My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) > At 11:17:27 on Sun, 15 Jan 2006, Ivan <vorotyntsev@yahoo.com> wrote in > <1137352647.877808.56790@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>: [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > Heavens, what a palaver! It makes you wonder if either the sequence of actions or the result were intended. SignatureJohn Briggs to Molly, Ivan and John: Thank you ever so much. I finally managed to send the message. I sometimes think my dog knows more about computers than I do : ) >to Molly, Ivan and John: >Thank you ever so much. I finally managed to send the message. I >sometimes think my dog knows more about computers than I do : ) I don't blame you for struggling. Googlegroups seems to go out of its way to make it difficult. If you except to be using newsgroups a lot, and your ISP (Internet service provider) does not have a news server of its own, then it could be worth your while investigating the news server described here: http://news.individual.net It costs 10 Euros a year, and you can access it through Outlook Express (or other news reading software of your choice). SignatureJohn Hall "I am not young enough to know everything." Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) >>to Molly, Ivan and John: >>Thank you ever so much. I finally managed to send the message. I >>sometimes think my dog knows more about computers than I do : ) >> >I don't blame you for struggling. Googlegroups seems to go out of its >way to make it difficult. If you except Sorry! In case you were confused, that was meant to be "expect", of course. <snip> SignatureJohn Hall "I am not young enough to know everything." Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) In message <PTw+EAF9PAzDFwP2@jhall.demon.co.uk>, at 20:37:17 on Mon, 16 Jan 2006, John Hall <nospam_nov03@jhall.co.uk> wibbled >>to Molly, Ivan and John: >>Thank you ever so much. I finally managed to send the message. I [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] >and you can access it through Outlook Express (or other news reading >software of your choice). As he's in Poland, he could also have a look at news.gazeta.pl - signup via www.gazeta.pl - free and pretty reliable IME. SignaturePedt |
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