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Donald Laycock
Donald Laycock (1936–1988) was an Australian linguist and anthropologist. He is best remembered for his work on the languages of Papua New Guinea. Biography He was a graduate of University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia and later worked as a researcher at the University of Adelaide in Anthropology. He undertook his Ph.D. at the Australian National University in linguistics and became one among the leading authorities on the languages of Papua New Guinea.Dutton, T., Ross, M. and Tryon, D. (eds.). 1992. ''The Language Game: Papers in memory of Donald C. Laycock''. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. He performed several pioneering surveys of the languages of the Sepik region of New Guinea. The first of these, his Ph.D. research under the supervision of Stephen Wurm, was published as ''The Ndu languages'' (1965), and established the existence of this closely related group of languages. In subsequent surveys, Laycock found the Ndu languages were part of a larger language ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canberra
Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest inland city, and the list of cities in Australia by population, eighth-largest Australian city by population. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory at the northern tip of the Australian Alps, the country's highest mountain range. Canberra's estimated population was 473,855. The area chosen for the capital had been inhabited by Aboriginal Australians for up to 21,000 years, by groups including the Ngunnawal and Ngambri. history of Australia (1788–1850), European settlement commenced in the first half of the 19th century, as evidenced by surviving landmarks such as St John the Baptist Church, Reid, St John's Anglican Church and Blundells Cottage. On 1 January 1901, federation of the colonies of Australi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piawi Languages
The Piawi languages are a small language family, family of Papuan languages spoken in the Schraeder Range of the Madang Highlands of Papua New Guinea that had been part of Stephen Wurm's Trans–New Guinea languages, Trans–New Guinea proposal. They are now connected to the Arafundi languages, Arafundi and Madang languages. The name "Piawi" is an acronym of three language varieties: Pinai (Pinaye), Aramo/Aramaue (Hagahai) and Wiyaw (Harway/Waibuk). Pinai and Hagahai are often classified as a single language. Classification Piawi consists of only two languages: * Piawi family: Pinai-Hagahai language, Pinai-Hagahai, Haruai language, Haruai (Waibuk) Davies and Comrie (1985) noted some pronominal similarities with the Engan languages in Trans–New Guinea, which Ross took into consideration, but no lexical similarities. Comrie believes the family is as isolate. William A. Foley suggested that Piawi and Arafundi languages, Arafundi may be related (Comrie 1992), and according to Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Dee (mathematician)
John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician, astronomer, teacher, astrologer, occultist, and alchemist. He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I, and spent much of his time on alchemy, divination, and Hermetic philosophy. As an antiquarian, he had one of the largest libraries in England at the time. As a political advisor, he advocated the foundation of English colonies in the New World to form a "British Empire", a term he is credited with coining. Dee eventually left Elizabeth's service and went on a quest for additional knowledge in the deeper realms of the occult and supernatural. He aligned himself with several individuals who may have been charlatans, travelled through Europe, and was accused of spying for the English Crown. Upon his return to England, he found his home and library vandalised. He eventually returned to the Queen's service, but was turned away when she was succeeded by James I. He died in poverty in London, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enochian
Enochian is an occult constructed language—said by its originators to have been received from angels—recorded in the private journals of John Dee and his colleague Edward Kelley in late 16th-century England. Kelley was a scryer who worked with Dee in his magical investigations. The language is integral to the practice of Enochian magic. The language found in Dee's and Kelley's journals encompasses a limited textual corpus. Linguist Donald Laycock, an Australian Skeptic, studied the Enochian journals, and argues against any extraordinary features. The untranslated texts of the ''Liber Loagaeth'' manuscript recall the patterns of glossolalia rather than true language. Dee did not distinguish the ''Liber Loagaeth'' material from the translated language of the ''Calls'', which is more like an artificial language. This language was called Angelical by Dee and later came to be referred to as "Enochian" by subsequent writers. The phonology and grammar resemble English, though ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glossolalia
Speaking in tongues, also known as glossolalia, is an activity or practice in which people utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought by believers to be languages unknown to the speaker. One definition used by linguists is the fluid vocalizing of speech-like syllables that lack any readily comprehensible meaning. In some cases, as part of religious practice, some believe it to be a divine language unknown to the speaker. Glossolalia is practiced in Pentecostal and charismatic Christianity, as well as in other religions. Sometimes a distinction is made between "glossolalia" and "xenolalia", or " xenoglossy", which specifically relates to the belief that the language being spoken is a natural language previously unknown to the speaker. Etymology ''Glossolalia'' is a borrowing of the (), which is a compound of the () and () . The Greek expression (in various forms) appears in the New Testament in the books of Acts and First Corinthians. In Acts 2, the followers of C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Skeptics
Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using science, scientific methodologies. This page covers all Australian skeptical groups which are of this mindset. The name "Australian Skeptics" can be confused with one of the more prominent groups, "Australian Skeptics Inc", which is based in Sydney and is one of the central organising groups within Australian Skeptics. Origins In 1979, Mark Plummer (later president of Australian Skeptics) sent a letter to the American skeptical magazine ''Skeptical Inquirer, The Zetetic'' in which he expressed interest in beginning a skeptical organisation in Australia. Sydney electronics entrepreneur Dick Smith (entrepreneur), Dick Smith responded to the letter, and offered to sponsor a visit to Australia by James Randi, the principal investigator for the American-based Committee for the Scientific Investig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mensa International
Mensa International is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test. Mensa formally comprises national groups and the umbrella organisation Mensa International, with a registered office in Caythorpe, Lincolnshire, England, which is separate from the British Mensa office in Wolverhampton. Etymology The word ''mensa'' (, ) is Latin for ' table', as is symbolised in the organisation's logo, and was chosen to demonstrate the round-table nature of the organisation: the coming together of equals. History Australian Roland Berrill and Lancelot Ware, a British scientist and lawyer, founded Mensa at Lincoln College, in Oxford, England in 1946, with the intention of forming a society for the most intelligent, with the only qualification being a high IQ. The society was ostensibly to be non-political in its aims and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Linguistic Society
The Australian Linguistic Society (ALS) is an academic association for linguists. It was established in 1967 with the primary goal of furthering interest in and support for linguistics research and teaching in Australia. The Australian Linguistic Society also publishes a Peer review, peer-reviewed academic journal, the Australian Journal of Linguistics, holds an annual Academic conference, conference, an occasional linguistics institute, and has developed and endorsed several policies and statements relating to language and linguistics. The current president of the ALS is Bill Palmer, the Secretary is James Bednall, and the Treasurer is Robert Mailhammer. The Society recognises Accredited Linguists (ALing) who have completed relevant linguistic qualifications. Objectives The specific objectives of the Australian Linguistic Society are: # To further interest in, and support for, linguistic research and teaching in Australia. # To organise an annual meeting and visits of local and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australian Academy Of The Humanities
The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australian Government. History The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969. Its antecedent was the Australian Humanities Research Council (AHRC), which was convened informally in 1954 through the combined efforts of Brian R. Elliott and Professor A. N. Jeffares, who organised preliminary meetings in Melbourne of delegates drawn from the Faculties of Arts in Australian universities. The AHRC was a positive force in education and scholarship, and its activities gradually evolved, especially in its support for national projects in the humanities. Recognition among the AHRC executive of the changing functions of the Council led in 1967 to the proposal of establishing an Academy. Royal consent was granted to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ribaldry
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy". Like any humour, ribaldry may be read as conventional or subversive. Ribaldry typically depends on a shared background of sexual conventions and values, and its comedy generally depends on seeing those conventions broken. The ritual taboo-breaking that is a usual counterpart of ribaldry underlies its controversial nature and explains why ribaldry is sometimes a subject of censorship. Ribaldry, whose usual aim is ''not'' "merely" to be sexually stimulating, often does address larger concerns than mere sexual appetite. However, being presented in the form of comedy, these larger concerns may be overlooked by censors. Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at the foibles and weaknesses that manifest themselves in human sexuality, rather than to present sexual stimulation either overt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tarot Cards
Tarot (, first known as '' trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play trick-taking card games such as Tarocchini. From their Italian roots, tarot games spread to most of Europe, evolving into new forms including German Grosstarok and modern examples such as French Tarot and Austrian Königrufen. Tarot is most commonly found in many countries, especially in English and Spanish speaking countries where tarot games are not as widely played, in the form of specially designed cartomantic decks used primarily for tarot card reading, in which each card corresponds to an assigned archetype or interpretation for divination, fortune-telling or for other non-gaming uses. The emergence of custom decks for use in divination via tarot card reading and cartomancy began after French occultists made elaborate, but unsubstantia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Channeling (mediumistic)
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consider it a religious movement, its adherents typically see it as spiritual or as a unification of mind, body, and spirit, and rarely use the term ''New Age'' themselves. Scholars often call it the New Age movement, although others contest this term and suggest it is better seen as a ''milieu'' or ''zeitgeist''. As a form of Western esotericism, the New Age drew heavily upon esoteric traditions such as the occultism of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including the work of Emanuel Swedenborg and Franz Mesmer, as well as Spiritualism, New Thought, and Theosophy. More immediately, it arose from mid-20th-century influences such as the UFO religions of the 1950s, the counterculture of the 1960s, and the Human Potential Movement. Its exac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
