E-Prime: It's not for (Semantic) Wimps! OR E-Prime: (Semantic) Wimps may not find it to their liking!

 Okay! Speaking E-Prime for a whole week can be harder than one might think! Yes, it may be! Or maybe it really is!

"To Be" in Their Bonnets

A matter of semantics  

Cullen Murphy Feb 1 1992

The Atlantic 

A few days ago I opened up a recent issue (Volume 48, Number 2) of Et cetera, the quarterly journal of the International Society for General Semantics, and within a few minutes of doing so got a bit of a surprise. The surprise came from an article by Emory Menefee, a former president of the ISGS, which bluntly calls into question attempts by many society members to promote something called E-Prime, a form of English that has for years ranked extremely high among the interests of the general-semantics community. Advocates of E-Prime, for reasons I'll come to, favor the elimination in English of every form of the verb "to be"—be, been, is, am, are, was, were, 'm, 's, 're, and all the rest. They not only promote E-Prime as a theoretical proposition but also try in daily life to erase to be and its inflections from everything they write. The most committed advocates use E-Prime even when they talk. Given all this, to see the E-Prime endeavor criticized in an official organ— to see that endeavor, indeed, termed "quixotic"—naturally raised an eyebrow. When I queried the International Society for General Semantics about the matter, the executive director, Paul Dennithorne Johnston, assured me that the society never did, and does not now, regard E-Prime as tantamount to some sort of "party line." Well, fine. But it has strong support among the nomenklatura, and I do not expect them to hold their peace.

Happy E-Prime week, Everybody!!!

(Hey Everybody! If you haven't already read it, you must get a copy of this book. Along with RAW's other writings, this one really redecorated my reality tunnel. Enjoy it, and please, help spread the word about National E-Prime Week!)

 

From Quantum Psychology 

by Robert Anton Wilson

published by New Falcon Press

E and E-Prime

In 1933, in Science and Sanity, Alfred Korzybski proposed that we should abolish the "is of identity" from the English language. (The "is of identity" takes the form X is a Y. e.g., "Joe is a Communist," "Mary is a dumb file-clerk," "The universe is a giant machine," etc.) In 1949, D. David Bourland Jr. proposed the abolition of all forms of the words "is" or "to be" and the Bourland proposal (English without "isness") he called E-Prime, or English-Prime.

A few scientists have taken to writing in E-Prime (notable Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. E.W. Kellogg III). Bourland, in a recent (not-yet-published) paper tells of a few cases in which scientific reports, unsatisfactory to sombunall members of a research group, suddenly made sense and became acceptable when re-written in E-Prime. By and large, however, E-Prime has not yet caught on either in learned circles or in popular speech.

"Futurists" and the Future of Solar Energy

"Their predictions range from near-term to long-term, from the mundane to the fantastic, but many futurists, regardless of their focus, see solar power in our future."

  In the realm of science fiction, solar has long played a role as a primary energy source in imaginary futures. Ever since Dr. Hans Zeigler outfitted satellite Vanguard 1 with photovoltaic panels back in 1958, solar energy has sparked writers imaginations. From the solar space-yachts of Aurthur C. Clarke's Sunjammer to the horrific solar-powered swarms of killer “nano-bots” in Michael Crichton's Prey, solar energy production is a technology that speculative fiction writers have always seen as part of our future. But what about the people who's job it is to PREDICT the future, rather than imagine it? What do “Futurists” think about the role solar energy will play in the coming century?

 Futurists, sometimes called “Futurologists” are those social scientists, economists and others analysts who spend their time examining current trends and studying future scenarios. They may work for governments, corporations and other organizations. They may be academics, business consultants, journalists or bloggers, and their focus may vary from economics to technology to human relationships, but most take an interdisciplinary approach to predicting the future. Their predictions range from near-term to long-term, from the mundane to the fantastic, but many futurists, regardless of their focus, see solar power in our future.

Read the entire article at Solar Tribune. 

AnarchoSF: Pre-Order Your Copy!

Obsolete Press announces the upcoming release of the long-awaited first volume of the new publication, AnarchoSF. The book/zine will the first in a series of Obsolete Publications to explore the themes of anarchy, anarchism and the stateless society through the work of science fiction writers and artists, both contemporary and classic.

AnarchoSF v.1 hits the streets this month! Until April 15^th you can pre-order your copy for the special price of $6.99 ($7.99 after the 15^th) with free U.S. shipping. AND, you will get some free Obsolete Press swag along with the book!

AnarchoSF v.1 is the first in a series of Obsolete Publications to explore the themes of anarchy, anarchism and the stateless society through the work of science fiction writers and artists, both contemporary and classic.

The collection is edited by Obsolete Publisher Rich Dana and includes recent work by Tobey Anderson, Davi Barker, Ben Beck, FJ Bergman, Chris Bird, Ricardo Feral, klipschutz, Nicholas P. Oakley, Ursula Pflug, Alou Randon, illustrations by Tobey A. Anderson and Chris Bird and cover art, book design and illustrations by Blair Gauntt. It also features classic stories by Philip K. Dick and E.M. Forster. This premiere volume of AnarchoSF is dedicated to the late, great anarchist prankster and SF writer Mick Farren and features a salute to Mick, along with one of his last short stories.

Digital copies will be available for review by journalists, zinesters, bloggers, and podcasters. Send a request for a review copy to anarchosf@riseup.net. A limited number of hard copies will be available for reviewers as well.

A limited edition of AnarchoSF #1 including a special cover and extra material will be available for readers who pay with Bitcoin and other select crypto-currencies.