War of Qs
When I chose the linguistic path in my philological studies, I was taught about linguistic research. Some people looked at the development of linguistic forms, some counted words, some did yet different, sometimes even interesting things, all requiring certain methods. And we all lived in harmony, at least insofar as methodologies were concerned. Then, about 10 or so years ago I became interested in things psychiatric and psychological and discovered that what I did w Continue reading “War of Qs”
Save our souls
I’m writing a book. It goes well, so I am completely exhausted. For the last two and a half weeks, I have spent 8-12 hours a day in front of the computer screen, mostly writing. Writing a book is draining, intellectually, emotionally, and, especially at my age, physically. But a book counts for as much as a good article in the British research evaluation. To be honest, it really makes no sense to write academic books any more. And yet, I tell myself, no article will ever give the elation of holding a published book. Continue reading “Save our souls”
I am foreign
I am foreign. Ever since I came to live in this country, I have been foreign. Not Polish, not European, not non-British, I have just been foreign. Sometimes, rarely, I have also been Eastern European. You know, it’s this place far away to the east, where you can meet polar bears in the streets.
Those about to speak…
I am going to attend a conference soon. But as much as I look forward to it (and to Rome, which I adore), I also know, it will be a time of frustration. But before I offer my rant, I’ll tell a story. About 15 years ago I attended one of large international conferences in pragmatics. As usual on such occasions, there were a number of plenary lectures which were 3-4 times longer than the time allocated to mere mo Continue reading “Those about to speak…”