March 13, 2008
PHONOLOGICAL RESTRUCTURING AND BROCA’S APHASIA AS A FUNCTION OF CULTURAL ASSIMILATION: AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
| JASON ERIK LUNDBERG |
Ahmed, Randa, et al. “Catastrophic Seed Response to Polymorphic Bacterial Corn Leaf Blight.” Journal of American Agronomy 117 (20__): 1080-93. Academic paper on the disease that led to the agri-economic collapse of the North American Union. In the early 21st century, the country relied on large monoculture corn farms to produce food additives, pharmaceutical paste, cosmetics, paper products, toothpaste, whiskey, beer, &c. The loss of this crop, and the subsequent blights and viruses that devastated N.A.U. wheat, soybeans, and cotton, is a direct cause of the country’s current third-world status.
Jameson, Aric Dean. The Collapsed State and Rise of the One Party. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Political pamphlet widely condemned by the N.A.U. government as heretical propaganda. Though an author name is given, it is widely assumed to be a pseudonym. City, publisher, and year of publication are unknown. Popular among N.A.U. dissidents as well as international sympathizers. Hailed by the BBC as a true account of the formation and domination of the One Party as the authoritarian ruling force. Distributed via samizdat, often with poor production values.
Mulut Besar Café. Advertisement. MediaCorps. Aug. 20__. Vidscreen advert for one of the most popular cafés in the Southeast Asian island-nation of Tinhau. Specifically geared toward tourists and foreign talents, and showcases the odd dichotomy between the country’s Eastern and Western influences. Of note is the focus on teh halia, a Malaysian “pulled tea” sweetened by condensed milk and ginger water.
Lehrer, Lucas. The Diary of a Man Who Disappeared. Thimphu: Two Cranes Press, 20__. Memoir of a missionary from the N.A.U. government sent to convert the “heathens” of Tinhau, but who came to embrace the culture and way of life there. Written as diary entries addressed to a mysterious Mr. O’Brien, possibly his supervisor. Lehrer initially fails in his task and when his funds run out must take a job as an English teacher; he falls in love with one of his students, the noted Chinese-language poet Yu Wei, and Lehrer’s writing skills incorporate more and more aspects of Tinglish as the book progresses. Much has been made of the devolution of his language skills during his time in country, and some have accused the government of Tinhau with exposing Lehrer to a lingual meme. It is yet unknown whether he suffered permanent brain damage, or if this was merely a side-effect of his assimilation into the culture. Lehrer now lives in Bhutan and was unavailable for interview.
Lots, Wen. “High on the Wire.” Journal of Asian Transportation 37.3 (20__): 313-48. In-depth examination of the inexpensive pedal-powered bicycle wire technology used by environmentally conscious citizens in Tinhau, or those unable to purchase transportation via boat, elevated train, zeppelin, or passenger balloon. First developed by local inventor Wenhua Ma and quickly acquired by Yamdrok Holdings. The wires criss-cross the tall industrial and residential buildings all across the country; surprisingly few vehicular accidents have been reported.
Penke, Martina, Ulrike Janssen, and Marion Krause. “The Representation of Inflectional Morphology: Evidence from Broca’s Aphasia.” Brain and Language 68.1-2 (1999): 225-32. Academic paper on how “dualistic models of inflection assume a qualitative distinction between affix-based regular forms and stores irregular forms, predicting that the two distinct mechanisms can be selectively affected in language disorders” (from the abstract).
Return of the Zeppelin. Dir. Adrienne Rilke. Cerebral infobomb recording. The History Network, 20__. Nine-hour documentary series on the history of zeppelin technology and its resurgence after the passing of peak oil. Particularly of note are the advances made in transatlantic travel, as well as the upsurge in air piracy. Presented in flash-burst cerebral infobomb format, though the technology is no longer readily available, and may only be employed at authorized infobomb booths.
“Tinglish.” Wikilengua (Aug. 20__). 3 Oct. 20__.
Tsui, Qiang. Life in the Drowned City. Trans. Oscar Jesus Galvez. Tinhau: National Univ. of Tinhau Press, 20__. Account of the seven years of daily life on Tinhau after the polar ice caps melted and the ocean levels rose to flood a great majority of the island nation. Particular focus is paid to the vertical development of transportation and construction, and the setbacks to the food sector. The penultimate chapter discusses the other coastal areas of the world affected by the Flood, but these areas have thus far received more world coverage, and Tsui is clearly concerned with raising awareness of the state of his homeland, which at this point has been ignored by the international media.
Yu, Wei. “To Chur Lehrer.” 29 February 20__. Letter 73 of The Letters of Yu Wei. Ed. Elissa Travers. Trans. Ysabel Rojas. Vol. 1. London: Byzantine Press, 20__. 137-38. The first of many letters to Lucas Lehrer, the author’s English teacher and future lover. Yu had a solid literary career as a Chinese-language poet before her agent’s insistence that she improve her English skills, and she was a prolific letter writer among Tinhau’s literary circuit. Letter 73 until the end of volume 1 are made up of her love letters to and from Lehrer, as well as correspondence with her friends about the relationship. Volume 2 returns to her earlier priorities: her literary career; as she was living with Lehrer at this point in her life, there are no letters to him, save one, written three days before her unexpected and untimely death. This final letter is not published and is only alluded to in the book; it is assumed that this is what sent Lehrer to Bhutan.
Jason Erik Lundberg is a writer, publisher, husband, Buddhist American expatriate, Singapore resident, blogger, podcaster, Clarion graduate, Master of Arts, teacher, student, Barthesian construct, persona, and subjective literary manifestation. He is also atoms, molecules, chemical reactions, electrical synapses, and far too clever for his own good. His website can be found at www.jasonlundberg.net.