Noncompositional

Browsing through the website of the LSA, I noticed a series of pamphlets that answer some frequently asked questions. Some have been around for a while, like the Why Join the LSA? and Why Major in Linguistics? ones. But there are over a dozen more, all on good topics that everyone should read, to allow their lives to become more linguistically enriched. They’re short and well-written, and hint at the depth of research that supports the statements made in the pamphlets.

As a side note, what exactly is the semantics of frequently asked question? I know it appears in places where even the author admits that the questions answered are not frequently, if ever, asked, indicating that the literal meaning is still alive (otherwise why make disclaimers). But it could also just mean “questions that, if people felt like asking questions, would be common questions”. But if you look at the pamphlet titles, not all of them are questions, like Linguistics and National Security and Bilingualism. But I suppose that’s just semantics quibbling. [hmm...a new topic for a pamphlet? What is Semantics, really?]

One also might wonder who is frequently asked these questions. I’m sure linguists are (I’ve been asked six of them…outside of a classroom), including the people who wrote and commissioned the pamphlets. But how many has the LSA, as an institution, been asked? Of course, the website does not state that the LSA has been asked the questions per se, though I suppose the Why Join is reasonable.