Speakeasy wrote:UPDATE 2: Audio Files for Alexander Schenker’s Beginning Polish
Not long after sending a request to Yale University that free, public access be restored to the audio files of Alexander Schenker’s Beginning Polish course, I received an automated reply by Email advising me that the Director, World Languages, Yale University was presently away from the office and that he would reply upon his return. That was last weekend. As we are now Wednesday afternoon and as I have not yet received a reply to my request, and giving that we are well into the Summer Vacation Period, I would imagine that the Director is presently on vacation and that, upon his return to the office, he will have to wade through a gillion Emails, decide which ones require his immediate attention and, hopefully, get around to responding to my request by Christmas. Be not dismayed, I shall not allow this matter to expire for want of attention!
PERSONAL OPINION: Free access to the above-named Audio Files
As a side note, should there have been a change of ownership of the copyrights to the above-named audio recordings and should access to these files now be restricted owing to such a change, while I am by no means an expert in such matters, I will offer my personal opinion that, given the free access to these files via the websites of at least two U.S. universities, for over a decade, they are de facto in the public domain. I reiterate, this is but a personal opinion on my part.
EDITED:
Formatting.
Hopefully he responds and it clears up this being freely available to the people. From reading the intro text to Beginning Polish (which just arrived today), the author thanks, "Prof. William S. Cornyn, of Yale University, either directly, in conversation, or indirectly, through his
Beginning Russian, has influenced the general plan of the book and the formulation of many grammatical statements."
I don't recall seeing that particular book discussed anywhere, but if it also comes with 30-60 hours of audio, it might be a gem of audiolingual goodness as well. I see copies of it are available quite cheaply on amazon. Come on Yale, make it happen.