Janet Collins has since been added to the committee. No member news this time. Either no one did anything interesting, or you're keeping your exploits secret for unknown reasons. Apparently by 'object' he means something relatively concrete, along the lines of a breadbox. In his view reality is the world of the concrete, and illusion is the only appropriate label for abstractions.
People are real, their articulatory apparatus is real, and the connections in their brains are real.
According to Lamb, these are the only appropriate objects of study when examining language, since they are the only 'real' objects. What these 'objects' have in common is that they can be seen, smelt, felt and occasionally heard. They are available to our most primitive perceptual investigations. So perhaps by the 'real' Dr. Lamb means the palpable. What these concepts all have in common is that they are relatively abstract.