Monday, January 9, 2017

Spring 2017 Daily Assignments

#36. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25th
a)  Read "
Chimps, Children and Creoles" by Jean Aitchison (this text has been in the Professor Reserves system at the Library since Friday, April 21st).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#36. Miller.”

#35. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 23rd
a)  Read "I'll Explain It to You: Lecturing and Listening 
" by Deborah Tannen (this text has been in the Professor Reserves system at the Library since Friday, April 21st).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#35. Tannen.”


#34. Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, April 20th
a)  Read "
Nonverbal Communication" by George Miller (this text was delivered to the Library on Wednesday morning, 4/19, and should be in the Professor Reserves system soon . . .; if it's not, I won't penalize late submissions).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#34. Miller.”


#33. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18th (to be decided . . . before class on the 19th if you can!).
a)  Read "
Regional Dialects and Social Class" by Ronald K.S. Macaulay (here is a link to it; it's also on the library's website).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#33. Macaulay.”


#32. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 16th Friday, April 21st. 
a)  Read "Dialects'" by Lee Pederson (available on the library's website).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#32. Pederson.”


 #31. Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, April 13th*. 
a)  Read "American Sign Language: 'It's not Mouth Stuff, It's Brain Stuff'" by Richard Wolkomir (I have emailed you the pdf;  here is a link to it).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#31. Wolkomir.”
*If you attend the Amadeus screening on Thursday night, you can push back the deadline without penalty.  Let me know when you think you can get it in.

#30. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 11th 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 13th.
a)  Read "Discourse Patterns of Males and Females" by Fern Johnson (will be available in PDF from through the Library website).* [If this pdf is not posted by the library staff before 2 p.m. on April 11th, the deadline for this assignment will be pushed back.]
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#30. Johnson.”

#29. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 9th. 
a)  Read "Ethnic Style in Male and Female Conversation" by Deborah Tannen (will be available in PDF from through the Library website).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#29. Tannen #1.”

#28. Due by 11 p.m. on Saturday, April 8th. 
a) Attend a session of the Scissortail Creative Writing Festival
b) Delight in the language on display
c) If you attend a session that does not bring you delight, return to step a above and try again. If you attend a session that brings you delight, proceed to step d below
d) Send me an e-mail in which you identify an author (or multiple authors) who gave you linguistic delight. Describe the source of the delight
e) Leave an excerpt from your email in the comment box at ecuscissortail.blogspot.com that will go live on Thursday a.m.

#27. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4th. 
a)  Read "A Myth: Aborigines Speak a Primitive Language" by Nicholas Evans (available at this link).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#27. Evans.”

#26. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, April 2nd. 
a)  Read "Sign Language" by Karen Emmorey (available in PDF from through the Library websitel).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#26. Emmorey.”

#25. Due by 2 p.m. on Friday, March 31st. 
a)  Watch "Sound and Fury" to minute 44:55.
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from watching the clip
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.
c) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#25. Sound and Fury.”

#24. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, March 26th Tuesday, March 28th. 
a)  Read "Languages and Writing" by John Hughes  (sent to you in PDF form via email).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
B) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#24. Hughes.”

#23. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, March 26th Tuesday, March 28th. 
a)  Read "Metaphors We Live By" by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson  (sent to you in PDF form via email; also available at this link--read the "Concepts We Live By" section ).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
B) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#23. Lakoff and Johnson.”

#22. Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, March 23rd Sunday, March 26th.
a)  Read "Endangered Native American Languages" by James Crawford (available at this link ).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#22. Crawford.”

#21. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21st. 
a)  Read "Developmental Milestones in Motor and Language Development" by Eric Lennenberg and "How Children Learn Words" by George Miller and Patricia M. Gildea  (both are available in PDF form via the Linscheid Library's course reserve system under the Lennenberg listing).
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the sources.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#21. Lennenberg, Miller, Gildea.”

#20. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, March 19th. 
a)  Send me a 250-300 word e-mail in which you discuss a source you have found that is relevant to your assigned presentation reading.
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the source.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#20. My Presentation Research #2.”

#19. Due by 2 p.m. on Friday, March 10th. 
a)  Send me a 250-300 word e-mail in which you discuss a source you have found that is relevant to your assigned presentation reading.
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the source.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
b) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#19. My Presentation Research #1.”

#18. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, March 5th Tuesday, March 7th.
a)  Read "The Brain and Language" by Jeannine Heny (available in PDF form via the Linscheid Library's course reserve system).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
c) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#18. Heny” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the assigned essay.”

#17. Due by 2 p.m. on Friday, March 3rd.
a)  Read the text you have been assigned to make a presentation about in this class.
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
3) Identify a dimension of the text that you would like to do further research about and also identify two promising sources that seem like good starting places for that research.
d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “My Presentation Reading” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the essay I have been assigned to read for my presentation.”

#16. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, February 28th.
a)  Read "Suite for Ebony and Phonics" by John Rickford, which can be found at this link.
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with this assignment.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#16: Rickford” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of  'Suite for Ebony and Phonics,' and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

NOTICE:  There are two #15s below.  The one that is crossed through is a mistake. If you did this reading by Macualay instead of the one by Wolfram and Schilling-Estes and didn't find a blog to comment on, the mistake is mine, not yours.

#15. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, February 26th.
a)  Read "Regional Dialects and Social Class" by Ronald K. S. Macaulay, which can be found at this link, pp. 63-76, and will also be available as a PDF via the course reserves system in the Linscheid Library).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with this assignment.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#15: Macaulay” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of  'Regional Dialects and Social Class,' and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#15. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, February 26th.
a) Read "Standards and Vernaculars" by Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes, which can be found at this link, pp. 9-19, and will also be available as a PDF via the course reserves system in the Linscheid Library).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with this assignment.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#15: Wolfram and Schilling-Estes” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of  'Standards and Vernaculars,' and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#14. Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, February 23rd.
a)  Watch this video from the 15:30 mark to the 35:07 mark.
c) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from watching the clip
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#11: The Linguists--Part Two” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have seen every minute of the assigned video clip 'The Linguists,' and I have posted a comment on the blog.”


#13. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21st.
a)  Read "Speech Communities" by Paul Roberts (I emailed it to the class on February 20th; it's also available at this link).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#13: Roberts” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of  'Speech Communities,' and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#12.  Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, February 19th.Monday, February 20th.
a)  Read "Pragmatics: Discourse Routines" by Elaine Chaika (it is available as a PDF via the course reserves system in the Linscheid Library).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading.
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with this assignment.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#12: Chaika” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of  'Pragmatics,' and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#11D.  Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, February 16th.
a)  Watch this video from the 35:00 mark to the 46:00 mark.
c) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from watching the clip
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#11D: The Linguists--Part Three” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have seen every minute of the assigned video clip 'The Linguists,' and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#11C.  Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, February 14th.
a) Read "Why a Global Language?" (pp.1-28) by David Crystal. Here's a link (I also emailed to everyone a PDF on on Monday, the 13th).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them);
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#11C: Crystal.” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the assigned passage by Crystal, and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#11B.  Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, February 12th.
a) Read "Raising Bilingual Children in a Monolingual Culture" (which was emailed to everyone as a PDF on Friday, February 11th).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them);
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#11B: Caldas and Caron-Caldas” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the assigned passage by Caldas and Caron-Caldas, and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#11.  Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, February 9th.
a) Look for an online copy of the article you have been assigned to read. If you find it, send me the url.  If you don't, let me know.
b)  Watch this video to the 15:30 mark.
c) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from watching the clip
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#11: The Linguists--Part One” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have seen every minute of the assigned video clip 'The Linguists,' and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#10. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, February 7th.
a) ) Read "A Brief History of English" by Paul Roberts (available via this link OR this link).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them);
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)

c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#10: Roberts” In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the assigned passage by Paul Roberts, and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#9.  Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, February 2nd.
a) Read: the italicized introductory paragraph at the head of each of the 54 essays included in the handout distributed in class on January 27th.
b) E-mail:
Send me an e-mail at sbenton@ecok.edu. In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read the introductions to all the assigned essays.”

Identify the titles or three or more chapters whose subject intrigues you. Explain why each one is intrigues you. This assignment should be 250-300 words long.

ALSO:
e) EITHER violate one of Grice's maxims and offer an account of your experience in the comment section of the associated post on the course website OR send in a YouTube clip that illustrates someone else violating one of Grice's maxims (explain which maxim the person is violating).

#8. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, January 29th.
a) Read pp. 388-408 of the Pinker excerpt (available via electronic reserve).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
  • 1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them); 
  • 2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.) 
c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.
d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#7: Pinker 2”  In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the assigned passage by Steven Pinker, and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#7. Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, January 26th.
a)  Read pages 373-388 from the chapter titled "The Games People Play" by Steven Pinker, which appears in his 2007 book, The Stuff of Thought:  Language as a Window Into Human Nature.  The reading will be posted on the Linscheid Library's electronic reserve system (On the home page, click on "Books and More,"then click on the pull-down menu that says "Keyword," click on "Professor Reserves," and then write "Benton" in the blank. After you've opened the document, right-click on it to rotate it clockwise until it is in the vertical reading position.)
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
  • 1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them); 
  • 2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.) 
#6. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, January 24th.
a) Read "Does Your Language Shape How You Think?: by Guy Deutscher (available on this website)
b) Write a 100-150 word comment on Deutscher's and Pinker's differing takes on the effect that speaking a particular language has on the way someone thinks.  Read what other people have commented before you weigh in. Engage other viewpoints.

#5. Due by 11 p.m. on Sunday, January 22nd.
a) Read "Mentalese," the Pinker excerpt from The Language Instinct (available via electronic reserve).
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:

1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them);
2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.) c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send your e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#5: Pinker 1” (we'll read several Pinker articles).  In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the assigned passage by Steven Pinker, and I have posted a comment on the blog.”

#4. Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, January 19th.
a) Read "Phonetics" by Edward Callary (pp. 87-107). Available through ECU's course reserves system in the Linscheid Library.  Also available at this link.
b) Send me a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
  • 1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them); 
  • 2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.)
c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

We'll do some of the exercises in class.

#3. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, January 17th. 
a) Read "Making Peace in the Language Wars" by Bryan Garner.
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
  • 1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them); 
  • 2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.) 
c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send an e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#2: Daniels”  In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the essay by Bryan Garner and I have posted a comment on the blog.” Bring a hard copy of your e-mail to class on the 18th.
#2. Due by 11 p.m. on Thursday, January 12th.

a) Read "What Makes Good English Good" by John Algeo.
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
  • 1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them); 
  • 2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.) 
c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send an e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#2: Daniels”  In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the essay by John Algeo and I have posted a comment on the blog.” Bring a hard copy of your e-mail to class on the 13th.
#1. Due by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10th.
a) Read "Nine Ideas about Language" by Harvey Daniels.
b) Write a 250-300 word e-mail in which you:
  • 1) Identify one or more things that you learned from the assigned reading (you don't necessarily have to agree with them); 
  • 2) Provide an intellectual or emotional response (what was surprising? puzzling? fascinating? etc.) 
c) Post a short (25-30 word?) excerpt from your e-mail in the comment box on the post associated with the assignment on this website.

d) Send an e-mail to sbenton@ecok.edu. Put your full name in subject line of the e-mail along with this phrase: “#2: Daniels”  In the body of the e-mail, write the following sentence if it is true: “I have read every word of the essay by Harvey Daniels and I have posted a comment on the blog.” Bring a hard copy of your e-mail to class on the 16th.

6 comments:

  1. One point that I found very interesting is when Daniels said that no language is more superior to the other. I, for one, agree with this statement. However, I find it surprising. Currently, the English language is known as the “Universal Language.”
    I don’t find his point to be completely true. Why must English be the Universal Language? Why couldn’t it be Spanish, French, or German?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daniels mentions that language inexorably changes, and he gave some examples—hopefully, relevant, deer. I had not thought of those particular terms. But the thing I found most interesting about this part of the article is that Harvey Daniels casually used a word which, while probably acceptable at the time he typed it, has a rude connotation today—‘retarded’.

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  3. I learned multiple things from this essay, but a couple of things I found really interesting was the idea that "languages are intimately related to the societies and individuals who use them". What I gathered from this was that languages somewhat adapt to the area in which they are spoken.

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  5. I am curious as to who gets to define what constitutes “formal” and “informal” speech: why is Black English considered informal and why should a child who has grown up speaking that in his or her home be forced to code-switch to “standard English” at school or at work?

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  6. I have almost always been aware of the fact that I talk to my friends differently than I talk to my teachers or strangers. Although, I never really thought about it being broken down into different categories. Daniels brings in some ideas from Martin Joos and the 5 styles of speech formality that I think really solidified his case on how we use different speech with certain people in certain situations.

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