Spring 2007
English 336: Linguistics

Guidelines for Linguistics Projects

Dr. Tina L. Hanlon

Home page for Linguistics 

Topics:

• Group projects (2 or 3 people) are allowed, but not required; each person must submit a proposal and report separately on his or her own work on the project.

• Choose any topic that relates to linguistics or applications of language study. Just be sure your focus remains on issues relating to language, and you don't get too far away from it if your topic involves other areas of studying literature or teaching English. For example, "how to teach a short story" would not be acceptable unless you were analyzing the language or style of a story, or using the story to teach something about syntax or dialects.

• The following categories include some suggestions. There are many other topics proposed at the end of each section of the course reader. These are all general suggestions and you must develop your own precise focus.

Dialectology:

• Look for examples of dialect features in writing samples, speech, dramatic dialogue, literature, etc.
• Develop a topic using the collection of Appalachian dialect materials at the Blue Ridge Institute.
• Explore the effects of dialect diversity in students on teaching methods in the schools.

[Note: If you do some interesting work on Appalachian dialects, I would be interested in publishing it in the web site AppLit.]

Other Language Differences, Old and New:

• Compare English to another language by focusing on some specific features of the languages.
• Report on some issue relating to bilingual education, English Only movements, teaching ESL, artificial languages such as Esperanto, “dying” languages, language academies, etc.
• Report on some aspect of the history of English, perhaps by analyzing samples of Old or Middle English, or comparing versions of the Lord’s Prayer written in different periods.

Style (limitless possibilities for methods of style analysis and samples to analyze):

• Many methods of analyzing style have been developed, and some recent research has focused on applying linguistic methods to literary analysis. Methods vary in their goals and procedures. Style analysis may involve looking for readability, syntactic maturity or complexity, sentence types or variety, levels of formality (use of slang or jargon or metaphor, e.g.), objective vs. subjective styles, or some other criteria.
• Method(s) of style analysis may be used to analyze or compare samples of speech, fiction, poetry, or particular types of nonfiction or persuasion—news writing, advertising, student writing at different levels, technical writing, scholarly writing, bureaucratic writing, etc.

Other Topics Relating to Teaching:

• Survey and evaluate textbooks or handbooks, or children’s books that feature aspects of language such as word play. Focus by selecting particular grade level(s), and choose one or a few specific linguistic topics to compare in textbooks. Perhaps "test" the exercises given in those books.
• Gather information (from books/journals, interviews, surveys, classroom observation, etc.) on how some area of language arts or foreign languages is taught in particular schools.
• Analyze or try prepared lesson plans or develop your own lesson plan for teaching a specific topic or skill involving English or foreign language.
• Collect and analyze samples of common language problems in student writing.
• Analyze/compare programs available for using computers to teach language skills.

Usage and Discourse Analysis:

• Collect published information or do a survey yourself involving a selection of problematic grammatical usage items or attitudes about usage.
• Explore the controversies over sexism or other kinds of prejudice in language.
• Much recent research has explored the structure of various kinds of discourse and variations in conversational styles used by, for example, men and women. You may want to investigate a topic such as language differences in various types of discourse or contexts among different groups.
• Report on the social significance of euphemism and changing attitudes toward taboo words (e.g., swear words), use of such words in music, comedy, television, pornography or other media.

Theory, Miscellaneous Topics:

• Work on expanding some aspect of the grammar we cover in class. Develop rules yourself to account for particular types of sentences that aren't fully explained in our book.
• Compare different grammatical approaches (traditional, structural, transformational, case, or others) by showing how those grammars would account for specific types of structures.
• Report on research on some topic involving language universals, language acquisition, psycholinguistics, semantics.
• Report on the jargon or slang of a particular trade, profession, recreational activity or social group, and/or attitudes about language within that group.
• Report on words created or used to name and sell products, history or significance of place names, language in politics—the possibilities are endless.

Methods and Resources:

The projects should not be just library research reports and no one is expected to do extensive research, although background reading may help you focus on a topic or provide crucial ideas and information to be used in your report. Even if most of your material comes from books or journals (secondary research), in most cases you should do some kind of primary research or "hands-on" work yourself. For example, if you are interested in stylistics, read about different methods, decide which one(s) you want to try out or compare, and try that method on some short samples of writing or speech. Other projects might involve use of interviews, surveys, exercises, computers, letters of inquiry, etc. Even though the focus should be narrow and only a short report will be required at the end, leave yourself enough time in case you want to send for information, arrange for interviews, etc.

If you approach any real people for information or assistance—either teachers/scholars or others, be sure to do so with courtesy and tact. Some people are very self-conscious or defensive about their language or the teaching of English. You don't want them to get the impression you are spying on them or trying to criticize their language habits or teaching methods. Sociolinguists have spent decades refining their methods for collecting data because direct questions about language create an environment in which people cannot report accurately on their own natural usage, and there are many controversies surrounding the teaching of formal grammar and other language skills in the schools.

Creative approaches and original hypotheses are welcome, but you are not expected to create original methods or theories about your subject. Feel free to borrow the ideas or methods of experts and practitioners, and then look for your own examples or test the method on your own samples. You may find that what you learn about the difficulties and complexities of gathering valid data or teaching effectively is as important as the content of the data or teaching lesson itself. If you plan a project that does not succeed in getting the results you expected, report on what you did learn about the methodology in that particular area.

Reporting on Projects:

• Proposals (in outline form) must be submitted by Apr. 11 (See format for proposals below).  Consult me about methods or progress as often as you wish. See format below for proposals.

• Oral reports will be given in class in the last weeks of the semester. Your report time will be restricted to 5 minutes per person. (Be sure to plan carefully so that you cover your topic briefly within the time limit, rather than being cut off unfinished when your time is up.) Preferences for dates and topics will be assigned based on how soon you request your date, and whether we can time your report in connection with a particular subject we will be studying in class.

• Any pertinent format or media may be used in the oral reports: give an overview of the work you did on your project and/or use handouts, whiteboard, recordings, posters, videotape, computer, etc. Be sure to arrange in advance for any equipment or photocopying you may need.

• The audience for your project is this class. Feel free to bring in guests; engage the class in discussion or debate; or ask us to pretend we are a special kind of audience, such as a ninth grade class. The class will be asked to offer comments and questions after your report.

• Bring an annotated bibliography of sources used for your project to distribute to the class. Use MLA or APA documentation. This is the only required writing for your project. It is optional to submit any additional written material to the class or the professor. Be sure any sources you use for theoretical or historical or linguistic background are reliable ones, and that you document all sources accurately in your bibliography. Guidelines for annotated bibliographies can be found at the Purdue U. OWL, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_annotatedbib.html. Your annotations can include any combination of summary and assessment or evaluation that you think will be helpful to you and your classmates.

• Do not plagiarize (obviously). If you read anything in your oral report that you did not write yourself, or quote from any of your sources in written material you submit, be sure to acknowledge where you got those words or ideas.

• Your classmates may be asked to write brief evaluations of your oral report.

Proposal for Project in Linguistics

Name (List others in group, too, if part of a group project):


Topic:



Statement of Purpose of Project:






Scope or Parts of Project (indicate how your portion fits into whole project if working with a group):











Procedures and Methods to be Used:











Resources to be Used (may include people and written sources):







Final Form in which Project will be Displayed:
(Must include annotated bibliography and oral report)