 |
|
|
|
LIN
351 Week 3 HW The purpose of most the assignments for this course is to:
This is what sociolinguists actually do, so you’ll get a chance to see how each step of the research process works. For this assignment, you will turn in answers to A and B in Part 1. Part 1: Sociolinguistic variables and categoriesThe main goal of this part of the assignment is to work with terminology so that we are all on
the same page when we use language to talk about language, and to get familiar with the concept of a sociolinguistic variable. It should help you think back on what you learned in LIN251. (A) The linguistic variable
Think
of five different ways that
English varies. (Or you may present variables from another language you speak. In that case, please provide glosses.) You might think of lexical, phonological, or syntactic
variables. Choose at least one variable that is phonological (or phonetic) and
at least one that is lexical. Model your responses on this example, showing the
variable, all of its variants,
and stating what type of variable it is. You’ll need to create a name for your variable. Put it in parentheses.
(B)
Sociolinguistic categories (also called external factors) For
each of the 5 variables that you gave in (A), briefly discuss external factors
that correlate to the selection of each variant. Although not all will be
relevant for each variable you think of, you’ll want to think about:
You may either rely on your own intuitions for this part, or do some quick research. If you do research, then you must cite your source(s). If you don't cite sources, we will assume that your response is based on your own knowledge.) Sample
response:
For the variable (evening meal), the word ‘supper’ is preferred by Canadians age 30-69 while
‘dinner’ is preferred by Canadians over the
age of 70 (from Jack Chambers' Dialect
Topography website, no longer online). Part 2: Getting set up for the projectHere, we will all work on the same sociolinguistic variable: the pronunciation of (r) in Boston English. Step 1: Download the following paper from Quercus. Check the “Reading” module. Or link to the paper directly.
Read/skim this article in order to understand the issues involved in the study of the variable (r). A number of data files are required for this project. They are all accessed through the Corpora in the Classroom website. In this site, select the New England Blizzard corpus. You will be asked to review and e-sign a corpus use form indicating that you understand how you may and may not use the data (it's restricted to use for this class's assignments). After you do that, you can see the files in the corpus. Step 2: Download the zipped recording file (.zip) and the corresponding transcript file (.eaf) for at least 4 of the speakers listed in Table 1 below. Save the files together in a folder on a computer that you will be able to find and use all semester. The .eaf files are the transcribed recordings that will serve as your raw data files. There is no need to print these files. Rather, read through these instructions first, which include tips on how to deal with these data files. This document will guide you step-by-step through the assignment and the analysis. THE SAMPLE DESIGN: You will be working with data from four speakers, all from Boston. Choose the ones that allow you to make a comparison that interests you. Here is some info about them. Step 3: Download the software program ELAN and install it on your computer. ELAN is freeware that runs on Mac, Windows and Linux. On this Download page you will also see links to the manual for ELAN (Documentation). Download or bookmark this for future reference.It will simplify things to install the application in the same folder as the .wav and .eaf files you will use -- this should be an option at least for Mac-users. [Return to top] [Return to syllabus] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||