...COURSE SCHEDULE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE LIN 100/ANT 100-003 COURSE SCHEDULE – SPRING 2014 PROFESSOR SHARON AVNI Date/ lesson | Topic | Read/Watch | Assignment(s) due | 1 1/28 | Introduction Course overview | * Intro: * What is language What do we want to know about language? | | 2 1/31 | What is language? What do we know about language and society? | * Yule, Chapter 1 * Language truths http://rosinalippi.com/portfolio/docs/EWA-Intro.pdf | Study questions – Yule, Chapter 1 | 3 2/4 | Animal communication and human language | * Yule, Chapter 2 | Yule chapter 2 study questions | 4 2/7 | Human language | * Corballis, “From Hand to Mouth” (located in course materials) | Class discussion questions | 4 2/11 | Phonetics Phonology | * Language and Linguistics (located in course material) * Yule, Chapter 3 | Yule study questions -- Chapter 3 | 5 2/14 | Phonetics Phonology | * Yule, Chapter 4 * Esling, “Everyone has an accent but me” http://lrc.ohio.edu/lrcmedia/Streaming/lingCALL/ling270/myth20.pdf | Study questions – Yule, Chapter 4 | 6 2/18 | Morphology Grammar | * Yule, Chapter 6 & 7 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y8aLt4kLcI | Yule Chapter 6 & 7 | 7 2/21 | Word formation | * Yule, Chapter 5 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca0xFvMfcqo&feature=related | Classroom questions | 8 2/25 | Semantics | * Yule, Chapter 9 * Hooten, “Fighting...
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...The world we live in is very diverse in all aspects. For any given subject it is likely there are many variations to just that one thing, the original plus variations of the originals with a slightly different twist. English is one of those subjects. Not only are there hundreds of languages in the world, there are also multiple variations of English alone. African American Vernacular English, better known as AAVE, is a black version of American English. It is sometimes called Ebonics, Black English, Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular, or Black Vernacular English. The pronunciation of the words is along the same lines as the other variations of English, but it is spoken in different areas of the world. This is not the only thing to know about the language, but where can you go to find the information? The Internet is always a convenient tool to use, but not every website is trustworthy. My least favorite websites to use are Wiki websites. No one website is perfect. There may be some flaws but there are also some good aspects. Wikipedia is filled with information for virtually every topic one could possibly think of. Various people keep the information updated throughout the week. When I typed AAVE into Wikipedia tons of information came up. I like the idea that wiki websites generally have all the information one needs to know about a subject. The information on wiki websites are generally up to date because there are people constantly uploading their findings...
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...The Real Ebonics Debate What Should Teachers Do? By Lisa Delpit The "Ebonics Debate" has created much more heat than light for most of the country. For teachers trying to determine what implications there might be for classroom practice, enlightenment has been a completely non-existent commodity. I have been asked often enough recently, "What do you think about Ebonics? Are you for it or against it?" My answer must be neither. I can be neither for Ebonics or against Ebonics any more than I can be for or against air. It exists. It is the language spoken by many of our African-American children. It is the language they heard as their mothers nursed them and changed their diapers and played peek-a-boo with them. It is the language through which they first encountered love, nurturance and joy. On the other hand, most teachers of those African-American children who have been least well-served by educational systems believe that their students' life chances will be further hampered if they do not learn Standard English. In the stratified society in which we live, they are absolutely correct. While having access to the politically mandated language form will not, by any means, guarantee economic success (witness the growing numbers of unemployed African Americans holding doctorates), not having access will almost certainly guarantee failure. So what must teachers do? Should they spend their time relentlessly "correcting" their Ebonics-speaking children's language so that it might...
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...What is Black English or Ebonics? Cerolists believe that Black language is a form of pidgin African. “lanuaguage is born from a culture of struggles, a way of talking that has take surving,” A statement made by the scholars Geneva Smitherman, who also define black language as “Eur- America speech with an Afro-America meaning, nuance tone, and gesture. Black English dates back to the times of slavery. When Africa, America were not allowed to learn how to read or write. But all slaves had to be able to communicate with the tier slave owner and others slaves. Thus the slaves had to learn at least some form of English. The slave had to incorporate some of the English language with their own native language. During slavery and the slave trade slave...
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...or have been taught. I find that I use multiple forms of the language on a regular basis to relate to the different groups of people that I am around. Although I do speak “Ebonics”, too often people assume that is all I can speak. However, I can also converse quite fluently in proper English over many domains. I always enjoy seeing the surprise on people’s faces when my articulation is not what they anticipated, or when they see me switch seamlessly between them. The common misconception is that all African Americans speak, “Ebonics.” So people automatically expect that I will speak Ebonics. According to the Linguistics Society of America, Ebonics means “black speech.” They also state that this term was created in 1973 by a group of black scholars who disliked the negative connotations of terms like 'Nonstandard Negro English' that had been coined in the 1960s when the first modern large-scale linguistic studies of African American speech-communities began. Well, I grew up in the late 60s and with both my parents being educators, and from the south. Education and proper diction was a thing in our house, primarily because of their southern accent. In addition, they go on to report: “The term Ebonics never caught on among linguists, much less among the general public. That all changed with the 'Ebonics' controversy of December 1996 when the Oakland (CA) School Board recognized it as the 'primary' language of its majority African American students and resolved to take it...
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...The movie, Precious, based off of the novel Push by Sapphire, is the story of an overweight, abused, illiterate African American teen who is pregnant with her second child. Claireece “Precious” Jones lives in a section 8 tenement and survives off of welfare. Her first child has Down syndrome and when she discovers that she is pregnant a second time, her principle invites her to enroll in an alternative school. Precious escapes her daily nightmares into a world of daydreams. She eventually learns to read and write and, though hardships and struggles come into play, Precious creates a new life for herself and her children. “Some folks has a lot of things around them that shines for other peoples. I think that maybe some of them was in tunnels....
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...ShaQueelah Pierce Criminal Stereotypes of African American Males Watkins - English IV September 1, 2013 As human beings, we do certain actions without even knowing that we have done them, such as stereotyping other races or people by the way they look, talk, walk, or just carry themselves. African Americans, in particular, are a race of people that are stereotyped, but the typical African American males are usually stereotyped negatively. The typical stereotype for African American male is angry and criminals. The research I have conducted, has revealed to me that the criminal stereotype affects people’s memory, and essentially have a bad impact on people’s lives. I have evidence to show that there are people that believes the three issues and why it is not a valid stereotype toward African American males. African American males have gone through a lot of scrutiny throughout history. "In the past twenty-five years, African American males in the United States have gone through various social challenges." Bing lynched and murdered brutally just for their skin color, even the police pulling them over for no apparent reason and also considering the infamous Rodney King beating. Vast majority African American males have been through a lot of unnecessary adversity. Through these pointless social acts, some African American males have drifted toward criminal activities, such as: robbing people or stores, selling drugs, and doing anything to make money...
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...other factor. The study also demonstrates how much language has changed and progressed, despite race. With this MacNeil can persuade his audience to change and continue to adapt to new language, as well as open up to new dialects of language. Another instance where MacNeil uses an expert opinion, and arguably the most effective is when he refers to the work of William Labov (and refers to him repeatedly). For example when MacNeil refers to the fact that Labov was one of the first linguists to recognize African-American vernacular or “ebonics” as an official dialect of American English. “This African American vernacular English… is not a set of slang words, or a random set of grammatical mistakes, but a well-formed set of rules of grammar and pronunciation that is capable of conveying complex logic and reasoning’”(310). Here MacNeil is showing his audience that a respected professor at the University of Pennsylvania is not only acknowledging Ebonics but praising it. With this he more effectively persuades his audience that is still reluctant to acknowledge these other dialects, because it is much easier to accept ideas from a well read expert other himself [MacNeil] alone. Playing along with the use of experts to persuade, appeals to pride are just as effective in America because everyone is so proud of who they are and where they are from. MacNeil’s use of this rhetorical choice is abundant throughout the passage, and much of his writing is related to regional dialects and how...
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...suggest to a reflection of United States’ educational system. Presently in the U.S. the controversy lies between society, where a fine line that divides and correlates education and social class. Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis, a group of scholar researchers, concluded in their article Bowles and Gintis on Schooling in the United States that being born into a specific social class could potentially determine the future of a person’s academic potential, life goal achievements, and more specifically their respective social class. In my opinion, however, education and linguistics do not adhere to predictive social classes. Education and more specifically linguistics are being suggested as an inferiority of our school system. What is known as Ebonics or AAE (African American English) is widely used though out the modern United States; not only AAE is used today but other forms of slang like those used in Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and other social media. Geneva Smitherman and others also suggest certain dialects such as AAE do not reflect nor lack control over education, but it is rather an enriched language of diverse cultures. Moreover Bowles and Gintis argue that students’ “lack of control over his or her education” reflect their respective social class. According to Basil Bernstein, another scholarly source, education is closely related to restricted and elaborated codes and similarly both do not reflect lack of education nor intelligence. As a Facebook account user, I’ve noticed...
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...3 AFRICAN AMERICAN ENGLISH The dialect of English spoken by members of the African diaspora and descendents from the slave trade in North America has many names: African American English, African American Vernacular English, Black English, Ebonics (Baugh, 2000: 2), Spoken Soul (Rickford and Rickford, 2000), New World Black English (Rickford, 1999: 175), African American Standard English when discussing middle class Black English (Spears, 2009: 3), and many others. For the remainder of this dissertation, I will refer to the dialect as African American English (AAE) for simplification. AAE is used both by descendents of slaves brought to North America during the slave trade and immigrants to the United States from the larger African diaspora....
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...people that are like you. This is when varieties of speech associated with particular groups within a society arise. Linguists call these varieties “social dialects” and they are also known as “sociolects”. When looking at regional dialects linguists look at where you are located when you use certain dialect features, but when looking at social dialects linguists look at who you are and what social groups you are a part of. Social dialects are spread accross the country because nowadays people easily come in contact with people from all over the world. Poverty, class distinction and racisme can cause groups to remain socially isolated from others. This gave rise to one of the biggest social dialects in the united states called Black English(ebonics)/African American. Also important and widely spread are the social dialects : Slang and The Internet...
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...Running head: Transcultural Nursing Assessment Transcultural Nursing Assessment Deborah Hill St. Francis University Abstract Giger and Davidhizar’s Transcultural Assessment Model is a valuable and functional assessment tool that evaluates the different cultural variables and how those variables effect health, illness and behaviors (Giger, 2013). This philosophy considers the uniqueness of each individual, understanding that the individual is unique, a product of their culture, religion, environment socioeconomic status and diversity. Giger and Dividhizar propose that, as health care providers, we need an acute awareness of the ethnicity and culture of each individual, having the knowledge and understanding to care for them as their culture, religion, values and belief system necessitates (Giger & Davidhizar, 2002). This model of nursing assessment focuses on six factors, or phenomena, that address important areas of cultural influence which impact our ability to provide diverse clients with the most effective and efficient care. The six phenomena are communication; space; social organization; time; environmental control; and biological variations. This assignment involves the use of the Transcultural Nursing Assessment model in the care of Ms. B, an 82 year old, African American female. Introduction America has been called the melting pot of the world. The term indicates that America is a county made up of immigrant cultures, religions and various ethnic...
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...Final Project Charlon L. Gibbs University of Scranton Final Project Outline I. Key Concepts Which Impacted Me – Page 3 II. Key Concepts Which Resonated With Me – Page 4 III. Five Page Paper on the Areas of Concern – Pages 5 – 8 IV. Reference Page – Page 9 V. Racist Poster (Unintentional) – Page 10 The key concept which impacted me the most was allowing students to discuss the diversity issues and not just ignore them; the topic for week five was Discussing Difficult Topics. While attending undergraduate school, I was taught to not address diversity issues unless the student/child brings up the issue in order not to disrespect diverse backgrounds. The first step in breaking down cultural barriers is to allow students to ask questions about the issues which concern them. This lesson also alerted me that when having a conversation in the classroom dealing with diversity and cultural backgrounds, there needs to be structure and rules about the expectations during the discussion. Dilg (2003) explained that ignoring sensitive topics bring about misunderstandings and denies guidance in dealing with certain subjects. Conversations across the classroom allow students to interact with the many different backgrounds of their classmates and to understand the cultural differences, just by dialogue. Ignoring a problem or situation does not help anyone and in order for students to become 21st Century Learners...
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...Factors and Characteristics of Successful Online Learning Factors and Characteristics of Successful Online Learning Heather Burton Liberty University Online Factors and Characteristics for Successful Online Learning Factors and Characteristics for Successful Online Learning “Once students are aware of desirable characteristics, the process of becoming a successful online learner is something that is attainable for most all potential learners.” (Taormino, 2010) There are many characteristics that students must be aware of in order to be a successful student in an online learning environment. Technical factors, environmental factors, personal characteristics, and learning characteristics are methods of organizing characteristics and factors of online students. With online learning there are many factors and characteristics that potential students must be aware of. A potential student needs to have the capability and comfort of using modern computer software and internet technology, and also the ability to communicate effectively whether using a specific e-mail system or online threaded discussions. Those would be considered technical factors. Environmental factors that potential students need to be aware of is the use of time management skills and the ability to keep up with other commitments regarding family and work. Personal characteristics involve having motivation skills and potential goals along with student integrity. Online students that are successful are...
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...Islam is the second largest religion in the world. Islam has many beliefs and values. They believe in Allah and praying five times a day. Some of their rules that they must follow are, any wealth obtained from illegal or criminal means. The practice of gambling, be it money or property or any object. The practice of taking interest or usury. Drinking or consuming alcohol in any form. Taking drugs. Eating the flesh and products obtained from pigs or swine. Eating the flesh of dead animals or carcasses. Eating flesh of carnivorous beasts and birds of prey. Eating flesh of an animal that has not been killed in the name of Allah (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/islamic-beliefs-and-practices.html). In order to submit to Allah, the Islam region has to perform certain duties to Allah and fellow members. The duties to Allah are; Prayer, Fasting, and Pilgrimage to Makka. The duties to their members is to spend their resources, time, energy, money, etc. for the welfare of others, to give a part of one's wealth to help those in need (known as giving zakaat, a charity-tax). They believe in doing at least one good deed a day. Islam believe that Black people were the first race. With this belief Islam also had a role in shaping America’s Culture. The Nation of Islam (NOI) was the largest organization. It taught a form of Islam, promoting Black supremacy and labeling White people as "devils". Malcolm X was one of the most influential leaders of the NOI, he wanted complete separation of Blacks...
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