LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY
Following is a list of topics for the first essay assignment. Answer any one of these questions, which relate to the material presented in Units 1 through 4 (although information may also be found in units not yet covered). You are encouraged to use your course materials, however, you MUST also use at least three (3) outside academic sources such as articles from academic journals or from other textbooks. Check the Athabasca University library for other journal articles and other scholarly resources on the subject. Additionally, please have a look at the Write Site’s CMOS page for tips, examples, and advice on formatting your paper, and review the “Grading Criteria for Essays, Proposals, and Research Papers” section in Course Information. Suggested Topic: Language change inevitably leads to variation, and variation within a speech community often leads to placing a social value, such as “good” or “bad,” on this change. “Good” variants are generally considered to be superior, venerable, or both, while “bad” variants are considered illogical and/or recent inventions by the vulgar. Chiac is a specific type of speech, found in New Brunswick, in which users switch between French and English. Those who use Chiac tend to be bilingual and have Acadian French as their first language with Canadian English as their second. Provide further information about Chiac, and argue whether it is a language, a dialect, or just a trend. How is Chiac viewed outside New Brunswick? What are the implications of placing values on its use? Following is a list of topics for the first essay assignment. Answer any one of these questions, which relate to the material presented in Units 1 through 4 (although information may also be found in units not yet covered). You are encouraged to use your course materials, however, you MUST also use at least three (3) outside academic sources such as articles from academic journals or from other textbooks. Check the Athabasca University library for other journal articles and other scholarly resources on the subject. Additionally, please have a look at the Write Site’s CMOS page for tips, examples, and advice on formatting your paper, and review the “Grading Criteria for Essays, Proposals, and Research Papers” section in Course Information. Suggested Topic: Language change inevitably leads to variation, and variation within a speech community often leads to placing a social value, such as “good” or “bad,” on this change. “Good” variants are generally considered to be superior, venerable, or both, while “bad” variants are considered illogical and/or recent inventions by the vulgar. Chiac is a specific type of speech, found in New Brunswick, in which users switch between French and English. Those who use Chiac tend to be bilingual and have Acadian French as their first language with Canadian English as their second. Provide further information about Chiac, and argue whether it is a language, a dialect, or just a trend. How is Chiac viewed outside New Brunswick? What are the implications of placing values on its use?