ASSIGNMENTS - Content

Untitled

Usama Soltan - nobody@example.net — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:42:58 -0400

On this page are posted the four homework assignments for the class. These assignments are meant to test your understanding of the material covered in class and to help you work on aspects of cross-linguistic variation on your own, applying the same reasoning and analytical tools that we’ll be discussing in class. Each homework counts for 10% of your overall grade. So, take them seriously! While I do not mind you discussing assignment questions with your colleagues, bear in mind that the work you turn in has to be yours, and yours alone. Copying someone else’s work will be treated as cheating, will receive no credit, and will be subject the consequences of violating academic integrity, as described in the College’s Academic Honesty Statement.

Policy on delay in turning in assignments:
        5% off if turned in after the deadline on the day it’s due (that means prior to midnight).
        10% off if turned in on the next day after the deadline.
        20% off if turned in later than that.
        Not accepted after I post the solutions (I know that's self-evident, but just in case)

Before attemtping to answer the questions on each assignment, please take a moment to read the general guidelines for answering questions on assignments (particularly before the first assignment).

Assignment #1
Suggested Solutions

Assignment #2
Suggested Solutions

Assignment #3
Suggested Solutions

Assignment #4
Suggested Solutions

Untitled

Usama Soltan - nobody@example.net — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:42:58 -0400

Introduction and Resources

In the Language Adoption Project, you're supposed to work in pairs on a language of your choice, as long as the language is unfamiliar or endangered. There's plenty of these out there, so you shouldn't have trouble finding one. The goal of the project is for you to get to know a language that you haven't known much about before, and apply some of the concepts and analytical tools we discussed in class to that language to test our theory of grammar. For example, you'll need to find out which of the parameters we talked about are relevant to your adopted language, and whether the langauge presents challenges to the theory we've been proposing. Of course, you're also expected to give some basic information about the language, where it is spoken, by how many speakers. if it's endangered, etc. I will post a few guidelines soon to help you proceed methodically, but for now, you'll need to start thinking about what langauge you want to work on and with who.

A good resource on languages of the world which I mentioned in class is the “The world atlas of language structures”, which is available in the main library at the Main Atlas Case G1046.E3 W6 2005.

An extensive list of languages and assoicated descriptive grammars is available here:

http://linguistics.buffalo.edu/people/faculty/dryer/dryer/atlas.bib

A shortened list that I created from online resources is available here.

Also, the catalogue I had in class is available online here: https://ssl.kundenserver.de/www.s83009615.einsundeinsshop.de/sess/utn;jsessionid=15452e7b540df1d/shopdata/index.shopscript

As you can see there’s no shortage of languages to work on; just make sure you choose an unfamiliar or endangered language. If you’re not sure if a language is suitable for the LAP, check with me first.

Also try to do some basic online search on the language you initially choose, and see if it interests you still.

LAP guideline questions

Here's a list of some guideline questions that you might want to consider when looking at your LAP language. Some of the questions will be relevant, some will not. Since you're all working on different languages, different aspects of morphological and syntactic typology will arise, but the list should at least give you an idea of what you are expected to be looking for regarding your LAP language.

LAP groups and languages

	Students	LAP language
	Mairead Harris	Chichewa
	Jeanine Buzali and Martin Puga	Nahuatl
	Brian Fung and Andres Gonzalez-Stewart	Comanche
	Kelsey Nelson and Kristen McLean	Garifuna
	Matt Westman and Anna Clock	Kinyarwanda
	Emily Kilborn and Samantha Ritt	Basque
	Adam Morgan and Andrea Giddings	Malecite-Passamaquoddy
	Katie Washburn and Claire Kelly	Swahili
	Sara Helmers and Nick Bestor	Gaelic
	Richard Saunders and Michael West	Cornish
	Charles Bradley and Angela Nelson	Yaghan
	Kathryn Patton and Roberto Ellis	Tupi
	Ashley Bens and Emma Garl Smith	Finnish
	Michael Luby and Hallie Gammon	Ewe
	Nick Ballen and Alissa Frame	Ainu

Untitled

Usama Soltan - nobody@example.net — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:42:58 -0400

Midterm Exam
Solutions

Final Exam
Solutions