Y13 Aiming for an A or an A*?

There is a summary of an article I've read recently on the Google drive. This is the link: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0n14k4_2wH8a1dpN3pVWG11Z1E

It's a useful overview of where linguists currently are  in the nature / nurture debate. Enjoy!

Writing for a non-specialist audience: Y13 revision, Y12 pre-reading

Here's another example of an article written about a linguistic issue, but aimed at a non-specialist audience.

Both the AS and the A-Level paper require you to write this type of article, so it's worth reading as many of them as possible. The more that you read, the more likely you are to be able to write in this kind of style.

Notice how it transforms the linguistic ideas into language that is accessible for a general audience, for example:

"How do they even begin to separate, or “segment,” individual words from the stream of language that they hear all around them all of the time?"

Year 13 have learnt about segmenting in CLD this term. They should be able to use it hand-in-hand with the term 'gestalt expression'.

Y13 Swearing... in front of the kids?

Lovely little article to accompany Miss Moody's lesson this week here. Go on - impress her by referencing this article next lesson :)

Y13 Useful article for CLA

Lovely article from the BBC here - will be useful in a few weeks when we cover Grammar acquisition.

Year 12 Homework 1

Read the following article (Article about A-Level English) and answer the questions below. You don't need to hand the answers in, so you can answer them in note format if you wish, but I will be looking at your note-taking skills. Be ready to explain your answers in class, though.

1. What do you understand by the phrase 'modern cultural references'? Paraphrase it. 
2. Give two reasons why people have criticised the A-level. Do you think these reasons are valid?
3. What is the 'crumbling castle' view of language?
4. What viewpoint does Laura Barton hold about this subject? Where does the reader first understand this viewpoint?
5. Find at least two pieces of vocabulary that you would not ordinarily use in your own writing. Write down the words and their definitions. 

 * The version of this article that you have read was the online version. What genre features in this article would you not have found 25 years ago?

*Underline 3 uses of language that stand out to you for any reason. 

Do Men interrupt more?

I came across this interesting article this week and it's a really good example of an article written about language and gender for a non-specialist audience. In particular, notice the way the writer introduces Deborah Tannen and discusses what her research tells us. Also, notice how the writer refers to the original article that she is responding to - we spoke about this in class and this is a good example of how to refer to the source material you might be given.

What will you be binge-watching tonight? New words for 2015

Every year, there are reports on new words that lexicographers have included in new versions of dictionaries. Read this article about new entries for this year and have a think about the following:

1. Are lexicographers (people who write dictionaries) doing a job which is prescriptivist or descriptivist in nature?
2. What do you think about the inclusion of these words. Would you have included them? Have you heard all of them being used?
3. The fact that 'trans-gender' has been included is of great importance to our work on language and gender. Does the word's inclusion reflect changing societal attitudes? How will these social attitudes change the way we study language and gender?

Is the term 'Maiden Name' outdated?

Another article from the Guardian (you can tell which newspaper I read...) about whether we should still be asking people for their 'Mother's maiden name'. It's something I've never really thought about, other than a slight regret at losing mine, but in this day, is it acceptable to assume that someone's mother was actually married, and even if she was, that she changed her name?

Article

Attitudes to language - new Facebook 'like' buttons?

Here's an article from the Guardian this week about some potential new emojis to be introduced on Facebook. Notice the attitude of the writer towards some of the (very American ) suggestions. Can you think of any suggestions you'd like to make? Notice the idiom used in 'man up' and 'come off it', and the pragmatics behind some of the suggestions.

Article

More about fonts... Graphology

An article from online about font choices. How are individuals being represented here simply by their choice of font?

What Your Font Says About You

There was a time when companies kept graphologists on staff to analyze candidates’ handwriting. Today, many employers are looking at your choice of typefaces to determine your character and suitability for a job. 

So what does your choice of font say about you? A lot more than you think; a recent study by researchers at Wichita State University has revealed that your typeface can reflect your personality type, mood, and attitude. Find out what your favourite font says about you—and when it's appropriate to use it. 

Serif Fonts

These are the fonts with rounded edges on the letters, or extra strokes added to the top and bottom of each character. These details are called ‘serifs’.

·         Times New Roman: Stable, polite, conformist, mature, formal, and practical, TNR is your best bet for business and technical documents, Web text, online news and tests, and spreadsheets. Your all-business font of choice.

·         Monospaced fonts:  Also known as fixed-width, all the characters of this typeface take up the same amount of horizontal width.

·         Courier New: Poor Courier—study respondents deemed it rigid, sad, dull, unattractive, plain, coarse, and masculine, in addition to conformist and mature. You may want to try it for cold, unemotional ‘Dear John’ letters, if at all.

Sans Serif Fonts

These are the typefaces without the embellishments that distinguish serif typefaces—sans means without in French.

·         Arial: Stable and conformist like TNR, this font was also judged unimaginative by those surveyed. Best for spreadsheets, Web headlines, and PowerPoint presentations—so if you’re planning on rocking the company boat at your next meeting, this font could give your ideas authority.

·         Verdana:  Dull, according to respondents. Best for online tests, math documents, computer programming, spreadsheets and PowerPoint. Oh, and instant messaging—we’re not sure why you’d want to appear dull in a text message, but it was ranked second for this purpose.

·         Scripted/fun fonts: Typefaces with a personal, informal touch, designed to resemble calligraphy or handwriting.

·         Comic Sans: The wacky uncle of the font family, subjects described this one as youthful, casual, and passive. Save it for Web graphics, documents aimed at kids, and digital scrapbooking. A fun choice for invitations to kids’ parties.

·         Gigi:  Meet the sex kitten of the typeface universe. Flexible, creative, happy, exciting, attractive, elegant, cuddly, and feminine—these were the adjectives associated with this ornate sans serif font. Also, unstable, rebellious, youthful, casual, passive, and impractical, making Gigi perhaps the most complex typeface of them all. Judged suitable for E-greetings and nothing else, so approach this font with caution.

·         Display or modern fonts: Dramatic, striking fonts, including the grotesque style.

·         Impact: Here’s another font that you may want to use sparingly if at all: the assertive, rigid, rude, sad, unattractive, plain, coarse and masculine Impact. Deemed appropriate for Web headlines only (presumably the scary ones), this typeface is best avoided.

 

The final word on fonts? Feel free to play around with your personal correspondence, but stick to the classics like Times New Roman and Arial, particularly at work. No one wants to read a legal brief in curly, cuddly Gigi.

http://www.readersdigest.ca/home-garden/money/what-your-font-says-about-you/

 

 

This font is called Gigi

 

This font is called Times New Roman

 

This font is called Arial

 

This font is called Comic Sans

 

This font is called Verdana

 

This font is called Impact

 

This font is called Courier New