Linguistics (Language in the World)

9/16/22, 11:27 PM The Step 3 Assignment

https://d2l.arizona.edu/d2l/le/content/1163491/viewContent/12955406/View 1/5

Resources:

Note:

In this step, you construct the grammatical machinery your language will need in order for a speaker

to be able to express all the kinds of things they might want to express.  You'll give your language a

set of rules to build up words, and then to put those words into phrases and sentences.

Continue to use our class styleguide  (now including the sections on three-

line glossing) and the of�cial Interactive IPA Chart.  You might �nd the

Leipzig Glossing Rules to be useful as you develop your three-line glosses.

To be eligible for a grade, your work must be submitted as a pdf �le to the

correct assignment folder. We do not accept assignments by email.  If you

experience a technical dif�culty with your upload, contact the 24/7 IT

Support Desk and document that contact.  Then notify Amy

([email protected])

The Assignment

Revise your Step 2 as needed based on the assessment you received, and update your Change

Log to re�ect your revisions.

Draft two new main sections of your Language Project:  Complex Words and Simple Sentences. 

Your Complex Words section will eventually have three subsections, one for each in�ectional

category you elect to use.  Your Simple Sentences section will have three subsections, one for

each of these three sentence types:  Simple Intransitive, Simple Transitive, and Modi�ed.

In complex words describe the in�ectional morphemes you will use in your language.  Select

three categories from this list to work on, or if you'd like to try something different consult

with your grader for an OK and additional guidance:

Tense

Grammatical number

Grammatical person

Case

Classi�cation or Grammatical Gender

Evidentiality

Directionality

For each category you select, you'll create a subsection that includes:

A brief introduction to the category (what is it, what does it mean?) - preferably with

citations from course readings; and

Creating Complex Words and Simple Sentences

9/16/22, 11:27 PM The Step 3 Assignment

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A description of the way in which your language will encode that category (does it use

af�xes, root-internal change, free morphemes?  What are the values that your language

will use (i.e. if you make up a tense system, what are the tenses?)); and

An illustrative paradigm using three-line glossing (as described in our styleguide).

In the simple sentences section, discuss the basic constituent order of your language and say

whether your language will use prepositions or postpositions.  Provide correctly formatted

three-line glossed example sentences for each of these types: 

a simple intransitive sentence (one that has only a subject and a verb);

a simple transitive sentence (one that has a subject, a verb, and a direct object);

a modi�ed sentence (can be either of the above types, but must also include an adpositional

(preposition or postposition) modi�er).

Write a sentence or two as a conclusion to this part, so that you'll be ready to draft Part 4 next!

Here's how your paper should now be structured:

Page 1: Title page (updated with the correct date, an accurate title, and an updated honor

footnote)

Page 2: Change Log

Pages 3-?:  The main sections:  Introduction, Core Vocabulary, Phonemic Inventories,

Phonotactics and Rhythm, Complex Words, Simple Sentences.

Last Page:  References (includes at least the citations necessary at Step 2, as well as a citations

from course readings that help you develop your 'complex words' section).

Any paper shorter than 4 pages is missing at least one required element; but at this point it's dif�cult

to know how long a well-formed paper should be.  We will look to ensure that you have all the

required content, and we'll do our best to read all of what you submit.  If you're going above-and-

beyond, it'd be good to let your grader know so that you can agree on a plan for feedback that works

for you but doesn't massively increase your grader's workload.

Amy's Demos It took Amy a total of about 3 hours to complete the elements of this assignment (including all six

in�ectional categories, though).  You should select only three of the in�ectional categories in the

Complex Words section, not all six! How long your assignment takes for you to draft might depend

on the categories you pick and the systems you invent for them, but it'd be smart to give yourself

maybe four 45 minute work sessions to prep the assignment?  Your mileage may vary, of course.

Video: Change log (6:19)

Video: Setting up the sections (5:27)

Videos for the Complex Words section (pick three to use for your own paper)

In�ecting for tense (18:26)

In�ecting for grammatical number (12:40)

In�ecting for grammatical person (19:21)

In�ecting for case (8:52)

In�ecting for classi�cation or grammatical gender (17:52)

9/16/22, 11:27 PM The Step 3 Assignment

https://d2l.arizona.edu/d2l/le/content/1163491/viewContent/12955406/View 3/5

Note: 

In�ecting for evidentiality (12:29)

In�ecting for directionality (8:08)

Video: Simple Sentences (14:38)

PDF: Amy's example Step 3 (includes tense, number and person only)

PDF: Amy's extra example Step 3 (includes tense, number, person, case, grammatical gender,

evidentiality and directionality)

NEVER COPY AND PASTE or QUOTE and never CLOSELY PARAPHRASE

from Amy's demos.  They are here as examples to provide you with

inspiration, but your work must be a product of your own invention.  If you

use any speci�c ideas from Amy's language project in your own, you should

cite this as Fountain, Amy. 2021.  Example language creation project.  Ms.

University of Arizona.

Grading Rubric Your work will be assessed according to this rubric, which is summarized in the table below:

advanced advanced- intermediate

intermediate beginner wrong track

revised content

revision is

comprehensive

and effective,

content shows

advanced

mastery of

relevant

concepts

30 points

revision is

comprehensive

and effective,

content shows

intermediate

mastery of

relevant

concepts

27 points

revision is

comprehensive

and effective,

content shows

beginning

mastery of

relevant

concepts

24 points

revision is not

comprehensive,

or is not

effective, or

neither

15 points

there is no

evidence of

revision

0 points

9/16/22, 11:27 PM The Step 3 Assignment

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advanced advanced- intermediate

intermediate beginner wrong track

draft content

new sections

are complete

and content

demonstrates

good-faith

effort

25 points

new sections

are not quite

complete, but

content

demonstrates

good faith

effort

22 points

new sections

have

substantial

gaps, but

content

demonstrates

good-faith

effort

19 points

new sections

exist, at least in

part - but they

do not show

evidence of

good-faith

effort

12 points

new

sections

are missing

0 points

referencing style

in-text

citations and

references are

complete and

fully consistent

with our

styleguide

10 points

in-text

citations and

references are

complete and

partially

consistent with

our styleguide

8 points

in-text

citations and

references are

complete but

use some other

style (APA,

MLA...)

6 points

referencing and

citation is

incomplete

(academic

integrity

violation?)

4 points

there is no

referencing

or citation

(academic

integrity

violation?)

0 points

presentation the paper is

consistent with

our styleguide

and is

beautifully

presented

10 points

the paper is

consistent with

our styleguide

but has a few

formatting

inconsistencies

8 points

the paper is

consistent with

our styleguide

but has lots of

formatting

inconsistencies

6 points

the paper is not

consistent with

our styleguide

4 points

poor

formatting

renders the

paper

illegible

0 points

Revised content is assessed based your demonstrated mastery of course concepts, as well as your

effective use of both self-directed and (if applicable) instructor-directed revision.  For this reason,

assessment of your revised content crucially depends on your Change Log.  If you fail to note a

change in your log, you are unlikely to earn credit for it. 

Draft content is assessed based on the completeness of your submission (does it include all the

required sections and parts?  Does each section respond to the prompts in the assignment

description?) and evidence in your writing of good-faith effort to follow these instructions and to

really engage with our course content.  You can provide evidence of your good-faith effort by writing

something that attempts to address every prompt, even if you think you might be doing it wrong. 

9/16/22, 11:27 PM The Step 3 Assignment

https://d2l.arizona.edu/d2l/le/content/1163491/viewContent/12955406/View 5/5

Getting things wrong and making 'mistakes' is a great way to learn, and we will reward excellent

mistakes with points!   You can also include comments in your writing to let us know you're

struggling.  Failure to address instructions and/or leaving sections blank is inconsistent with good-

faith effort.

Any non-zero score you earn is a successful one!

What if I missed the previous step? Students who were not able to submit the previous assignment for a grade should:

Complete that assignment on their own; then

Note in the Change Log that there is no instructor-directed revision because of the miss.

Your grader will adjust the rubric as needed to ensure that your work is evaluated fairly, and you

should communicate with your grader about your situation so that they are able to address it in a

way that best supports your learning.

Preparing for the next Step

Assignments that earn 'advanced' or 'advanced-intermediate' assessments should be revised

for the next step under based on your own insights and goals. 

These levels of attainment are used when you have met the minimum requirements we've

provided.

This means that you should look for opportunities to improve your assignment based on your

own ideas and preferences, still in keeping with assignment rules. 

You may receive suggestions from your grader, and if you do, you must address them. 

Assessments in these categories, handled as suggested here, represent excellent progress to

a high course grade!

Assignments that earn 'intermediate' or 'beginner' assessments should be revised for the next

step under the guidance of the grader's comments, and with careful review of the instructions

given here. You are always encouraged to do self-directed revision as well!

These levels of attainment are used when your work is not fully compliant with the minimum

requirements we've provided.

You will receive suggestions from your grader, and you must address them.

Excellent strategies for addressing 'intermediate' or 'beginner' assessments include

discussing your work with peers, visiting instructors during of�ce hours or by appointment,

and reviewing assignment descriptions.

Assessments in these categories, handled as suggested here, represent excellent progress to

a high course grade!

The only way an assignment score can 'damage' your course grade is for you to ignore it or fail to

respond productively.  Any score can be problematic if you do not productively revise your work.