Linguistics (Language in the World)

9/16/22, 11:28 PM The Step 4 Assignment - LING150A1 Fall 2022

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Resources:

Note:

This step involves the creation of a system for asking questions and generating humor (joking,

teasing) or creating offense (swearing, word taboos).  You'll consult the scholarly literature to �nd an

article to use as inspiration, and you'll analyze the system you create using a theory of pragmatics.

Continue to use our class styleguide, the of�cial Interactive IPA Chart, and

(if you wish) the Leipzig Glossing Rules. You will need a scholarly article on

joking, teasing, swearing or word taboos in an unfamiliar community - as

described in this video.

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 3 as needed based on the assessment you received, and update your Change

Log to re�ect your revisions.

Decide how your language will form polar questions (intonation only, or question particle, or

syntactic movement).  Decide how your language will form content questions (you'll need an

interrogative morpheme, it will appear either in-situ or else with syntactic movement). 

Decide on a kind of pragmatic practice you'd like to develop for your language - select from

joking, teasing, swearing or word taboos. 

Using your University of Arizona library access, �nd a scholarly article about some real-life

community practice of the sort you've selected.  We recommend the JSTOR database for this

purpose, as it allows you to limit searches to journals published in one or several academic

disciplines. You will need an article that meets the following requirements:

It was published in a journal in either Anthropology or Linguistics; and

It focuses on a language community that you are unfamiliar with; and

It focuses on one of the pragmatic practice you've selected; and

It provides actual language examples - not just descriptions in English - of the system.

Draft two sections of your Language Project:  Question Formation, and Pragmatics. 

Your question formation section will have two subsections:  polar questions and content

questions. In the polar questions subsection, describe and give an example of a polar

Asking Questions and Making Jokes

9/16/22, 11:28 PM The Step 4 Assignment - LING150A1 Fall 2022

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question in your language.  In the content questions subsection, describe and give an

example of a content question your language.

Your pragmatics section will have two subsections: in the literature and in my language. 

In the subsection called in the literature brie�y describe what you learned from your

article.  Be sure to cite that article in the text, and provide a complete reference citation in

your reference list!  Review the sections on Speech Act Theory and Grice's conversational

maxims, and see if you can incorporate one of those theories into your discussion.

In the subsection called in my language, create a set of examples in your language that

demonstrate how you would build a relevant practice.  Your examples might be analogous

to, or otherwise inspired by, the article you found in the literature.

Aim for a total of 1-3 additional pages of text for these two sections.

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

footnote)

Page 2: Change Log

Pages 3-?:  The Introduction, Core Vocabulary, Phonemic Inventories, Phonotactics and

Rhythm, Complex Words, Simple Sentences, Question Formation, and Pragmatics sections of

your paper.

Last Page:  References (includes at least the citations necessary at Step 3, as well as your new

citations for this step).

Any paper shorter than 4 pages is missing at least one required element.  The length of your paper

will depend on how you format things, so we will grade based on completeness rather than length.  If

you add optional material, or write more than is necessary, we may not be able to read it all - so

please be in touch with your grader about these expectations.

Always

Update your title page so that it's correct for the current submission, and the Honor Footnote is

honest and complete.

Revise your previous work, including self-directed and grader-directed revisions as needed. 

Document your revisions in the Change Log:

create a list of revisions you plan on making.  If you have instructor-directed revisions, copy

and paste those into the log.  Add self-directed revisions as well.

make those revisions.  Then return to the log and describe what you did.

every instructor-directed revision *must* be addressed in your change log.  If you disagreed

with the item, you can say that you disagreed and why.  If you didn't know how to address the

item, you can say that you didn't know how to address it.  If you did address the item, say

what you did to address it.

Draft the new sections - you can use Amy's Demos for help!

Wherever you can, �nd ways to use and refer to supporting readings - cite them in the text (our

styleguide tells you how)

9/16/22, 11:28 PM The Step 4 Assignment - LING150A1 Fall 2022

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Note: 

Update your 'References' page so that it includes everything you cite.  Use our styleguide to

ensure that you're formatting your references correctly.

Save your work where you can �nd it again, and export, download or print the �le as a pdf. 

Submit the pdf to the 'Step 4' folder under 'Assignments'.

Amy's Demos It took Amy a total of about x hours to complete the elements of this assignment.  It'd be smart to

give yourself maybe three 45 minute work sessions to prep the assignment?  Your mileage may vary,

of course.

Video: Using JSTOR to �nd an article (10:14)

Video: Setting up the sections (6:42)

Video: Polar questions (12:22)

Video: Content questions (9:48)

Video: Pragmatics in the literature (18:09)

Video: Pragmatics in my language (17:01)

PDF: Amy's Example Step 4

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

9/16/22, 11:28 PM The Step 4 Assignment - LING150A1 Fall 2022

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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

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

9/16/22, 11:28 PM The Step 4 Assignment - LING150A1 Fall 2022

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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. 

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.

9/16/22, 11:28 PM The Step 4 Assignment - LING150A1 Fall 2022

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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.