Final exam review
English 402 Spring 2008

The final examination is scheduled for in Saturday, May 3, from 8 - 11 am in 108 English (our regular classroom).  You will have the full three hours for the test, though you may leave when you have completed the test.  You will be asked to write two equally-weighted essays (there will be 3 questions to choose from).  The essays will be general questions that should allow you to display both what you learned about language this semester, and your ability to apply that knowledge to a specific problem. 

In reviewing for the test, focus on the readings and your notes – I won’t test you on the material covered before the midterm, but on the other hand, I’ll expect that you still remember much of it in broad terms.  While the midterm stressed recall of information, the final stresses your ability to put what you’ve learned to work. 

The questions will be structured so that each may integrate several topics, allowing you to approach the question from a number of angles. 

The review outline below stresses some of the key points in the readings since the midterm, but in studying you should begin thinking about how these topics interrelate. The essay questions will ask you to integrate specifics from a variety of chapters.

Semantics

• How do dictionary definitions differ from other ways of finding meaning? What do they include and exclude? 
• What do we mean when we say that all definitions are circular?  Is that circularity a problem?
• What are the arguments for and against “politically-correct” language?  Give examples of such language, and what it’s supposed to replace.  How effective is it in achieving its goals? 
• The Michael Richards incident -- the actor who played Kramer on "Seinfeld" was caught on a cell phone video screaming the n-word at an audience member during a set at a comedy club -- reminds us what happens when language taboos are violated.  What is a language taboo?  Why are some words and expressions taboo?  How do taboos function as part of the social deployment of language? (What happened with Richards, together with the campus taser incident, remind us too that advances in technology make it possible to broadcast an isolated incident witnessed by a small group of people all around the world: our whole notion of public and private has changed dramatically).
• Language reformers, propagandists, and advertisers like to claim that changing language will alter reality:  get rid of hate speech and we’ll all get along; call an attack “sectarian violence” and we won’t think it’s civil war; rename the smallest tube of toothpaste as "large" and shoppers will get more for their money.  While no one wants to appear uncivil, we all use language both to be nice and to be naughty; and shoppers who prove reluctant to spend money on “small” packages might actually buy more if they think they’re getting more.   As Seinfeld might put it, "So what’s up with that?

Spoken discourse

• What is the difference between a direct and an indirect speech act? 
• Why is, “Could you pass the salt?” not a yes/no question?
• Explain conversational maxims and why they may sometimes be violated (hint: be relevant).
• How do the participants in a conversation negotiate relationships?
• How do they repair conversations to keep them going?
• Explain some of the differences between scripted and unscripted speech.
• Do women and men use language differently?  If there is a difference, is it genetically-encoded or culturally-motivated?  Explain. 

Stylistics

• Stylistics applies linguistic knowledge to the analysis of literary text.  How do linguistic patterns create meaning in a literary work?  Give some examples.
• Style is useful in the definition of genres.  Explain the stylistic requirements of such genres as the novel, the lyric poem, the instant message, the job application letter.
• How is style a factor in our notions of what makes good writing?  How is it a factor in spoken language?

Language variation

• R-lessness is one feature that is found in several types of American English (Southern American English; New England dialect; New York City speech; AAVE).  Explain how pronunciation (phonology) can be used to characterize the different social and geographical varieties of English in the U.S.
• The linguist Max Weinreich once defined a language as a dialect with an army and a navy.  Explain how some varieties of a language become prestige forms, while others become stigmatized. 
• Language varies according to many factors besides geography.  What are some of the factors, and some examples of this variation?
• Varieties of language arise through shared identity and through shared practice: explain the difference and give examples.
• What happens when languages or language varieties come into contact with one another?  How do speakers of two different languages manage to communicate on a short-term basis? What happens when that contact is prolonged? 

American dialects

• How do where you come from and your social status contribute to your own language use?
• What are some of the main geographical dialect regions of the US?
• What are some of the major social varieties of American English?
• How is dialect a factor in literary or pop culture portrayals of particular types or groups of people? 

African American Vernacular English (AAVE)

• What are the main theories seeking to explain the rise of AAVE?
• Not all African Americans speak AAVE; not all AAVE speakers are African American. What does this tell us about the nature of AAVE? the nature of dialect? The concept of race and its connection to language?
• According to Labov, the language of many African Americans is diverging from other varieties of English, not converging with them.  If social dialects exist as a result of social boundaries, is this a sign that American social groups are growing farther apart? 
• How should we deal – in terms of educational policy – with the fact that a number of different Englishes coexist in the US? 
• Should variation of English in the US to be handled differently in light of the fact that there are a number of different types of English used around the world as well?

Minority Languages in the US of A

• Discuss the increasingly-common legal moves to protect the status of English in businesses, schools, towns, cities, and states. 
• Who does the English-only movement appeal to? 
• The national anthem is based on an English drinking song that was popular in the 18th century, but like the Oakland Ebonics resolution, the release of a CD with a Spanish-language version of the “Star Spangled Banner” proved controversial.  Explain.

Global English

• Discuss the impact of technologies like the printing press and the internet on language.
• Contrast the linguistic imperialism which accompanied the spread of the British Empire with the language impact of global capitalism today.
• What are the circles of English and how do they suggest English is being used around the world?
• As English expands its role as a world language, it meets both a heavy demand for English teaching and local opposition in an attempt to preserve or revitalize local languages.  Discuss.
• Despite the McDonaldization of the globe, the creation of a uniform international material culture, local customs, practices, and languages survive.  Explain. 

English in the schools

• If the goal of teaching English to speakers of other languages is to provide them with facility in speaking, reading and writing a new language, then what is the goal of teaching English to speakers of English, students who are already fluent in the language?
• Compare your own school experience as a K-16 student being taught English grammar, vocabulary, usage, reading, writing, and speech – with your experience learning a foreign language.
• English teachers are generally drawn to the subject by their love of literature, and their college preparation focuses on literature more than any other aspect of English teaching.  Yet once on the job, English teachers find that they are expected to be arbiters of usage, ready to correct and even ridicule the language of others.  How should they deal with that role?
• English grammar is often taught as a means for improving student writing.  But research has not established a good correlation between grammar instruction, or grammatical knowledge, and effective writing.  In fact, professional writers tend to know very little about the intricacies of grammar.  When they break the rules, they are either excused, because the pro’s are often considered above the law, or they’re vilified for carelessness (shoulda known better).   If grammar doesn’t improve writing, why study it?  If it does, then why aren’t we all better writers?
• We can see the history of education as a long series of literacy crises: a perception that no one reads and writes sufficiently well brings on a series of school reforms.  Twenty years later, it turns out that no one reads and writes sufficiently well, and the last wave of reforms gets the blame, forcing us either “back to basics” or toward some other school reform, only to be followed by yet another indication that things are just not working.  What does this cycle of crisis and reform tell us about literacy?  About education?  What is to be done?

Some things to ponder:

1. English is the international language of science, the internet, global capitalism, and rock 'n' roll. Some observers see this expansion of English as a world language to be evidence of a new kind of western imperialism.  Others note that no world language has ever managed to keep its monopoly on communication. When Latin was a world language, local varieties of Latin sprang up in France, Spain, Portugal, Romania, even in Italy, that were different from Latin and that eventually became separate languages. Today, where local varieties of English have sprung up, they are significantly different from British and American English. In addition, there is significant backlash against English, and a strengthening of local languages, in many parts of the world.  Given what you know about the nature of language, in general, and English, in particular, how can you explain the current dynamic of English around the globe, and what do you see happening with English over the next 50 to 100 years?
   
   
2. English teachers have traditionally been expected to serve as language experts. Trained in literature, not grammar, they find themselves in the sometimes awkward position of having to adjudicate between that and which, or like and as, to figure out exactly whether the passive voice may be appropriate, and to decide if sentences can end in prepositions, even when they themselves don't really feel particularly expert in language matters.  Plus they're in the rather illogical situation of having to teach speakers of English, who've learned more about their language before age 6 than they ever will during their school careers, how a language that they're already fluent in.  From what you've learned about language in the class, discuss the conflicting role of teacher-as-language-guardian and teacher as explainer-of-how-language-really-works. How would you, if you were a teacher, try to utilize what you've learned about language structure, variation, and change, to expand the traditional role of teacher as giver of language laws and correcter of language errors.
   
   
3. One well-known linguist has claimed that multilingualism is a normal condition of human language use.  Yet in many areas of the world, from Estonia and the Ukraine to Canada and Brazil, there's a push to establish or enforce an official language.  The US is no exception.  English is spoken by well over 90% of the people in the United States, and those who don't speak it already are learning it as fast as they can. Yet many people in the US fear that English is actually in danger of being overwhelmed by other languages, so they promote legislation to make English the official language of their city or state, or of the United States, or they support rules that make English the official language of their school or workplace. 
   
   Many supporters of official English are motivated either by xenophobia, using language as a way of voicing their concerns about immigration; but others are motivated by what they consider to be an essential, almost innate, connection between language and nation: you can't be French if you don't speak French; you can't be Thai if you don't speak Thai; you can't be Indian if you don't speak Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati, Bengali, and so on; you can't be Rwandan if you don't speak Kinyarwanda, Kiswahili, English, French, ah . . .; you can't be Irish unless you speak . . . Gaelic? ... English?  See where this is going? 
   
   Monolingualism and multilingualism exist in a tension that is not always a positive one. What is the connection between language and nation? language and culture? Why is it important for a nation to have an official language? Why might it not be important?  Can a heritage culture be preserved if the heritage language is lost?  Can a nation exist with more than one language inside its borders?