Paper 2 revisions, and course evaluations

Hi all,
On Wednesday, we'll finish up with a discussion of language change. Also, this is just a quick reminder that your Paper 2 revisions are due on Wednesday, and to also please remember to fill out course evaluations when you get a chance!
Thanks!
--Adam

Announced on 09 December 2019  11:48  p.m. by Adam Albright

Film showing this week (Tues 12/3 7pm 32-141): Keep Talking

Hi all,
As I mentioned in class last week, there will be a film screening on Tuesday of Keep Talking, a class about language preservation and revitalization in the Alutiiq community in Kodiak, Alaska. The screening is free and you don't need to RSVP, but if you'd like to come, it's helpful if you click the eventbrite link below to help us know how much pizza to order!

Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/keep-talking-tickets-83261899583
**** Prior registration is not necessary
Pizza will be available at around 6:30pm

DATE: Tuesday, December 3, 2019
TIME: 7:00pm​
LOCATION: 32-141

Description: Keep Talking follows 4 Alaska Native women fighting to save Kodiak Alutiiq, an endangered language now spoken by less than 40 remaining fluent Native Elders. Their small community travels to remote Afognak Island to start teaching kids Alutiiq. Sadie, 13, is inspired to begin learning the language and dances of her ancestors. Instead of getting swept up in the wake of historical trauma, these women overcome personal demons and build toward a brighter future.

UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) has recognized 2019 as the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL2019). Celebrating IYIL2019 will help raise awareness about indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve, protect, and promote them around the world and improve the lives of those who speak them.

Sponsored by: MIT AISES, MIT Linguistics, MIT Indigenous Languages Initiative, and MIT ICEO​

Announced on 01 December 2019  12:37  p.m. by Adam Albright

Paper 3 prompt, and elevator pitches this week in recitation

Hi all,
This is just a reminder that you will break out into groups this week in recitation, to try out elevator pitches for your Paper 3 idea. If you missed lecture on Monday, the details are in the slides, and are also described in the Paper 3 prompt on Stellar. (The paper itself is due 12/2, the day after Thanksgiving break)

The grade for the elevator pitch is based on participation, so even if you're not 100% sure about your hypothesis, you should use this as an opportunity to try out an idea and talk about it.
Best,
--Adam

Announced on 20 November 2019  9:12  p.m. by Adam Albright

Quiz 2 question redos

In general, I was very pleased with how you did on Quiz 2! I do know that some of you did not do as well as you'd hoped, however. If you missed 9 or more points on a given question, here is an offer:

You can redo that question, and turn in your answer together with your quiz to me, to get back up to the half the points you missed. (A "question" means one of the main numbered items-- i.e., a page)

If you missed 9 or more points on multiple questions, feel free to do this for all relevant questions.

Since there's a paper due this week, I'll make the due date for this the following week: Tues 11/19.
Best,
--Adam

Announced on 11 November 2019  1:14  a.m. by Adam Albright

A few clarifications and reminders regarding Paper 2 (due Friday)

Hi all,
Since there's no class tomorrow, I just wanted to send out a few reminders and clarifications, as you work on Paper 2 (due this Friday)

1) I've posted a copy of the grading rubric that we'll use to evaluate papers, under the Paper 2 assignment description, in the "Homework" section of Stellar. (The prompt describing what you should do is Part 1, and the rubric is Part 2). This follows the same general format as the Paper 1 rubric.

2) As you assemble the parts of your paper, it's useful to keep a few things in mind:
- Don't think about word counts or length while you're writing. Just work your way through the required sections. You'll need to decide which sections to devote more or less discussion to, as appropriate for your language and your data, but you should include each of the required elements. If you include all that, your paper will likely be about the right length naturally. If it's a bit shorter or longer, don't worry. If it's way under, you probably need to develop something more. If it's way over, you probably want to be more judicious with your examples, and save an interesting topic for Paper 3 (research proposal). Also, when you check the word count, don't worry about including or not including the example sentences, trees, etc. Just count up everything to get a ballpark figure.

- It's fine to include section headings for each section- introduction, syntax, morphology, etc. This is not required, but in fact, section headings are conventional in a description of this sort, which covers many topics.

- Your paper should have an introduction and conclusion. The introduction, as always, should clue the reader into the purpose of the paper, its scope (what it will cover). You also need to include background information about the language, your speaker, and how you elicited your data. (This is the "methods" of your study) The conclusion should pull together some of the highlights of your findings. It's also appropriate in the conclusion to mention some issues that merit further investigation, though you'll have an opportunity to delve deeper into one of those for Paper 3.

- Your writing should also include transitions from one topic to the next. Each section should have a "mini-introduction" explaining what the section will include. Then as you move from point to point, signal to the reader that we are moving on to a new point. Often, the new point follows from the previous one in a logical way, and that step should be signaled. Sometimes, in a paper like this that covers a bunch of distinct topics, the points don't really connect directly to each other, and it's fine to say something like "We turn now to some phonetic and phonological properties of Quechua."

- Remember that the data that you include is evidence for your claims about properties of the language. So, you should choose your examples judiciously! You don't need to include all of the relevant data; just a few convincing examples is sufficient-- and in fact, best.

- Your transcriptions do not need to be in IPA, but they should be consistent and explained. As mentioned in clsas, it would not be realistic to retroactively decide what sounds you were hearing in your sessions (though if you happen to have recordings, that would help), and we may not have discussed the IPA symbols that you need. If you feel fairly confident substituting an IPA symbol based on your transcriptions and description, then that is fine. (For example, if you used 'sh' to indicate a sound like English 'sh', then feel free to swap in ʃ) You should describe your use of symbols, and your consonant

- For the phonology section, the prompt mentions writing inventory constraints, allophony, and contextual constraints. We have only just reached this part and we won't discuss it until Wednesday in class, so if you end up not feeling equipped to include anything on that by Friday, that is ok. (You can just discuss contrasts and evidence for them, even if it's limited in not truly providing minimal pairs)

3) I know that many of you have already attended one of the first two optional writing workshops, but don't forgot that there's one more coming up:

Tuesday, 11/12, 7–8pm, 5-134

Best,
--Adam

Announced on 11 November 2019  12:54  a.m. by Adam Albright