Following is a list of topics for the second essay assignment. Answer any one of these questions, which relate to the material presented in Units 1 through 4 (although information may also be found in units not yet covered). You are encouraged to use your course materials, however, you MUST also use at least three (3) outside academic sources such as articles from academic journals or from other textbooks.
Suggested Topics
1. In order to explain the numerous facts about language development, linguists have tried to formulate a theory that applies to all natural languages. These principles, which are known as linguistic universals, offer insights into how children acquire language and also answer questions such as why language is universal, why it is mastered so rapidly, and why there are only loose or incomplete connections between linguistic knowledge and experience. These features of language development follow from a single premise—that they are part of a biological blueprint for language development. Discuss this concept, as well as related theories of language acquisition, and describe the place of human interaction in language acquisition.
2. Semantic analysis looks at the conventional meaning of words and word combinations as well as how the structure of a sentence contributes to meaning. This is a technical approach to meaning. However, what is meant comes not only from the use of particular words or word combinations but also from the speaker’s culture, the context in which the statement is made, and the speaker’s intent. How can we grasp the meaning of a statement, and what do we have to take into consideration? What does a statement tell us about the speaker, and what allows us to know a speaker’s intent? Discuss the place of semantics and pragmatics in the study of language.
3. Roughly five to six thousand languages are spoken in the world today. However, a hundred years from now, those numbers will almost certainly fall to a thousand or even fewer. Describe, in detail, some of the forces that are reducing linguistic diversity. Discuss what is lost when a language disappears, and describe some efforts at language revitalization.
4. Describe the process of language acquisition in hearing children and deaf children. Do Hockett’s universal features of language include the languages of the deaf? If not, propose changes to the design features. Does Chomsky’s idea of a Universal Grammar exclude the deaf?
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