What's Scheduled This Week:
(note: each week starts on
Monday and ends Sunday)
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING TASKS:
-
First, listen to my short
weekly audio lecture. You can listen to the lecture in either Real Audio format or Windows
Media format. Note that I have compressed all the course audio
files (subsequently reducing the sound quality) to make the file size
small enough to allow reasonable download time. If you do not have
either of the above audio players, you can download
the free Realone Audio player or download
a free Windows Media player.
- Next, explore the following links:(Note: you are expected
to visit each link listed. Take a bit of time to explore every link,
attempt to understand how the material fits into folklore, and notify
me if a link is down for more than 24 hours).
- Etymology --where did our words
come from? Though perhaps just a bit off the folklore subject, knowing
a bit about the history of the English language can help you better
understand related folklore topics.
- Where did your name come from?
Looking at surname origin can be fun way to explore "Onomastics" (the
study of naming).
- Visit a site that discusses the Ebonics
debate: Language vs. Dialect, etc.
- Visit The
American Dialect Society Home Page. If you want a laugh, look at
their "Words of the Year" section.
- Visit a site that lists the 162 living languages used
in the USA (and the world's 6,912 living languages)
- Intensifiers--Learn a little
about synecdoche and hyperbole
- Do you remember any of these mnemonic
devices?
- US Army Special
Forces Jargon and Terminology
- Not for the faint hearted! Visit a "maledicta" site with links
to Insults, Curses, Slang, Swearwords, Blasphemies, Slurs,
Obscenities...
- Visit Jon Carroll's humorous site on Mondegreens--a
mishearing of a popular phrase or song lyric that works it way into our
speech. For example, during the last year I have heard at least two
students say "It's a dogey dog world" instead of "It's a dog eat dog
world." While I can almost make sense of that creation, I have been
tempted to ask what is meant by "No holes barred" rather than "No holds
barred."
- Visit the Chronicle of Higher Education's short list of
Information Technology Jargon
- Look at slang terms
common on college campuses
- Boontling
You can still hear a bit of this in Boonville, CA
- Have you looked over Course Project
Examples yet?
Third, look
over the Homefun on Folk speech (This is
not a graded assignment, nor will it be turned in, but completing it
will be useful for quiz and final exam study. It also clearly indicates
what parts of the chapter I believe are worth knowing).
Start reading
pp 92--112, and be sure to complete reading by end of the week.
- Next, send email to me at roesch@siskyous.edu about how
you think the class is going. Are you starting to find your way around?
Do you think you understand what is expected of you? Do you have any
concerns?
Next, take a
short
quiz over your first week's reading. Before you take the quiz, be
sure you know the main components of dialect, the major categories of
folklore, and who are the "folk" in folklore.
-
Next,
make your weekly posting to the Discussion Board.
- Last, if you have not already done so, please
visit the collection sheet example done by a
previous student and the homefun sheet
example.