Getting a signature

 First, for more info on toki pona, see this site.

Okay here are the rules for signatures etc.

If you have four or fewer absences (through 12.01.26) :

zaliczenie – basic number of points = nothing more

extra 2 points = one essay

exam = 2 essays

If you have five or more absences add one essay to each of the above.

Essays are by student choice but no student can do more than one essay from a subject area.

Essay topics are found below the jump




Essay topics

Essay questions: An essay should be between one and two pages in length. A page is here defined as 2000 characters including spaces. The general distribution of ideas should be:
Between one third and one half: Summarize what we have done in class and/or the readings (in your own words).
Between one half and two thirds: Your own opinion and/or ideas. You are allowed to be very speculative here and propose theories of your own. Originality is favorably looked upon.


Weird languages____________________________________________________________________

Daniel Everett has made several unusual claims concerning the Pirahã language found in Brazil.
1.    Summarize three of his findings.
2.    Find alternate explanations for these.

David Gil's description of Riau Indonesian challenged some assumptions on features that languages must have.
1.    Summarize three of his claims.
2.    Find alternate explanations for these.

General topics______________________________________________________________________

Choose three particular design features of human languages. Indicate either how each is necessary for the functioning of human language and/or imagine how a language without that design feature might work.

What are the three kinds of empirical studies of linguistic relativity? Give examples of each. Do you think they are convincing or not? Why?

What are some of the arguments for and against the idea of linguistic relativity? Do you tend to believe that it is a valid concept or not? Why?

What is a linguistic postulate? Can you give some examples of (possible postulates) from languages that you know? Can you talk about cultural correlates of the postulates?

Discuss the structure of cultural themes and grammatical themes and discuss their differences. Does this seem like a valid concept?


Language invention___________________________________________________________________

Discuss one attempt to test the interaction between language thought and reality through the creation of a language. Discuss the picture of reality that emerges from the language.

Compare and contrast two different construed experimental languages.


Speculation___________________________________________________________________________

Are the ideas behind linguistic relativity suitable for quantitative or qualitative study? How can qualitative studies be verified?

To what degree do you think the structure of a person's first language influences the way they think about reality? Do you perceive reality in different ways depending upon the language you are using?

Why do you think some people very resistant to the idea of linguistic relativity?