ABOUT YOUR REPORT

• NO library sources
• MLA format
• One or both of the textbooks must be cited, in MLA format; (Be careful about plagiarism)
• Include the following in your report:　

Introduction ---　　 
What is the topic or question that was investigated?　　 
Brief summary of background information on the topic　　 
Design ---　　 
Explain carefully and clearly how you collected data; include all materials (such as questionnaires, tests, instructions to subjects)　　 
**Do not give the real names of subjects　　 
Findings (Results) ---　　 
Complete and explicit findings/results　　 
Any figures (tables or graphs; see MLA for format)　　 
Discussion (of findings/results) ---　　 
Interpretation (in relation to what we have studied, and to the introduction); alternative interpretations　　 
Problems you met in your investigation　　 
Conclusion ---　　 
Works Cited ---　　 
for Nash and Yule　　 
[Appendices] ---　　 
Some material from Design and from Findings may be too long to include in the text of the report　

Topic 1: QUESTIONS IN CHINESE MORPHOLOGY

       In this project you will not, of course, be expected to figure out everything about Chinese morphology.  You will work on just two basic questions.  The first is the nature of words in Chinese.  Many people say that Chinese is monosyllabic, that is, that all (or at least most) words are made up of just one syllable.  Others say that this is a confusion between the form of spoken Chinese and the form of written Chinese.  They say that those who claim that Chinese is monosyllabic are basing their ideas on the written character (字).　 Work out your own opinion on this question.  Remember that "word" does not mean "written character."  As you think about this question, consider an illiterate speaker, one who speaks Chinese but does not read or write it. 
After you have made up your minds about the first question, the second part of this project is to draw up a list of Mandarin function words similar to the list of English function words on page 65 of the textbook.  You may also want to refer to the list of Mandarin inflections on page 66 to make sure that you list function words and not inflections. 
        OR Optional questions to consider: (1) the relationship between spoken and written Chinese; (2) derivational processes in Chinese; inflections in Chinese (different varieties of Chinese) 
**Don't hesitate to come see your professor if you have any questions.  [Back to Top]

Topic 2: THE SYNTAX OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE

       How do people really talk?  Is everything they say "grammatically correct"?  Do they speak in complete sentences all the time?  What kinds of omissions seem to be allowed?  Do speakers follow rules, or can they speak any way they feel like speaking?  Is the syntax of spoken language different from the syntax of writing?  How?  Are there differences in the syntax of different types of spoken language? 
      To find answers to these questions tape samples of various types of spoken language—conversations, arguments, academic discussions, lectures, and news broadcasts, for example—and analyze the syntax.  To do this you will have to transcribe your tapes.  This takes time, so start early. 
Concentrate on samples all in the same language (English, Mandarin, other varieties of Chinese, another language you know).　 
**Don't hesitate to come see your professor if you have any questions.  [Back to Top]

Topic 3: INTERPERSONAL MEANING

        In this project you will investigate how meaning is worked out between (or among) people in an interaction.  For this you will need to know about the distinction between sentences and utterances, about what people do with utterances, and about context, all of which are discussed in Chapter 7 (Nash).　 For your data taperecord a few conversations, discussions, or classes.  Then in your recordings find examples of utterances which depend on the context for their meaning.  To simplify things try to use sentence-length examples so that you can analyze them as sentences and as utterances in order to show how utterance meaning depends on context.  There are some examples in Nash on pages 101 and 102 you might look at to get a better idea. 
       Concentrate on examples all in one language (English, Mandarin, other varieties of Chinese, another language you know).　 
**If you have any questions feel free to come see your professor.  [Back to Top]

Topic 4: BORROWED WORDS

       Find examples of borrowed words in English, Mandarin, and any other languages that you know.  Determine the sources of the borrowed words and look for possible reasons they were borrowed.  In English look especially for words that have been borrowed from different varieties of Chinese.  With all your examples check to see if the structure (pronunciation, morphological form) and usage of the borrowed words have changed.  Can you find any words that have changed meaning when borrowed into another language?　 Relate all that you find out about borrowed words to language change. 
Optional: You might also try to find examples of structures, such as sentence structures or morphological structures, that have been borrowed by one language from another. 
**Feel free to come see your professor if you have any questions.  [Back to Top]

Topic 5: LANGUAGE SCRAPBOOK

       For this topic, instead of observing or collecting data on a certain linguistic question, you will keep your eye out for articles about language in newspapers, especially, and also in magazines if appropriate.  These may be either Chinese-language or English-language newspapers.  When you find interesting articles on some aspect of language, cut them out and paste them in a scrapbook, including the bibliographic information required by MLA format.　  In the scrapbook next to the article (or in another part of the scrapbook, keyed to the article), write a brief summary of the article and your comments on it, in relation to what we have studied.  You may be surprised how often there are interesting newspaper articles concerned with language, covering a very wide range of topics! 
　  Because of the nature of a scrapbook, you will not be able to follow the 
"Guidelines for Reports," but you must still cite one or both of the textbooks and include a Works Cited for the textbook(s). 
**See your professor for sample articles that could go in a language scrapbook.  [Back to Top]