LABORATORIO DI LINGUA INGLESE A.A.2017/18 I SEMESTRE

LABORATORIO LECTURES CHRISTINE RICHARDSON

HOMEWORK TASKS

In addition to attending at least two Laboratorio Lectures (and the 'lettorato') in Semester I, students registered for the LM 37 Laboratorio di Lingua Inglese (BO 13900) are required to write one of the Homework tasks listed below. Choose a task which relates to one of the Lectures you attended. The work should be written in English. The text you produce should be around 1000 words (two sides of printed paper). Remember that you cannot have a final mark for Laboratorio until you have completed all the 'lettorato' courses, the two Laboratorio Lectures with Christine Richardson, the two Laboratorio Lectures with John Gilbert, passed the B2 test (if not already passed as part of Unifi triennale) and completed the Homework Tasks satisfactorily.

Your papers must be all your own work and not copied from Internet!

Please hand in a printed copy of your paper to Christine Richardson (via her pigeon hole in VSR, or in person).

Language and Gender

a) Look at the Details on Admission for a British or American university and compare them with Details on Admission for an Italian university. What do you notice about the use of gender-specific language in the texts?

or

b) Look at one or two British newspapers and find examples of how women are referred to or presented. What words are used to describe or identify them and why are they in the news episode? (N.B. buy copies of the newspapers or look at Newspaper web-sites, most – but unfortunately not all – allow you to read some sections without subscribing). How do these aspects relate to the current ideology of gender? Make sure you relate your analysis to features of language and not just content.

Language and Ideology in Advertising

a) Find 2 or 3 advertisements from English language magazines or newspapers. How is the relation between the advertiser and the reader built up?

or

b) Look at 2 or 3 (English language) Cosmetics advertisements. What language choices do they reveal which relate to the ideology of gender?

Language and Ideology in the News

Look at three reports of the same news incident in different British newspapers and analyse the transitivity choices they show. How do these influence the presentation of the incident? (N.B. buy copies of the newspapers or look at Newspaper web-sites, most – but unfortunately not all – allow you to read some sections without subscribing)

Language and Age

Look at one or two British newspapers and find examples of how elderly people are referred to or presented. What words are used to describe or identify them and why are they in the news episode? (N.B. buy copies of the newspapers or look at Newspaper web-sites, most – but unfortunately not all – allow you to read some sections without subscribing). How do these aspects relate to the current ideology of age?

Language and Identity

a) Read through the reports by Karen McLachlan and Louise Williams on the experience of their families with Gaelic and Welsh. What parallels and/or contrasts are there which are interesting to note from the point of view of changing attitudes to and status of these “minority languages”?

or

b) How does the history and relationship of Standard English to regional varieties or dialects compare to those of the Italian language in Italy?

Language and Power

a) Look at the Library Rules, the Chess Club Rules and The Green Cross Code extracts given in the handout. How are the relationships of power between the authority making the rules and the users submitting to the rules established in terms of language choices (e.g. modality, transitivity, pronouns, naming, transformations, directives, etc.)?

or

b) Undertake a small survey (at least 10 subjects) among your friends, acquaintances, family of naming conventions in school or university environments in which they are, or have been, for subjects who are no longer in education, involved. Try to find subjects of different ages in order to cover different levels of school and different subjects studied for University students. What do your results indicate about power roles within the different situations reported?

If you have an idea of your own for this piece of work, relating to the material covered in the lessons, you may do that instead, but please check it with me first!

Christine Richardson