Possible A2 coursework investigation...

My initial thought for an investigation was to analyse the way a teenager speaks with a person of a similar age compared to a conversation with an adult.

The way I could do this is record my 15 year old brother speaking with his friend, and then speaking with our mum. I think this would be interesting as it shows the way he may change his intonation when talking (speaking more deeply with his friend), changing the style he speaks (pace and phrasing) and the words he uses and how (diverging from slang/swear words and changes in his accent).

I find this interesting because I already notice the changes in the way he talks and I know this is a common denominator amongst most teenagers.

 I did think of investigating teenagers speaking and then a group of adults but I think it would be more interesting by just using the same person in two different contexts as it clearly shows the changes that automatically appear. :))

Response to dictionary research and presentations and YouTube clip...

I thought the most interesting part of our dictionary research is how dictionaries have actually evolved like evolution over time. The way each dictionary served a different purpose and how the content changed each time is fascinating. I also find it interesting how the content for each dictionary was collected, e.g. with volunteers scouring through literature or listening to people on the street. I would have thought that the reception of each dictionary would be the same; however the case was that some were thought of as better than others, therefore it lead to some being better known and popular than others. Which I think is why, nowadays, we do not really know much about previous dictionaries.

The YouTube clip was interesting as well as quite confusing. The main arguments i picked up were about how American English has basically fallen apart, which I think is untrue because it’s not as if people are talking completely in slang or text speak. Another debate i picked up on was the idea that Descriptivists are lead by the more unintelligent sector of America, which i think it’s slightly true but also a bit ruthless to say. I think the way Descriptivists work is less academically challenging and does sort of state the obvious. On the other hand, we still do need the plain and simple descriptions of words to be able to use them.