MA essay topics

MA in American Studies Programme

Cultural and ethnic impact in Present-day American dialects
Length: 2,000 words (appoximately 8-10 pages)
Deadline: end of April

1. Negative concord in dialectal English (Belfast English, Cockney, Yorkshire English, AAVE, JC)
Chambers, J. K & P. Trudgill & N. Schilling-Estes: The Handbook of Language Variation and Change. Oxford: Blackwell. 2002.
DeGraff, M. 1997. "Verb syntax in and beyond creolisation". Haegeman, L.(ed.): The New Comparative Syntax. 64-95.
Deprez, V. 1997. "Two types of Negative Concord". Probus 9. 103-143.
Giannakidou, A. 2000. Negative... concord? Natural Language and Linguistic Inquiry 18.
Hughes&Trudgill 1979. English accents and dialects: An introduction to social and regional variation in British English. London: Arnold.
Martin, S. & W. Wolfram 1998. ”The sentence in African-American Vernacular English”. Mufwene, S. & al. (eds) African-American English. Structure, history and use. New York: Routledge. 17-27.
Radford. A. 2004. English syntax: an introduction. Cambridge: Cambrdige University Press.

2. Copular sentences in American English dialects
Heycock, C.&A. Kroch 1998. "Inversion and equation in copular sentences" Wilder, C.&al. (eds): Proceedings of the ZAS Workshop on Pseudoclefts 000-000.
Stassen, L. 1997. Intransitive predication. Chapter 4. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wolfram, W. & N. Schilling-Estes 1998. American English: dialects and variation. Oxford: Blackwell.
Rickford, J. ”The Creole origins of African-American Vernacular English: evidence from copula absence”. Mufwene, S. & al. (eds): African-American English. Structure, history and use. New York: Routledge. 154-201.
Labov, W. 1998. “Coexisting systems in African-American Vernacular English”. Mufwene, S. & al. (eds): African-American English. Structure, history and use. New York: Routledge. 110-153
Bailey, B. L. 1965. “Toward a new typology of American Negro dialectology” American Speech 40.3: 171-177.

3. British English vs. American English: phonology, lexicon, morphology, syntax
Chambers, J. K & P. Trudgill & N. Schilling-Estes: The Handbook of Language Variation and Change. Oxford: Blackwell. 2002.
Hughes&Trudgill 1979. English accents and dialects: An introduction to social and regional variation in British English. London: Arnold.
Kövecses, Z. 2000. Bridge One. British and American English Differences for Learners of English. Budapest: Librotrade.
Wolfram, W. & N. Schilling-Estes 1998. American English: dialects and variation. Oxford: Blackwell.

4. Yod-dropping in American English
Katamba, F. 1997. Introduction to phonology. London: Longman.
Kenstowitz, M. 1995. Generative phonology Oxford: Blackwell.
Kövecses, Z. 2000. Bridge One. British and American English Differences for Learners of English. Budapest: Librotrade.

5. Social and regional dialects of American English
Wolfram, W. & N. Schilling-Estes 1998. American English: dialects and variation. Oxford: Blackwell.
Romaine, S.2001. Language and society: An introduction to sociolinguistics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kortmann, B. & E. W Schneider & C. Upton, & R. Mesthrie & K. Burridge (eds) 2005. A Handbook of Varieties of English. Berlin: Mouton.
Labov, William 1996. “The organisation of dialect diversity in America.” Proceedings of ICSLP4 Downloadable: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/phono_atlas

6. Been and done and the syntax of ASPP in AAVE
Depraetere, I. 1995. "On the necessity of distinguishing between (un)boundedness and (a)telicity" Linguistics and philosophy 18:1-19.
Gueron, J. 2007. "On tense and aspect". Lingua 117: 367-391.
Radford. A. 2004. English syntax: an introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Green, L. 1998. ”Aspect and predicate phrases in African-American Vernacular English.” Mufwene, S. & al. 1998. African-American English. Structure, history and use. New York: Routledge. 37-69.

7. The semantic and sociological content of the word nigga in AAVE
Wolfram, W.& N. Schilling-Estes 1998. American English: dialects and variation. Oxford:Blackwell.
Spears, A. 1998. ”African-American language use: ideology and so-called obscenity”. Mufwene, S. & al. 1998. African-American English. Structure, history and use. New York: Routledge. 238-250.

8. Compounding in Jamaican Creole
Holm, J. 2000. Introduction to pidgins and creoles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Farquharson, J. 2010. ”Compounding in Jamaican Creole”. Ph.D diss. Mona, Jamaica.
Bauer, L. 2006."Compounds and minor word-formation types". Aarts, B.&A. McMahon (eds): The Handbook of English Linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell. 483-507.
Lieber, Rochelle 1992. ”Compounding in English” Rivista di grammatica 4.1: 79-96.

9. The structure of the DP in Standard American English and AAVE
Giusti, G. 1997. ”The structure of the DP”. Haegemean, L. (ed.): New comparative syntax. London: Longman.
Mufwene, S. 1998. ”The structure of the noun phrase in AAVE” Mufwene, S. & al. (eds): African-American English. Structure, history and use. New York: Routledge. 69-83.
Kortmann, B. & E. W Schneider & C. Upton, & R. Mesthrie & K. Burridge (eds) 2005. A Handbook of Varieties of English. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

10. English-based creoles.
Holm, J. 2000. Introduction to pidgins and creoles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kortmann, B. & E. W Schneider & C. Upton, & R. Mesthrie & K. Burridge (eds) 2005. A Handbook of Varieties of English. Berlin: Mouton.
Mufwene, S. 2007. ”What do creoles and pidgins tell us about the evolution of language?” Laks, B. & S. Cleuziou, J-P. Demoule & P. Encrevé (eds): The Origin and Evolution of Languages: Approaches, Models, Paradigms. London: Equinox.
Mufwene, S. 2001. “Pidgin and creole languages”. Smelser, N.J.&P.B. Baltes (eds): International encyclopedia of social and behavioral sciences. Oxford: Elsevier Science.

11. Appalachian English (lexicon, phonology and syntax).
Montgomery, M. 1990. “The roots of Appachian English: Scottish-Irish or Southern British?” Paper presented at the Appalachian Studies Conference, Atlanta 1-24.
Montgomery, M. 2002. “The Scottish-Irish element in Appalachian English: how broad? How deep?” Paper published by the University of South Carolina. http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/dictionary.articles.html
Montgomery, M. 2004. “Appalachian English”. Straw, R.A. & H.T. Blethen (eds): High mountains rising: Appalachia in time and space. University of Illinois Press. 147-165.
Christine Mallinson&al. 2006. “If These Hills Could Talk (Smoky Mountains)” Wolfram, W.&B. Ward (eds): American voices: how dialects differ from coast to coast.. Oxford: Black-well. 22-28
Mallison, C.&al. 2006. “If these hills could talk (Smoky Montains)”. Wolfram, W.& B. Ward (eds): American voices: how dialects differ from coast to coast. Oxford: Blackwell 22-28.

12. Ocracoke Brogue.
Schilling-Estes, N.&W. Wolfram 1997. Hoi toid on the Outer Banks: the story of Ocracoke Brogue. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Caroline Press. 1-29.
Wolfram, W. 2006. “Dialects in danger (Outer Banks, NC) ”. Wolfram, W.&B. Ward (eds): American voices: how dialects differ from coast to coast. Oxford: Blackwell. 189-195.
Wolfram, W.& N. Schilling-Estes 1998. American English: dialects and variation. Oxford: Blackwell.

13. Non-sexist langauge and its social connotations in the US.
Ash, S. 2002. “Social class”. Chambers, J. K.&P. Trudgill&N. Schilling-Estes 2002. The handbook of language variation and change. 402-421. Oxford: Blackwell.
Cheshire, J. 2002. “Sex and gender in variationist research”. Chambers, J. K.&P. Trudgill&N. Schilling-Estes 2002. The handbook of language variation and change. 422-443. Oxford: Blackwell.

14. Gullah as an expression of ethnic identity.
Weldon, T. 2006. ”Gullah. Gullah Islands”. Wolfram, W.&B. Ward (eds): American voices: how dialects differ from coast to coast. Oxford: Blackwell. 178-182.
Wolfram, W.& N. Schilling-Estes 1998. American English: dialects and variation. Oxford: Blackwell.
Fought, C. 2002. ”Ethnicity”. Chambers, J. K.&P. Trudgill&N. Schilling-Estes 2002. The handbook of language variation and change. Oxford: Blackwell.
Holm, J. 2002. An introduction to Pidgins and Creoles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

15. Any other topic (to be approved of by the course instructor

MA in English Language and Culture Programme

Current Trends in Linguistic Theory
Length: 2,000 words
Deadline: November 30th

Choose one of the topics and write a ’short essay’ on it. You can choose a topic not listed but make sure your tutor approves of it. Writing your essay will require careful reading of the material prescribed for the topic and making a systematic account of your findings.
Your essay should begin with an introduction where you explain what problem you are going to investigate, why this problem is interesting for linguistic analysis and how you are going to proceed. The main body of the essay should contain a systematic survey of the problem, examples to illustrate your point and its justification. The essay should close with a conclusion where you summarize your main claims. Once you have chosen your topic and read the prescribed material, consult your tutor during office hours or by e-mail.
Essays must be written double-spaced, preferably in Times New Roman 12 pt. Attach a front page with the title of the essay, your name, the name of the course and the tutor on it and a list of references at the end, following the format given in the Style Guide. Submitting your essay beyond the prescribed deadline means 10% deduction of the total points per week.
Plagiarism will not be tolerated. At best, you will have to write an essay on another topic. At worst, it will be assessed as is and recorded as a fail.

Topics

1. Tense and aspect in Montague Grammar and in Cognitive Grammar
Dowty, D. 1979. "The semantics of aspectual classes of verbs in English."Word meaning and Montague Grammar. Dordrecht: Kluwer. 37-132.
Dancygier, B. & Sweetser, E. 2005. Mental space in grammar. Conditional constructions. Cambridge: CUP.

2. Conditional mood in cognitive semantics and in formal semantics
Kratzer, A. 2001. Kratzer, A. (1991): "Mood". Stechow, A. & D. Wunderlich (eds.) Semantics. An International Handbook of Contemporary Research. New York. Walter de Gruyter. 650-671.
Dancygier, B. & Sweetser, E. 2005. Mental space in grammar. Conditional constructions. Cambridge: CUP. 110-142.

3. Predication in formal theories of grammar
Bowers, J. 2001. "Predication". Baltin, M.&C. Collins (eds): The handbook of contemporary syntactic theory. Oxford: Blackwell. 299-333.
Chomsky, N.: "The minimalist programme". Hale, K. & J. Keyser (ed.): The view from Building 20. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press 1993. 1-52.
Rothstein, S. 2001. Predicates and their subjects. Chapter 5-6. Dordrecht: Kluwer.

4. Kinship terms: the interaction of language and culture
Foley, W. 1997. Anthropological linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell. 131-141.
Comrie, B. 1981. Language Typology and Linguistic Universals. Chapter 1. Chicago. The University of Chicago Press.
Schwimmer, B. 2003. Kinship and social organisation. An interactive tutorial. Downloadable from:
http://www.umanitoba.ca/faculties/arts/anthropology/kintitle.html

5. Colour terms: universal or culture-related?
Foley, W. 1997. Anthropological linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell. 150-165.
Comrie, B. 1981. Language Typology and Linguistic Universals. Chapter 2. Chicago. The University of Chicago Press.
Kay, P. & L. Muffi 2007. "Basic colour terms". Haspelmath & al. World Atlas of Language Structures Downloadable from:
http://www.wals.info

6. Theories of the evolution of human language
Foley, W. 1997. Anthropological linguistics. Chapter 2. Oxford: Blackwell.
Lieberman, P. 1984. The Biology and Evolution of Language. Chapter 12. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press.

7. Conceptual differences between Cognitive Grammar and Minimalist Theory
Langacker, R. W. 1990. Concept, image, and symbol. The cognitive basis of grammar. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. 1-33.
Marantz, A. 1995. "The minimalist program". Webelhuth, G. & D. Lightfoot (eds): Government and Binding Theory and the Minimalist Program. Oxford: Blackwell 351-381.

8. Cross-cultural variation in politeness and personhood
Foley, W. 1997. Anthropological linguistics. Oxford: Blackwell. 260-285.
Brown, P.; Levinson, S. C. 1987. Politeness: some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press
Wardhaugh, 1986. An introduction to sociolinguistics. Oxford: Blackwell. 259-283.
Helmbrecht, J. 2007. "Politeness distinction in pronouns". Haspelmath & al. World Atlas of Language Structures. Chapter 45. Downloadable from: http://www.wals.info

9. Case-marking in Icelandic: an HPSG account
Sag, I. & L. Kartunnen & J. Goldberg 1993. "A lexical analysis of Icelandic case" Szabolcsi, A. (ed.): Lexical matters. Stanford: CSLI Publications. 301-318.
Sigurdhsson, H. 2000. "To be an oblique subject: Russian vs. Icelandic". Working Papers in Scandinavian Syntax 66: 1-32.
Sells, P. 1985. Lectures on contemporary syntactic theories. Stanford: CSLI Publications.

10. Passive in LFG and MT
Bresnan, J. 1982. "The passive in lexical theory". Bresnan, J. (ed.): The mental representation of grammatical relations. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press 3-87.
Chomsky, N. 1993. "The minimalist program." Hale, K. & J. Keyser (ed.): The view from Building 20. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press 1-52.
Gueron, J. & L. Haegeman 1997. English grammar: a generative perspective. Oxford: Blackwell.
Radford, A. 2004. English syntax: an introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

11. Any topic of your choice