250 words

Task:

• Select one of the following words : woke, tea, shade
• Research the most “contemporary” definitions of the word you chose (both “standard” and informal or “slang”). You should be able to find a dictionary definition for most of these (e.g., https://www.merriam-webster.com/ (Links to an external site.), dictionary.com (Links to an external site.)) but if not, consult other definitions on the web. [If you’re having trouble finding the more informal definition or history of shade, try looking up throwing shade.]
• Research the history of the word. Using google is fine but you should consult more than one source and be sure to include a dictionary with good etymological information (try to avoid urban dictionary)!
• In one page do the following, and submit your page online to Canvas:
  1. Based on your research, provide one “standard” modern and one “informal/slang” modern definition of one of the words above.
  2. Briefly describe the origins and the history of the word. Discuss the origins of the chosen non-slang meaning, as well as the history of the chosen informal/slang sense of the word. Please address the following:
     • What social group did the new (informal, slang) meanings of the word begin in? How did it gain more widespread use? Has it changed since being used by more people? Has it been added to a scholarly dictionary you use? (Be sure to state which scholarly dictionary you use.)
  3. The new senses of these words took shape in specific social groups before they entered into mainstream American English. Identify and briefly describe one pressure external to language (e.g., geography, social identity, contact between different social groups) and one pressure internal to language (e.g. phonetic or semantic change) that took place in the history of the word.
  4. These words and/or their new senses are often labeled by non-linguists as “slang”. Reflect on the following questions and write a well-structured paragraph about what it means for something to be “slang” and when it becomes the “standard”.
     • Define the concept “standard language” as found in a scholarly source (e.g. pp 159-160 in your textbook, or another source; do not make up your own definition here!) Include a discussion of the role of power in decisions about what words are included in the “standard language”.
     • What does it mean for a word to be labeled as “slang”?
     • What does it mean for the word to be “added to the dictionary”? What makes something “dictionary-worthy”?
     • Is being added to a published dictionary enough for a word to go from “slang” to “standard”?

To see the purpose and skills this assignment is designed to address, please click here.

Criteria for success: See the grading rubric below.

Rubric

Rubric for Written Assignment 4B