LING2008 How Language Shapes Society Assignment Brief 2025-26 | UWA

LING2008 Assignment

TASK: Choose 1 (ONE) of the 3 (three) assignment options below and submit it by the due date. Keep in mind that the options cover different modules:

Option 1: Module 1
Option 2: Module 2
Option 3: Module 3

Length: 1800 words (+/- 10%).
Task Details: see pages 2-4.

Format:

• Use Times New Roman, size 12, 1.5 spacing.
• Include a cover page

Student name
Student ID
Unit: How Language Shapes Society
Assignment: Option 1, 2 OR 3 
Date submitted:
Word count:
If overdue, was an extension granted? (If yes, attach the supporting evidence):

Marking Criteria

• 30 marks will be awarded for content:
• The answer covers all aspects of the task (10 marks).
• The answer is clearly linked to relevant theoretical models and concepts covered in the unit (10 marks).
• The answer offers in-depth analysis of the question, 6 academic sources and critical/reflective perspectives on the unit readings (10 marks).
• The answer provides clear examples that illustrate analytical points (5 marks).
• 10 marks will be awarded for style and formal aspects:
• Displays organisation and structure as a piece of writing (3 marks).
• Adherence to APA 7th referencing and citation guidelines (3 marks).
• Correct spelling and punctuation (2 marks).
• Word count: 1800 words (+/- 10%), excluding references (2 marks).

Total: 45 marks 

Submission:

Save as a single .pdf or .doc file.
Submit the file via the link provided on LMS (see below)

Assignment: Option 1

Analyse the transcript above and explain how (with reference to specific examples from the transcript) power is indexed and negotiated over the course of the interaction. Your response should minimally consider the role of register, politeness, and situational/cultural context.

Assignment: Option 2

Option 2 invites you to explore linguistic variation by analysing real-life language variation.

Context

Option 2 asks you to examine the following three linguistic variables in Classical Arabic and Iraqi Arabic

• A phonological variable (the stop [k] versus the affricate [t ]);ʃ
• The form used to create the passive (CuCiC versus nCiCaC; the Cs show the consonants that identify the Arabic verb stem);
• The complementiser ‘an versus zero to introduce a subordinate clause.

Figure 1 illustrates the use of these linguistic variables by speaker gender. Similar results were found in studies conducted in Cairo (Egypt), Damascus and Hama (both in Syria). Additionally, research conducted in the 2010s indicated that pre-teens were using the Iraqi variables at a higher rate than older speaker groups. A follow-up study conducted in the 2020s found that speakers who were pre-teens at the time of the 2010s study had not only continued using the Iraqi variables, but were using them at an even higher rate in the 2020s than in the 2010s.

Task

Based on the data and information above, identify and analyse three patterns in the distribution of Classical and Iraqi Arabic variables with reference to theories and concepts from LING2008 and your own independent research. Then explain to what extent these patterns align with Labov’s ‘gender paradox’ and why/why not.

Assignment: Option 3

Option 3 invites you to explore bilingual language use by interviewing a bilingual speaker, i.e., someone who uses more than one language in their day-to-day life.

Task

Ask your potential interviewee if they would be willing to take part. Explain to them that the interview is fora UWA Linguistics assignment, that they will remain anonymous, and that your lecturer will be the only person to read the submitted work (if the interview were for a research project leading to a publication, wewould of course need to have Human Research Ethics approval in-hand, and the interviewee would need tosign a consent form etc., but the ethics office has advised that this process is not necessary for a courseworkassignment of this type).

Your goal is to provide a short but in-depth description and analysis of your bilingual using the concepts and tools I have introduced to you in the first 4 lectures of Module 3. Before you meet with your informant, try to come up with a list of questions that will guide you as you conduct the interview. The first paragraph of your description should provide the general background of your bilingual individual, to refer to then you can refer to them using initials. Then, you will need to collect   information that will allow you to comment on  your bilingual’s linguistic configuration:

• languages involved, language proficiency & language use, and how this may have changed over time
• domains of use of your bilingual’s languages to describe the functions of the languages (and how this may have changed over time)
• Thoughts on language mode given their usage in different domains
• extent of their biculturalism over time, or monolingual status

Make sure that you are not just describing your interviewee’s bilingualism but also analysing their bilingualism with reference to relevant literature. Consider, to what extent do your interviewees’ views and reported practices align with theories, concepts and findings of prior research on bilingualism? Why might this be? 

To support your analysis, make use of the types of figures I have introduced in the lectures:

• Grosjean’s descriptive grids for use and fluency (Week 8 Lectures 1&2); make decisions on which kinds of grid(s) best capture the most interesting aspects of your interviewee’s bilingualism
• depiction of domains of use (Week 8 Lectures 1&2)
• depiction of cultural dominance if the bilingual is bicultural (Week 9 Lecture 1).

Refer to any diagrams you use in the main text, give them a figure number, and provide a short