summer project-DARE pairs

[Greg Pulliam]

Several people have asked, so I'm writing to pass along my planned
project assignment for my summer students.

The class:  "The American English Language."  A sort of hybrid of
History of the English Language and American Dialects.  It runs 8
weeks--3 hours/day, 2 days/week.  We have spent June with Barber's
_The English Language: A Historical Introduction_.  We will spend
July with Wolfram and Schilling-Estes' _American English_.  It's a
junior-level class, but of course has sophomores and seniors in it,
too.  About half the class is American and half international.

The project:  From a list of DARE pairs, students choose a pair, then
use DARE and its very helpful website to write up a 3-4 page overview
of the terms and the people who use them.  Next, find the survey
question/s used to elicit these terms, and ask a specific number of
people (what do you ADSers think--5?  10?  15?) the same question.
Record demographic, ethnic and geographical (like where they were
born/raised/etc.) information for these respondents as well as their
answers to the question.  Write up a 3-4 page account of your
findings.

Thanks to Don Lance for helping me figure this out.  I'm also open to
any suggestions folks might have, especially if you have done
something like this yourself and know where the pitfalls are.

Here is the tentative list of "pairs" I am working with--I appreciate
all contributions.  Remember, all pair members must begin with the
letters A-O.  I'm aware of pairs such as couch/davenport, but since
there's another major term in that trio--sofa--that we can't access
yet, I'm not going to include it.  I'm considering removing the
hoagie group for this reason--sub and po'boy can't come into the
picture yet.  I have 11 students, so I think this list will suffice,
but feel free to comment on these or suggest others.

Again, thanks to all who contributed!

1. firefly/lightning bug
2. lunch/dinner
3. hoagie/hero/grinder
4. eaves/gutter
5. bureau/dresser
6. burlap bag/gunny sack/croker sack
7. green pepper/bell pepper/mango
8. daddy longlegs/granddaddy longlegs
9. dirt dauber/mud dauber/mud wasp
10. beetle/june bug
11. footstool/hassock/ottoman
12. crawfish/crawdad/crayfish
13. casserole/hot dish/covered dish
14. flat screwdriver/flat-head screwdriver
15. adjustable wrench/monkey wrench
16. credenza/bookcase
17. brush hook/Kaiser blade
18. creek/crick
19. egg cream/frappe/milkshake/malted, etc.
20. monkey bars/jungle gym
21. (grocery) cart/buggy
22. andiron/firedog
23. dragon fly/darning needle/mosquito hawk
24. frosting/icing


--
-
Greg

greg at pulliam.org
http://www.pulliam.org
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