LIN101
Memes and Course Wrap-up
Homework #6
Please type your answers into afresh new document, with the problems clearly labelled and separated, so they are easy to grade. Do not try to cram your answers into the original homework PDF. Do not copy the original question into your response;just label each problem: Problem 1, Problem 2, etc. Make sure you input any IPA symbols correctly. Check the resources on Quercus for tools that you can use for inputting IPA symbols.
Problem 1. Read Problem 2, then create three memes of your own original work like the following:
Your memes should obey the following restrictions:
• each meme must deal with fundamentally different significant and interesting linguistics content, and that content must be something taught in this course
• memes should be about course content, not “phonemic analysis is hard”, “these two symbols look the same and confused me”, “Sanders likes to watch the world burn”, “me studying the IPA”, etc.
• at least one should be about signed language linguistics
• they should not be obscene, offensive, or abusive towards any person, culture, or identity; cursing for effect is fine, but do not use slurs, nudity, gore, etc.
Each meme must use a different template, and those templates must come from the approved list at the end of this assignment. You don’t need to write anything for this problem, just include your memes in your submission. To create your memes, you can use the Meme Generator at https://im gflip.com/memegenerator, but feel free to use other tools if you prefer. Be creative! Try to make the grader laugh! Make sure each meme gives you an opportunity to educate Auntie Satu about what you learned in this course. [6 marks]
Problem 2: Short writing exercise. Suppose you are so proud of how clever your memes are from Problem 1 that you post one to a social media account on Instagram or somewhere similar. You thought you were posting to your secret linguistics nerd alt account, but instead, you accidentally posted on main, where your beloved Auntie Satu came across your meme. She comments on it, asking “Why is this funny?”. Write a response to Auntie Satu that clearly answers her question by explaining the linguistic concepts behind the meme and what makes it funny. You may write in any language you want, but you must provide an accurate and fluid translation in English to be graded. As before, assume Auntie Satu is smart but has never studied linguistics. This means your response should be written at an appropriate level for someone who thinks logically but doesn’t know specific vocabulary from the field of linguistics. You do not need to explain the meme template to Auntie Satu. Assume she is a frequent meme user and understands the basic meme templates. [10 marks]
For this problem, you can use any of the three memes to be the one you “posted” in this scenario, but it is recommended that you choose the one you think you understand the best and for which you think you can provide the clearest explanation to Auntie Satu.
Writing goals: This writing assignment has two major goals. First, it is intended for you to demon- strate your own understanding of a topic from this course. It is also intended for you to express that understanding in writing to a non-specialist, by presenting the information in a different way than how it was presented to you. Thus, you cannot simply take the definitions and wording you have used in class, because your audience does not have the same background (they have not sat in on our lectures, read our lecture notes, etc.).
Suggested word count: Your (English) response should be about 100–300 words, but this is only a suggested range. You will not be penalized for writing a bit under or a bit over. However, an excellent response will strike the right balance in length, because writing too little may not fully answer the question, and writing too much could be boring or difficult to read.
Rubric for assessment: This writing exercise is assessed based on the same four categories described in Homework #1: content (40%), logical argumentation (30%), cohesion and structure (20%), and mechanics and tone (10%).
Problem 3. Pick some new significant information you learned in lecture in this course that you know really well now, but for which you didn’t get a good chance to demonstrate your knowledge on homework or quizzes, either because you didn’t do well before or because it wasn’t asked about. Write about 100–200 words clearly describing your understanding of this topic, in your own words. Write a genuine description directly from your own brain of some knowledge you actually know and have retained, something you don’t need to look up anywhere. [4 marks]