1. Yun-Pi Yuan 1 Linguistics DISCUSSION 3

2. Yun-Pi Yuan 2 Q1: The textbook and lecture discuss language and sex mainly in relation to English. Discuss language and sex in relation to Chinese (any variety or varieties you prefer: Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, Hakka... ). Bring in your own personal experience as a female or male speaker.

3. Yun-Pi Yuan 3 Q2: Using Figures 1 and 2 from the lecture, explain either (1) how entry into a telephone conversation is coordinated in another language you speak, or (2) how the problems of identification are resolved (in another language you speak). Include some examples of the beginnings of telephone conversations showing different possible solutions and developments.

4. Yun-Pi Yuan 4 Q3: Define politeness and face. How are they related to language forms? Discuss the results of Nash (1983). Give examples of other situations which support or counter the conclusions of that study.

5. Yun-Pi Yuan 5 Q4: Is there any relationship between the sound system of a language and other parts of its grammar, such as syntax, vocabulary, word forms and word classes, and semantics? Give examples in which some aspect of sound interacts with another part of grammar.

6. Yun-Pi Yuan 6 Q5: To speak a language what do you think you have to know (unconsciously) about its sounds and sound system? List as many things as you can, and explain why you need to know them.

7. Yun-Pi Yuan 7 Q6: How are the sounds and sound system of a language important in its literature? Give examples in English and Chinese (or any other language). (List as many things as you can, and explain why you need to know them.)

8. Yun-Pi Yuan 8 Q7: Why is it hard to respond when someone compliments you? Why do people give compliments? Why do they most commonly compliment? What principle about language do compliments exemplify? An utterance is a complex of actions. What we say and how we say it is determined socially.

9. Yun-Pi Yuan 9 Q8: Find some features of language which can be (and are) used to identify things about people in the English Department. Consider features of language such as pronunciation (of certain sounds), word choice, sentence structures, choice of language(s) to use and their frequency, and code-switching. What things about people are the features used to identify? (Avoid naming any specific people.)

10. Yun-Pi Yuan 10 Q9: What features of your speech can be used to identify things about you, personally? What things about you can they be used to identify?