Assignment Prompt: For this exercise, you will be picking a news article discuss
Assignment Prompt: For this exercise, you will be picking a news article discussing a debate relating to language, gender, and sexuality and provide an analysis of approximately 2-3 pages. Your analysis will be focused on comparing what is said about language and gender to a lay audience with what linguists have to say on the matter. Using the course material, you will come up with your own perspective or argument regarding the topic of the article.
Article to reference/draw from:
the singular “they” and/or neopronouns
language referring to transgender individuals
attempts to put forward more gender-neutral language (including outside of English!)
reports on the ways that men vs. women speak
Your analysis will consist firstly of a summary of the article and what it is saying, and then a description of what the linguistic research says in relation to this topic. Some questions to ask yourself include: Are there multiple sides being presented? Do they seem accurate to what linguists say about language and gender? Are there linguists cited in the article? What language and/or gender ideologies are being presented? Is language even the central point, or are people bringing up other topics in their discussion on language? Ultimately, who do you agree with?
Requirements:
You will need to engage deeply with course concepts, including at least two citations from a course reading thus far. Don’t forget to include a link to the news article you’re analyzing as well! Additionally, the exercise should be at least two pages, double-spaced and in Times New Roman 12pt font. See also the associated rubric for how this exercise will be graded.