Four Sundays, March 10, 17, 24 & April 7, 2013 @ 2 p.m.
Expand your mind with four fascinating workshops on language. Sunday afternoons, taught by Darryl Smith (adjunct professor of English, Muhlenberg College, formerly, teacher of English, SAHS).
March 10 - Idiolects, Dialects and Languages
Who decides when a dialect becomes the Standard? When and where did English really begin? Includes excerpt from “Cry Freedom” film
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March 17 - Death of Languages
Why do certain languages die? Is this tragic? How are Yiddish and 550 Native American languages similar? Includes excerpt from “Tightrope of Power” DVD
March 24 - Living Dialects
How has Received Pronunciation in Britain changed? How has the BBC changed its “linguistic” tune? Includes excerpt from “Billy Elliot” DVD
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April 7 - The Future of English
How and why has English spread over the last 200 years? Will it ever die? What’s the difference between African American vernacular and Standard English? Includes excerpt from a lecture by Leonard Bernstein, “The Unanswered Question” DVD.