To give the students some practice in working in the formal register in the classroom rather than the casual register, I gave them an in-class assignment. In groups of 2-3 they wrote a list of 10 casual phrases, then exchanged lists with another group. They then translated the casual phrases into formal phrases. I was impressed with how well they did with this assignment. Here are a few of my favorite translations:
| Casual | Formal |
| 1. I’m post’d on the block | 1. I’m over at my mom’s house |
| 2. Bouta see what’s crackn | 2. I am going to call to see what everybody is doing |
| 3. Whassup wit it | 3. Is there a situation? |
| 4. I’m out the way-way | 4. I am very far away at this time. |
| 5. I’m in traffic | 5. I’m busy at the moment |
| 6. RU mobile | 6. Do you have current transportation? |
| 7. What’s the deal with yo BM | 7. What is the matter with your child’s mother? |
| 8. I’m doin a bill | 8. I am going over the speed limit. |
| 9. My cell phone pinging | 9. I have a lot of incoming calls. |
| 10. My pocket’s hurtin | 10. Every day I am struggling. |
Have I mentioned lately that I love my students? They continue to bring me joy and laughter.
3 comments:
Hey, Dagney, you may like this - We are planning to have a topic on "Proto Language" some day.
Maybe your students can have an assignment to find 10 words in the dictionary that can be traced to the "mother of all tongues?"
As a Russian and linguist I am fascinated by languages. I cannot believe :o) that there is so much in common. Basics like numbers are very similar to English and German, though Russian is a totally different group.
two - dva
three - tri
shest - six
siem - seven
I maybe off on these comparisons as I did not do any study on the subject yet.
Hope you can bring your insight one day for the chat.
That was really something. I wonder how the more scholarly may approach adult syntax. Maybe we are on the verge of a new evolution in American-speak?
rotflmao yo!
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