LINGUIST List 10.1592

Fri Oct 22 1999

Qs: Lang. & Dominance, ESL "rainbow passage"

Editor for this issue: Naomi Ogasawara <naomilinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. Ludmila Dutkova, language and dominance
2. Cor9999, ESL "rainbow passage"

Dear LINGUIST subscribers:

I am posting this inquiry on behalf of a visiting Russian scholar.
She is interested in the expressions of dominance and power through
language, especially in political discourse. What she needs most is access
to data/transcripts. My advice to her was to watch and tape political
debates and presidential campaign speeches on TV, but I wonder whether
there is some kind of database available that she could use instead or as
well. I would very much appreciate your input. Please reply off list to
ldutkovaolemiss.edu.

Thank you very much.
Lida Dutkova


*****************************************
Lida Dutkova
Assistant Professor in TESOL
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
School of Education rm. 210
University of Mississippi
University, MS 38677
Office: (662) 915-7915
E-mail: ldutkovaolemiss.edu

I am working on a project where I need to record various Spanish/Hispanic ESL 
students reading a paragraph in English. The study looks at their 
pronunciation of English. I was planning to have them read the "rainbow 
passage" because it is the standard, but I am afraid the low-frequency 
vocabulary words in the passage (arch, prism, horizon, etc.) will confound my 
speakers. I don't want them to pronounce a word badly because they don't 
know the word but because they have an accent. 
Does anyone know of any paragraphs with low level vocabulary that use all the 
American English phonemes? (I am aware of the "grandfather passage," but I 
don't like that one for the same reason.) 
Cori Kropf