User:Pgdotts/sandbox

Evaluation of a linguistic article: Syntax

 * I found most of the article to be relevant to the topic. The section under the heading under "Theories" seemesd to stray a little bit when talking about the different views of syntax study.
 * Almost all of the article is neutral. There is one instance of bias when referring to Georgio Graffi's 2001 work as "monumental".
 * The viewpoints are balanced and well represented. There is about equal length for all different viewpoints, and a long list of links for them.
 * All of the citation links works, and are related to the claims they are supporting.
 * All of the sources for the references are reliable (dictionary entries and academic publications) and relevant. There may be some bias in the sources written in French, but I could not read them to find out.
 * The article has been edited multiple times this year and has recent information. There is room for improvement, especially with the introduction paragraph and possibly adding a section detailing the actual implementation.
 * The latest discussions on the Talk page mostly talk about a proposed merger with the page on Grammer, and why it is a bad idea, as well as pointing out possible biases.
 * The article is a C-class article (substantial, but still missing important content and/or contains biases). It is a level-4 vital article in Language, and is part of several WikiProjects (Theoretical Language among others).
 * From the brief intro we had in class to syntax, this article is much more technical and complete.

Peer Review of User:Jeremyr55 proposed edits for Languages of the United States
I am peer-reviewing your proposed changes for Languages of the United States

Things I liked:

-You have a pretty solid plan for what you are looking to add to the article.

-You already have a source picked out to help you add to it

Things that could be improved

-Having more than one source will probably be helpful for you

-Picking out a specific heading that you want to work on would help to focus your changes. Consider adding information about just one language that you think sound be expanded on.

-Think about specifically what you would like to add, especially to where you feel there is misrepresentation.

The most important think I think you can do is focus on one language instead of trying to cover all of them. Your article is a long and well established one, probably best to pick one small part to focus on.

I will definitely consider doing something similar for my article, Ghanaian English. Feel free to give me some feedback as well. Thanks!

What is missing/can be added
The article is a stub, so it is missing a lot of information. To start, the lead paragraph is the only source of content, and is only a few sentences long. It should be broken up into the proper format (a lead paragraph and a section on phonology). There should be more information present in the lead paragraph, introducing the language and its relation to other languages in the region and the state. If possible, more examples of phonological features should be added as well. A few other articles should be linked.

Improving an existing article: what I am adding
Restructuring the article into proper headings (at least the lead paragraph and a phonology section)

Adding several more references to the list for the entire article

Linking this article with others (at least back to the other languages present in Ghana)

Adding some more phonological features of the language beyond what is already present.

Week 11: Expand your draft
Original article for comparison:

"Ghanaian English is the variety of English spoken in Ghana. The voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant [ɕ] is the usual realization of /ʃ/ (as in ship and chicago) and Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate [tɕ] is usual realization of /tʃ/ (as in cheese and watching) and Voiced postalveolar affricate [dʑ] is usual realization /dʒ/ (as in general and jimmy or magic or george and jazz and edge) in Ghanaian English."

Proposed changes:

Lead paragraph
Ghanaian English is a variety of English spoken in Ghana. English is the official language of Ghana, and is used as a lingua franca throughout the state.

Demographics
More than half of the population in Ghana uses English, and some use English exclusively. Primary and secondary school classes are taught in English only.

Phonology
The voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant [ɕ] is the usual realization of /ʃ/ (as in ship and chicago) and Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate [tɕ] is usual realization of /tʃ/ (as in cheese and watching) and Voiced postalveolar affricate [dʑ] is usual realization /dʒ/ (as in general and jimmy or magic or george and jazz and edge) in Ghanaian English.

Week 12: Respond to Peer Review
Following Mr Cotter's peer review, I will be doing the following

-Obtaining a copy of a hard source on the phonology of Ghanaian English from the library document delivery

-Use this source to add measurably to the specific phonology found in Ghanaian English

-Add section differentiating between Ghanaian pidgin English and this, also talk about the other languages present in Ghana

-Expand the demographic information to include information on the use of Ghanaian English worldwide, as well as inside Ghana

Week 14: Continue improving your article
-Added a picture to the main article page

-Added some more demographic information

-Added link to Ghanaian English article from Languages of Ghana article

-Added links to English, Ghana, and lingua franca, primary school, and secondary school.

Week 15: Polish your work
-Added to phonology section :"Ghanaian English is wildly varied, and changes from the British Standard in many ways based on context."

-Edited out poor formatting from original poster

-Redid references section

Current article contains the following:
Ghanaian English is a variety of English spoken in Ghana. English is the official language of Ghana, and is used as a lingua franca throughout the state.

Demographics

Of the almost 25 million people in Ghana, more than half of the population uses English, and most use English exclusively. Most primary and secondary school classes are taught in English only.

Phonology

Ghanaian English is wildly varied, and changes from the British Standard in many ways based on context.

The voiceless alveolo-palatal sibilant [ɕ] is the usual realization of (as in ship and chicago) and Voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate [tɕ] is usual realization of  (as in cheese and watching) and Voiced postalveolar affricate [dʑ] is usual realization  (as in general and jimmy or magic or george and jazz and edge) in Ghanaian English.

Changes to make before publishing:
- expand Demographics section

-polish lead paragraph

- add/edit specific phonological info

Changes made:
-Added to phonology: "Due to Ghana's colonial history, Ghanaian English most closely resembles British English."

-Changed in phonology: combined first two sentences, changes wording to make less confusing.

-Added to phonology: "In contrast to the Received Pronunciation 12 monophthongal vowels, Ghanaian English has only 7, an attribute shared with other forms of African English.

-Changed wording of above statement to make it sound better

-Changed population number in demographics based on modern population

-Added merger information to phonology: "Ghanaian English exhibits several mergers including the fleece-kit, goose foot, and thought-cloth mergers."

-Added more information to lead paragraph: "English is the most used of the 11 official languages spoken in Ghana. "