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Testing complaints about language

English · Vocabulary · ages 17-18

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Complaint: 'Shortcuts make school notices unclear.' Which reformulation tests the claimed problem?
- Readers prefer notices with full words to matched notices with shortcuts.
- Readers misunderstand instructions more often with shortcuts than with full words in matched school notices.
- Readers notice more spelling differences between matched notices with shortcuts and those written with full words.
Which statement gives a prescriptive judgment rather than describing usage?
- Use Standard English in this application.
- Applicants use Standard English.
- Most applicants used Standard English last year.
Attitudes toward a usage can never change once they form.
Circle one: True False
In the same meetings and comparable roles, younger and older staff each use eight hedges per 100 utterances. Only younger staff are criticized for hedging. What does this show?
- The same rate receives different criticism.
- Younger staff hedge more often.
- The older staff use no hedges at all in these meetings.
Someone claims nobody used a phrase before 2010. Which evidence would refute that claim?
- A recent opinion poll showing widespread dislike of the phrase
- A recent list of well-known writers who avoid using the phrase
- An authentic dated text using it in 2005
A report's rule says: use 'were' with 'we' for past events. A draft says 'We was ready.' A critic says, 'The draft breaks this rule, but this alone does not show the writer is less capable.' Is the critic's judgment supported?
Circle one: True False
Two towns each claim that the other's greeting is less polite. Each cites a few unfriendly encounters. What is the fairest next step?
- Accept the larger town's judgment because it includes more speakers.
- Compare wider samples and meanings in similar settings.
- Collect more unfriendly cases but exclude friendly encounters.
A columnist calls English less clear using three teen messages chosen because they were confusing. What is the main problem?
- The selected messages establish declining clarity across all settings.
- Written messages cannot count as evidence about language change.
- A selected sample cannot establish a general decline.

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Testing complaints about language W1-mt_IJ9Tv9T3Ua-s1

Readers misunderstand instructions more often with shortcuts than with full words in matched school notices. · Comparing misunderstandings in matched school notices with and without shortcuts tests clarity. Preference and noticing spelling differences do not establish whether readers understood the instructions.
Use Standard English in this application. · A prescriptive judgment says which forms people should use. The other statements report what people use or used.
False · Contact, persuasion and evidence can change attitudes. Change is possible, though it is not guaranteed.
The same rate receives different criticism. · Both groups use eight hedges per 100 utterances, but only younger staff receive criticism. This shows different criticism at equal rates. It does not establish the critic's criterion, motive or whether the hedges serve comparable purposes.
An authentic dated text using it in 2005 · 2005 is before 2010. One authentic earlier use contradicts a claim that nobody used the phrase before 2010.
True · The supplied rule requires 'were', while the draft uses 'was'. That establishes a mismatch with this rule. The mismatch alone does not establish the writer's general capability, so the critic's limited judgment is supported.
Compare wider samples and meanings in similar settings. · Wider samples in similar settings help test both claims. Speakers' intentions and listeners' understanding also matter when interpreting greetings.
A selected sample cannot establish a general decline. · The messages may illustrate confusion in those cases. They cannot establish a general decline without wider, comparable evidence over time.