1
What's In A Name?
PICK ANY SEVEN TO ANSWER!
- Go to
Enter your last name (surname) in the box in the top right corner of the page.
- a. Using your own last name, read the meaning and origin of your last name (surname). If there is more than one origin please look at these as well. Briefly describe the geographic nature of your last name.
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- Take a look at the distribution of your last name throughout the U.S. in 1920, 1880 and 1840. You can even look at the distribution in the U.K. and Scotland. What can this pattern tell you about the migration of your family?
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- Look at different states in the U.S. and the number of language speakers by country, state, county or zip code. Think about the connection between language speakers and the process of immigration over time. Take a look at ONE specific language and discuss how it has diffused across the U.S. by looking at different states.
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- Do a query using U.S. Census data that looks at the actual numbers and percentages of speakers of over 300 different languages. You can look at this data at different scales. All the way down to the scale of zip code! Pick a different language than you did in question #3, go to the prompt box named Language and State and compare the diffusion of this language in the years 200 and 2005. Briefly discuss your findings.
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- Use this site to get a sense of how many languages are spoken in the world! (There are over 7,000!) Click on the Country Index with Maps, click on one country that you are interested and briefly discuss how many languages are spoken in that country and what that information can tell you about the population makeup of the country (immigration, impact on traditional cultures etc…)
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- Come up with two sentences in American English and translate the words into British English.
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- Connecticut Place Names:
- Canadian Place Names (unique & unusual):
- In your opinion, what are FIVE of the most interesting place names you found and why? Please discuss the origins of the name if given or what you think the origin of the place name relates to?
- Go to Virtual Bangladesh:
- Even though Bengali is an Indo-European language how do you perceive it to be different than other Indo-European languages such as English?
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- Pick some examples of words you use every day and find their "aussie" companion. Try to create a sentence using these words
- Go to
- Take a look at some of the phrases used in different places throughout North America. Think about some that you or a friend/relative might use every day and come up with two different examples/translations from some different places.
- Go to
- Pick three MLB team names and three other professional sports team names (look in left margin for links) and briefly discuss their origins.