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Copywork
About This Passage
Peggy Parish discovers in the second book that her literal-minded character is best paired with a relative who shares her literal way of hearing. The exchange is a small sociolinguistic demonstration: language habits travel through families.
'A shower?' said Alalo. 'A surprise shower,' said Amelia Bedelia. 'Now why would they do that to her?' asked Alalo.
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Give a concise summary, then identify the most important moment.
Discussion Questions
- Cousin Alalo's literal hearing demonstrates that linguistic habits travel through families. Sapir and Whorf argued that languages shape the thoughts of their speakers. Is Peggy Parish making a small Sapir-Whorf observation?
- Amelia has not learned anything between books. The literalism is structural, not developmental. Aristotle distinguishes habit (which can be unlearned) from character (which is settled). Is Amelia's literalism habit or character?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
the property of a single word having multiple related meanings
Item 2
having to do with how language is shaped by social context
Item 3
Sapir and Whorf's claim that languages shape the thoughts of their speakers
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Critical Thinking
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