Début: The Undergraduate Journal of Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies

Début: Volume 1, Number 1, Spring 2010

ISSN: 2044-7256
Debut, Vol 1, Number 1 (pdf, 354 Kb)

Content	Page number
Editorial Introducing Début John Canning	ii
Articles
What is the state of evaluative affixes in contemporary English? Josh Albair	1
How do the depictions of Japanese lesbian life in the short stories “Peony snowflakes of love” and “A strange tale from down by the river” correspond with accounts of lived experience? Heather Humphreys	17
What is Spanglish? The phenomenon of code-switching and its impact amongst US Latinos Tom Price	25
Behind the notebook: following English-Spanish adolescent code-switching Catherine Rivard	34
Instructions for authors	44

Call for papers

Début welcomes scholarly papers written by undergraduate students in languages, linguistics and area studies. Each paper is reviewed by two academics or postgraduate students with expertise in the subject of your paper. Papers could be based on dissertations, (including year abroad projects), class projects or your own independent research. All papers should reference appropriate existing scholarship. There is now a Facebook group for Début where you can discuss preparing your articles and ask questions.

Guidelines

Début is published by the UK Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies. We work to support teaching and learning in our subject areas. 

Début welcomes scholarly papers written by undergraduate students in languages, linguistics and area studies. Those who have graduated in the past 12 months may also submit work. Each paper is reviewed by academics or postgraduate students with expertise in the subject of your paper. Papers could be based on dissertations, (including year abroad projects), class projects or your own independent research. All papers should reference appropriate existing scholarship.

Papers (including references) should be 3000-5000 words and use the Harvard referencing style (download pdf, 73 Kb).  The first page should include your name, postal and email addresses. Please include an abstract of up to 150 words. Your work should be submitted to the editor, John Canning by email at j.canning@soton.ac.uk in Microsoft Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf). The language of the journal is English. Articles are considered for publication in Début on the understanding that they are not being considered for publication in any other outlet.

If your paper requires the use of phonetic symbols, please consult the UCL Department of Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences webpage on the use of the International Phonetics Association (IPA) alphabet of phonetic symbols for the transcription of speech using computers. This will ensure that your paper can be read by the editor and the reviewers.

Authors submit their work to Début on the understanding that the Subject Centre may publish their work online or in print form for non-commercial purposes. Authors retain the copyright to their work. It is the author's responsibility to ensure that permissions are obtained for objects that appear in the article, including screenshots, photographs, audio/video files and diagrams.

Call for reviewers

We are looking to increase our pool of reviewers for our undergraduate journal Debut.

Please email John Canning at j.canning@soton.ac.uk with a summary of your research interests if you would be willing to assist. We especially welcome postgraduate research students as reviewers.

Frequently asked questions

Who may submit a paper to Début?

Any undergraduate student, studying languages, linguistics or area studies for all or part or their degree may submit a paper. Début will consider papers on any aspect of these subject areas.

Why submit a paper to Début?

Publishing in Début will give you experience of writing for a wider audience than just your lecturers. Début is also peer-reviewed meaning that your work will be read by scholars outside your own university and you will get the opportunity to improve your work further. If you hope to have an academic career this experience will be especially useful.

What happens to my paper when it is submitted?

Your paper will be sent to two referees who will review your paper. They will make comments on your paper and will probably suggest ways in which it could be improved. They will also recommend whether or not they think the paper should be published as it is, published subject to minor changes, substantially revised then resubmitted or rejected without an opportunity to resubmit. The editors will decide whether or not a paper will be published in view of the referees’ recommendations.

I am a recent graduate. May I submit a paper?

You may submit a paper up to six months after graduation as long as the work was carried out whilst you were an undergraduate.

May I co-author a paper with others?

Papers co-authored with other undergraduate students or recent graduates are welcome. If there is more than one author, please confirm that all named authors have agreed to the paper’s submission.

Is there a deadline for submission?

There are no deadlines for the initial submissions of articles. However, we may set deadlines after your article as been reviewed to ensure that your article is finalised in time for a particular issue.

May I submit more than one article?

You are permitted to submit more than one article to Début and each will be treated as a separate submission. However, we would usually recommend that you concentrate on getting one article to a publishable standard in the first instance. 

How can I turn my essay/project/dissertation into a journal article?

An academic article is a focused piece of work based on the author’s original research and/ or ideas. Academic journal articles reference and engage with existing scholarship in the topic

An academic journal article is not:
• a class essay which evaluates your understanding of the material learnt in your course.
• a dissertation or year abroad project, which assesses your ability to undertake an independent piece of research.
• an opinion piece or report you might read in a newspaper or magazine.

A good journal article will…
• be an original piece of research or scholarship.
• reference existing scholarly work
• have a coherent overall argument
• probably focus on two or three key points
• conform to style guidelines in length, referencing style etc.
• be clear and written in plain English.

The best way to get a sense of what an academic journal article should look like is to read existing articles which relate the topic you are interested in. You may wish to examine other undergraduate research journals like Reinvention, based at the University of Warwick

How long will the review process take?

We aim to get the reviews back to you within three months of submission.

Useful Links

How to Write Academic Articles

Writing for publication (from the University of the West of England Research Observatory).