Which sentences below are plagiarism ?

Question

Here is the passage:

What is interesting about lolcats is the gradual standardization of the language used to caption the pictures, such that anyone already familiar with the lolcat idiom can understand my opening phrases* instantly, even though they won't have read them before. Linguists have come to call this form "kitty pidgin"—pidgin being a type of communication that emerges between adults who don't speak each other's language.

Hogge, Becky. "A Lesson in Hai Culture." New Statesman. 137.4900 (2008): 52.

QUOTATIONS: PLAGIARISM OR NOT?

Whịch sentences are plagiarism?

1. What is interesting about what linguists have come to call "kitty pidgin" is the gradual standardization of the language so that anyone familiar with lolcats can understand lolcat phrases instantly.

2. "What is interesting about lolcats is the gradual standardization of the language used to caption the pictures."

3. "Linguists have come to call this form 'kitty pidgin'—pidgin being a type of communication that emerges between adults who don't speak each other's language" (Hogge 52).

4. Anyone familiar with the lolcat idiom can understand lolcat phrases instantly, despite not having read them before.

5. According to Hogge, linguists refer to the lolcat language as "kitty pidgin."

Answer 1

Hi Reans Y,

Perhaps you should work together (study team) with Aevenir V.?

Anytime you take either a specific sentence OR AN IDEA from someone else's published work, you must show exactly what passage or idea you took, and credit it properly, or it is plagiarism. Around the edges of this definition, there are grey areas -- for example, if someone puts two unusual words together, and you put those two same words together, is is plagiarism? Possibly not, but you would be better off crediting the original source. That includes if you are giving a speech, for example. However -- if an idea is being batted about in the media, and several people have used it, then it might well be considered "in the public domain". Words are the easier thing to check on this, ideas are more elusive! And, there is a separate category for pure facts -- you may always use them, but you should confirm their truth (go back to original sources)!

So, of your examples above, only (3) and (5) make an attempt to show both the text and the credit. Whether the credit is shown in the required detail and format, that's a whole different discussion. Different formats for footnotes (in a formal paper) or in shorter passages, where an author may have been identified in passing, exist. You will become familiar with MLA and APA when you need to!

--Cheers, --Mr. d.