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GEORGETOWN COLLEGE

ENG 316--Linguistics (3 credits) Dr. Sadlon

Course Information Office: Pawling #111

Fall, 2012--MWF Phone: 8133 or 863-3214

Or:

I. Required Text: Fromkin, Victoria, Robert Rodman and Nina Hyams. An Introduction

To Language. 8th Edition. Boston: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2007.

II. Materials: Two notebooks--one for class notes, the other for doing homework exercises at the ends of chapters and other assignments given by me.

**NOTE--THE HOMEWORK NOTEBOOK MUST CONSIST OF A RING BINDER WITH LOOSE-LEAF PAPER AND DIVIDERS INDEXING EACH CHAPTER’S EXERCISES (THERE ARE 12 CHAPTERS).

III. Course Objectives: AS IS THE CASE WITH MOST GENERAL INTRODUCTORY LINGUISTICS COURSES, THIS COURSE DOES NOT PRIMARILY EMPHASIZE CLASSROOM PRACTICES/HOW TO TEACH OR LEARN STANDARD ENGLISH, NOR IS ITS FOCUS PRIMARILY ON REVIEW OF PARTS OF SPEECH AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE (Chapter 3 and 7 of our text only). These topics can instead by reviewed in detail on your own in high school texts or remedial college textbooks or covered in education courses. THE FOCUS OF A LINGUISTICS COURSE IS INTENTIONALLY MORE ADVANCED AND GENERAL--TO IMMERSE YOU IN A MORE COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF HOW LANGUAGES OPERATE, WHICH IN TURN GIVES YOU A BETTER COMPARATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF LANGUAGE ARTS AND MINORITY DIALECTS COMPARED TO STANDARD ENGLISH. (Also see catalogue course description.)

The specific Learning Outcomes are:

1. To better understand the nature of human language in general and English grammar in particular, by studying aspects of structural and generative-transformational grammar. The various components of linguistic knowledge--phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics--will be studied, as well as general applications of these areas: various minority social dialects, sexist language, language change, writing as a language form, how language is learned, how the brain and computers process language.

2. To give new insights to traditionally trained students, so that English grammar can be viewed descriptively (how the language works and is studied by linguists) instead of merely prescriptively (how language should work).

3. As a peripheral objective, to rid ourselves of language snobbery, since English usage is relative to the various cultures in the United States and cultures through the world.

IV. Requirements: These areas will affect your grade for the course:

1. Class participation: includes perfect or near-perfect attendance, active participation in class/group discussions and exercises, completion of readings and assignments on time. Because this is a rather complex upper-level course covering most or all of the text, because lecture material will often go beyond material presented in the text, and because class enrollment is typically small--attendance is vitally important.

2. Tests: There will likely be 5 tests on course material (4 plus a final--non-comprehensive, plus a linguistic analysis of a short poem written by a minority writer in the US—African American, Hispanic, feminist, Appalachian poet, Native American, Cajun, Asian American, Pennsylvania Dutch, immigrant poet, etc. This analysis will count approximately half of the final exam grade).

3. Policies:

a) Perfect attendance is required, but no more than four absences for any reason (including illness) are permitted. One letter grade will be automatically deducted from your final course grade if you miss more than four times, unless granted permission from me due to prolonged illness, family crisis, or family death;

b) whenever possible, you must notify me in advance of absences to get adjusted assignments so that you don’t get behind or lost in this fast-moving class;

c) lateness to class counts as an absence and, when several people are late, may cause my teaching to be prolonged beyond the designated 50 minutes;

d) each assignment to be completed in your homework notebook must be completed on time (unless recognized by me to be too difficult), even if you do certain assignments wrong--the attempt is what is most important;

e) one letter grade may be deducted from your final course grade if you were consistently late (four or more times) attempting to complete your assignments;

f) a percentage point will be added to your final grade average if you both do a thorough job with assignments and do them on time; A THOROUGH, TIMELY JOB IS DEMONSTRATED BY A CHECK-PLUS OR CHECK INSTEAD OF A CHECK-MINUS ON YOUR HOMEWORK NOTEBOOK ASSIGNMENTS.

g) to avoid losing a letter grade on your course grade at the end of the semester your homework notebook must be saved and legible as possible proof of completed exercises; notebooks may be spot-checked during class, between classes, or during exams;

h) makeup exams will be given only when failure to take a test is the result of an excused absence (documented illness, documented family crisis or family death);

i) you must notify me in advance of such situations as much as possible so that I have time to write up a makeup exam.

V. Fall, 2012 Tentative Test Dates: I reserve the right to change these test days. However, to help you, I will announce a change at least five (5) days--or more, where possible--before administering a test. I also reserve the right to cancel or change at least one or more of these tests if the class is moving slowly or if the instructor is ill or has an emergency.

Test #1—Sept. 17 (Mon.), ch. 1 & 6--NINTH CLASS MEETING!!!

Test #2—Oct. 5 (Fri.), ch. 7 & 3

Test #3—Oct. 26 (Fri.), ch. 4 & 5

Test #4—Nov. 14 (Weds.), ch. 10, 11, 12

Linguistic Analysis of Minority Poem due date: Nov. 30, Weds)

Test #5 (Final Exam)— Dec. ___________, during finals week, ch. 8, 2, 9

The tests will probably range from 80-100 points apiece. Grading will be based upon 92%-100%=A; 90%-91.9%=A/B; 82%-89.9%=B;80%-81.9%=B/C;70%-79.9%=C;

60%-69.9%=D; less than 60%=F.

TENTATIVE LIST OF ASSIGNMENTS

Can be changed to accommodate needs of the class. In your homework notebook, at the beginning of each assigned exercise, indicate (1) the date that you worked on the exercise, (2) the exercise number, (3) the page and chapter numbers. For the really hard ones, write TRIED, BUT COULDN’T DO.

NOTE: YOUR RING BINDER LOOSE-LEAF HOMEWORK NOTEBOOK MUST HAVE A DIVIDER INDEX LABELING EACH CHAPTER’S EXERCISES (a total of 12 dividers).

For:

Day 2 (1) Read Chapter 1; (2) homework notebook--*list date and 3+ aspects of human language which make it superior to animal communication; (3) also in homework notebook--*write 2-3 journal entries about 2-3 concepts or ideas that impressed you as being important or that you disagree with or that confused you. (Note: “Day 2”=class day #2, “Day 3”=class day #3, etc) SEVERAL SENTENCES FOR LAST PART OF ASS’T

*8/29 1._______________ 2.__________________ 3. ___________________

*8/29, p.22, It was interesting to learn that….

(Support your statement with reasons, applied examples, etc)

p.23, I was disturbed and disagree with….

(Support your statement with elaboration)

p. 24, I was confused by _____________, because….

(Support your statement)

For:

Day 3 (1) Re-read Chapter 1; (2) homework notebook, exercises 2 (p. 32), 3, 4a, 4b, 7, 8, 9 (ex. 9--do paragraph instead of a full essay); (3) label date that you completed exercises, record exercise numbers, and page numbers of exercises, even if one is labeled “couldn’t do”; (4) be prepared to share answers during class (ALWAYS).

For:

Day 4 (1) Read Chapter 6 (a long, tough one); (2) exercises 1-4 (pp. 250-251) done by referring back to charts on pp. 239, 246-247; be prepared to share answers w/class.

Day 5 (1)Re-read Ch. 6; (2) do ex. 6, 7, 8, 9 by referring to index or glossary in back of book to find phonetic terms and by referring to charts (or answer key) on pp. 246-247, 235-236, 239. TOUGH ONE--DO THESE THE BEST THAT YOU CAN!

Day 6 (1) Review today’s class notes and charts pp. 237-39, 235-36, 246-47; (2) in homework notebook, list phonetic features systematically for the 20 underlined sounds on the handout I give you and give phonetic symbol for each sound; (3) do ex. 10, p. 253--put transcribed sentences into regular spelling and then transcribe words back into phonetic symbols, using the IPA chart.

Day 7 Homework notebook, (1) do transcription (chart pp. 246-47) for 10 sentences in handout I give you; (2) attend class for info. about Test #1 given on Day 9; (3) read Chapter 7 (phonology) from 255-middle p. 256, and p. 261-middle p. 270.

Day 8 (1) Study for test; (2) re-read ch. 7 pp. 255-middle p. 256, 261-middle p.270 in preparation for discussion; (3) hint: homework notebook spot-checked soon ( turned in and graded as “check, check-plus, or check-minus”).

Day 9 (1) Finish studying for Test #1 held on Day 9; (2) bring homework notebook to the test for spot-checking by me. (PLACE ALL EX. IN MANILA ENVELOPE--collected)

Day 10 (1)Review day 8’s class handout; (2) finish reading Ch. 7 (pp. 270-297) and skip section on morphemes/morphophonemics (mid p. 256-260) until a later date; (3) do exercise 3 (p. 300) in h.w. notebook as well as possible after reviewing bottom p. 294-297.

Day 11 (1) Re-read about basic (parent) phonemes in 2p. handout; (2) homework notebook, do ex. 5, 6(abcdef), 7, 1, (pp. 301-302, bottom p. 299-top p. 300) as best as you can. For ex. 7, state the rule in your own words rather than in feature notation. If necessary, (3) finish reading chapter 7 (except 256-60) or re-read parts of ch. 7.

Day 12 (1) Homework notebook, try, ex. 11 and 12 for ch. 7, pp. 304-305, and also do the handout exercise (#9) on stating rules using formal notations. Refer back to bottom p. 290-292 (sequential constraints) and pp. 273-286 ( Phon. Rules). (2) Read Chapter 3 from pp. 71-83 or more.

Day 13 (1) Finish reading Chapter 3 (bp 83-105); (2) notebook, do ex. 2, 5, 8, pp. 107-110.

Day 14 (1) Homework notebook, do Ch. 3 ex. 3, 4, (p. 108); 2) use glossary to help you; (3) read about pronunciation of morphemes and morphophonemic rules, Ch. 7--bp. 256-260, and (4) do ex. 13, p. 305, and ex. 15, p. 306--in h.w. notebook.

Day 15 (1) Homework notebook, do ex. 10-11 (Ch. 3, p. 111); (2) read Ch. 4 from p. 115-139; (3) info. given on Day 15 for test on Day 17 (based on Ch. 7 and 3).

Day 16 (1) Finish reading Ch. 4 (bp 139-162); (2) homework notebook, do exercises 1-4 (163-64); (3) study for test on day 17, be prepared at test for homework notebook check/collection.

Day 17 (1) Finish studying for Test #2 on Day 17; (2) bring homework n.b. for collection/checking--check, check plus, check minus. (Submit in manila envelope, with exercises clearly marked and completed.)

Day 18 (1) Homework notebook, do exercises 1-4 and exercise 6 for Ch. 4 (163-165); (2) re-read parts of Ch. 4.

Day 19 (1) Homework notebook, do ex. 7-9 and ex. 18 for Ch. 4; (2) re-read parts of Ch. 4.

Day 20 (1) Read Ch. 5 about semantics from 173-top of 174 and skip to lexical/word-level semantics found on pp. 186-197 ; (2) do ex. 8, 6, and 5--in this order--(pp. 211-214) in homework notebook.

Day 21 (1) Read Ch. 5 about sentence-level semantics/compositional semantics from 174-186 and from bottom p.197-199 (thematic roles of words in sentences); (2) in homework notebook, do ex. 2 (pp. 210-11) and ex. 13 (p. 215) on truth conditions and thematic roles in sentence semantics.

Day 22 (1) Continue Ch. 5 reading about pragmatics and discourse-level semantics pp. 199-209; (2) do ex. 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 (pp. 215-216 and 217-218).

Day 23 (1) Read ahead Ch. 10 (dialects, etc.) from 409-437; (2) IMPORTANT info. for test given Day 23 for Day 25; (3) get caught up on other exercises. INFO FOR LINGUISTIC ANAYSIS OF A MINORITY POEM PROJECT GIVEN ON DAY 24, MOST LIKELY.

Day 24 (1) Study for test (do study definitions and examples); (2) re-read first part of Ch. 10.

Day 25 (1) Study for test #3 on Day 25; (2) bring homework notebook to be collected/checked as check, check plus, check minus (Put answers to exercises for ch. 4-5 in the order assigned, labeled, dated, in manila env.)

Day 26 Finish reading Ch. 10; notebook, do ex. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (use phonetic chart--pp. 246-247--for ex. 6).

Day 27 (1) Homework notebook, revise sexist letter distributed in class handout AND translate part of Dec. of Ind. into informal language; (2) read Ch. 11 to p. 478 (17 pages of reading).

Day 28 (1) Finish reading Ch. 11 (478-496); (2) h.w. notebook, do ex. 1-4 (for ex. 1, see charts on pp. 246-47, p. 467, top p. 239.

Day 29 (1) H.W. notebook, do ex. 5-7, 9-12 (refer back to Ch. 11, esp. section on reconstructing dead languages). (Ex. 6, 7, 9, 10 are the most imp.)

Day 30 (1) Read Ch. 12 from pp. 505-518; (2) hw notebook, do ex. 1-4 (529-530).

Day 31 (1) Finish reading Ch. 12 (pp. 518-527); (2) notebook, do ex. 5-9 (pp. 530-531); (3) info. given on day 31 for test on day 33. BE HERE--INFO.FOR TEST/DON”T SLACK OFF ON EXERCISES.

Day 32 (1) Study for Test #4 on Day 33 (practice definitions of terms); (2) read Ch. 8 (language acquisition) from p. 313- top of p. 341.

Day 33 (1) Study for Test #4 on Day 33; (2) bring homework notebook for collecting and checking--check, check plus, check minus (IN LARGE ENVELOPE--CH. 10, 11, 12 EXERCISES)

Day 34 (1) Finish reading Ch. 8; (2) hw notebook, do ex. 1, 2, 4, 7, 8.

Day 35 (1) Make sure ex. 4 (Ch. 8) is done; (2) read Ch. 2 (neurolinguistics) from 35-61; notebook, do exercise 1, p. 64 (1-2 paragraph essay).

Day 36 (1) h.w. notebook, for ch. 2, do ex. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8; (2) be prepared to share answers to ex. in class; (3) read ch. 9 (psycholinguistics) from pp. 363-378 ( Wernicke and Broca and stages of human speech comprehension and production).