LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS
APLN 500 -- SPRING 2003

     


5:30 -  8:00 pm      DI280
(We will also use DI122 when showing films or videos.)

Instructor:   Dr. Susana Sotillo
E-mail address

If you want to talk to me in Cyberspace, please download NetMeeting and follow the instructions.

This course is an overview of the study of language and linguistics intended to provide students with a clear understanding of human language and with the conceptual foundations of linguistics.  The course will expose students to several major areas within linguistics: language acquisition, phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics.  It will introduce the major tenets and principles of linguistics without surveying the areas treated in the other graduate courses in the department.  This course is a prerequisite for all other courses in the M.A. program.

Required Textbooks:        Contemporary Linguistics (An Introduction) Fourth Edition, 2001. 
                                                 W. O'Grady, J. Archibald, M. Aronoff, J. Rees-Miller.  St. Martin's 

 Evaluation Procedures:       Classroom participation, online discussions, homework, 20%; assignments, 30%; exams one and two, 30%; final exam, 20%.

Course Schedule

This schedule is subject to change.   Alterations to the course schedule or in assignments will be announced in class or e-mailed.  Please keep in mind that Web-based documents are always under construction.
Day/Date Topic Assignment

Monday, January 16, 2003

 Introduction to Language.  What makes us human?  Visit the Languages and Linguistics Web site.   Video Presentation: The Human Language Series, Part 1.  What is the difference between descriptive and prescriptive grammars? Contemporary Linguistics (CL): Exercises 1, 3, 5
Linguistics at Work (Labov's experience).
Using Concordancers: The
Hong Kong Concordance, MICASE,
Collins CoBuild, and the Great Books
Concordance

January 23

 

Morphology: The analysis of word structure.   Word coinage in English and other languages.  Visit the Internet Grammar Site and Clever Net.    Assignment #1:  Working in groups of two or three, find 30 of the most commonly used  words, phrases or clichés in English-language newspapers or magazines for 2002.  You will need to use one of the search engines to complete this assignment.
 
UG vs. Connectionism
CL, pp. 131-146.

January 30

Morphology (continued).  Investigate word order in Indigenous languages.  Do exercises 1, 2, 3, 4,11,18  Consult the OED or Merriam-Webster
online.  
February 6 Phonetics: The Sounds of Language  
Visit  the online phonetics course.    		 CL, pp. 15-38.
February 13 Phonetics (continued) pp. 39-58.  Do exercises 1, 2, 3, 5,7,8,10,15
February 20 Phonology: The Function and Patterning of Sounds.  Visit the AT & T demo site.   CL, pp. 63-84;   Please click on audio files to be transcribed: Rob and Becky.
February 27 Phonology (continuation)  pp. 87-103; 106-108.  Do exercises 1,2,5,6, 7, 8, 10 and 14.
March 6

Exam #1

 Chapters one through four.

Transcribe phonetically:  a portion of the following tape:  Moore2

March 10-16     Spring Break

March 20 Syntax: The Analysis of Sentence Structure CL, pp. 183-202; 211-213; 226-231.  Do exercises 1, 2, 3, 5 and 10.

March  27

 Psycholinguistics:  Brain and Language.  Visit the Linguist Site and search the archives for the "bilingual brain."  Visit the DANA Foundation. CL, pp. 511-533. Understanding the structure of the brain.  Probe the human brain.   Read  Chapter 13

April 3

 Semantics:  The Analysis of Meaning.  Maxims of Conversation and Pragmatics.  Investigating underlying cultural rules. Susan Herring's article.  
Whorf's writings and the controversy surrounding the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.                  		Read pp. 245-268;  271-279.  Assignment #2: Investigate how Americans apologize, compliment each other, complain, or perform other functions through language.   State the underlying rules governing these speech acts.  (Read chapters on Pragmatics and Semantics.)  Due: April 24th.

April 10

 First Language Acquisition.  How do Humans Acquire Language?   Language Acquisition.   Read article on babies and language. CL, pp. 409-442.  Language Acquisition: stages of development in language acquisition.   
The Mind Series:  Biological Foundations of Language, Part III.

 April 17

Second Language Acquisition.  Interlanguage grammars.  Visit our ESL Discussion Forum and examine samples of learner language.

Read CL, pp. 449-480.

April 24

 Language in Social Contexts.  Labov's Dialects in America (video presentation).  Read CL, pp. 538-559; 567-584.  Do a Web search on Ebonics in the Linguist Archives and prepare a two-page analysis and summary of findings.

 April 30 -- May 6

Week of Finals

 In-Class Exam, May 1, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.