LINGUISTICS 210

LINGUISTICS 210-01
Dr. Susana M. Sotillo
FALL 2000
Introduction to General Linguistics

Course Description and Format
This course will focus on the nature and structure of language. Students will learn basic techniques for analyzing phonological, morphological, syntactic and semantic linguistic structures. We will also discuss the comparative method in linguistics, language and dialects, and differences between first and second language acquisition. This class will follow a lecture/Web instruction/classroom and online activities format. All students are expected to participate in face-to-face and online discussions and activities. Student-teacher exchanges are encouraged.

Required Texts
An Introduction to Language (Sixth Edition). Victoria Fromkin & Robert Rodman. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, 1998.

Evaluation
Your grade will be calculated as follows: classroom assignments (exercises), 30%; exams, 40%; class participation, Web-based research and online discussions, 30%.

College Level Writing
You will be asked to write summaries and evaluation reports on specific topics. You should proofread your work, check your spelling and grammar and save your work to a disk. Handwritten work is not acceptable. For assistance in preparing research papers and essays, please go to the research paper Web site.

COURSE SCHEDULE --FALL 2000 This schedule is subject to change. Alterations to assignments or course schedule will be announced in class or e-mailed. Please keep in mind that Web-based documents are always under construction. You are responsible for completing and handing in all exercises assigned. You may also post your answers to the discussion forum or e-mail me your assignments.
Day/Date	Topic	Assignments
Tuesday, September 5	Introduction - What makes us human? Visit the Languages & Linguistics Web site.	Set up your e-mail accounts and distribution lists. Read Fromkin and Rodman, pp. 3-31.
Friday, September 8	Part One: Discovering the Human Language "Colorless Green Ideas."	The Human Language Series (video).
September 12	Prescriptive and Descriptive Grammars. What is the difference?	Do exercises 4, 5, 6 and 9 (pp. 30-31).
September 15	Brain and Language. Visit the Linguist Site and search the archives for the "bilingual brain." Visit the DANA organization.	The structure of the brain. How our brain functions.
September 19	Brain and Language (continuation). Brain diseases. Use a search engine to find information on the bilingual brain.	Read F & R, pp. 33-58. Discuss exercises 2, 3 and 4. Read article on babies and language.
September 22	Word coinage in English and other languages. Visit the Internet Grammar Site and Clever Net. Post your summary of findings about specific brain diseases.	Look for 10 new words, phrases or catchy expressions used by politicians or entertainers (e.g., Hip Hop musicians). Prepare a list and explain how these new words or expressions emerged. How are these new words used in context? Illustrate their use.
September 26	Grammatical Aspects of Language.	Read Fromkin & Rodman, pp. 63-98. Do exercises 1. 2, 3 and 4 and 13. Prepare a list of 10 acronyms currently used in English. Explain their origins.
September 29	Invent 10 new acronyms using the rules you have learned about word formation.	Post your list of 10 new words/expressions used by politicians to the Discussion Forum. Hand in exercises 5 and 8 (chapter 3).
October 3	Syntax on the Web. Investigating word order in various languages.	Complete exercises 10 and 12A. Learn how to search the Linguist archives. Search for "acquisition" and "brain."
October 6	Syntax: the sentence patterns of language. In class discussion of syntactic rules. Visit Professor Beard's site	Read Fromkin & Rodman, pp. 105-149. Do exercises 4 and 5.
October 10	Transformation Rules: Explain why sentences in exercise 13 are ungrammatical.	Hand in exercises 7 (a - j) and 12. Music of My Generation
October 13	Differences between prepositions and verb particles.	Find three ditransitive verbs and write the lexical entry for each of these verbs.
October 17	In-Class Exam#1.	Explain the rules governing verb particles.
October 20	Semantic Properties of Language.	Fromkin & Rodman, Chapter Five. Visit Professor Beard's Web site.
October 24	What is meaning? How are meanings connected? Phrase and sentence meaning. Maxims of conversation and Pragmatics. Cultural rules governing apologies, breakups, compliments and complaints in American culture.	Read Fromkin & Rodman, pp. 157-203. Complete exercises 1 to 4. Class Project #2: Investigate how Americans apologize, break up a relationship, compliment each other, criticize, and complain. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation or write a three-page summary concerning the underlying rules governing these speech acts.
October 27	Web-based assignment #1.	Search the Linguist archives for one of the following topics: minimalism & linguistics; standard English & grammar; teaching & grammar; syntax & morphology; dialects & SAE.
October 31 HALLOWEEN	In-class discussion of Class Project #2. Post your findings to the Discussion Forum.	What are the maxims of online conversations? Do they differ from those of face-to-face discussions?
November 3	Indigenous Languages Site. Language and the Mind. Whorf's writings and the controversy surrounding the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis.	Language and culture. Read Moonhawk's writings on Whorf.
November 7	Phonetics - The Sounds of Language. In-class exercises.	Read Fromkin & Rodman, pp.213-248.
November 10	Visit an online phonetics course. The International Phonetic Alphabet. Consonants and vowels.	Complete exercises 1, 2, 3, 4, pp. 248-249.
November 14	What is phonology? Allophones	Complete and hand in exercises 8 and 10 in Chapter six. Read Fromkin & Rodman, pp. 253-292. Do exercises 1-3.
November 17	The Human Language Series	(Part II - Video presentation)
November 21	What is an idiolect? The Ebonics controversy. Dialect differences: SAE, AAV, Hispanic English and Chicano English.	Do a Web search on Ebonics. Pedestrian and academic views on the subject. Read Fromkin & Rodman, pp. 399-442. Do exercises 3, 4, 5, and 12. Compare SAE, AAV, and Chicano English. Identify major differences.
November 23-26	THANKSGIVING Holiday	No classes.
November 28	Exam #2 (take home). Language, sex and gender.	Read Susan Herring's article.
December 1	Video presentation: Labov's Dialects in America. What is an idiolect?	In-class discussion of dialects. Social-class, education and ethnicity. What can you tell from someone's speech?
December 5	Language Acquisition: stages of development in language acquisition. Go to Theories web page and analyze learner output.	Read Fromkin & Rodman, pp. 317-358. Class Project #3: Tape record a young child for 10 minutes and transcribe the tape (exercise three, Chapter 8). First and second language acquisition: similarities and differences. Review stages.
December 8	How natural is computer language? Can we understand computer speech production? Text to speech production. Visit the AT & T demo site.	Read Fromkin & Rodman, 361-392. Complete exercises 1, 3 and 7. Human processing: Brain, mind and language. The evolution of language.
December 12	Language Change: The Syllables of Time. Project #3 due.	Listen to excerpts from Old English and Middle English (Dr. Furr's audiofiles). Read Fromkin & Rodman, pp.449-472.
December 15	Reading Day (no classes).	Review chapters 8, 9, 11 and 12.
December 16-22	Final Examinations Week.	Exam #3 -- 10:15 am - 12:15 December 19th ML 262