This is the (tentative) class-by-class schedule that I envisage for this course. As usual, there will be changes here and there as the term unfolds, but it should give you a clear idea on what we intend to cover over the semester. This is also where many of the course materials will be linked (readings, lecture slides, announcements, etc.). It’s a convenient way of grouping (almost) everything in one table on a single page. So, do check here often.
Note: Whenever ‘Chapter X’ is used in the syllabus table, it refers to a chapter from the main textbook, An Introduction to Language, unless otherwise specified.
| Date | Topics | Readings and relevant links | Assignments, events & relevant links |
| Sept 16 |
Introduction Some linguistic puzzles What is linguistics about? |
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| Sept 21 |
The prescriptivism vs. descriptivism debate What is language? |
– Chapter 1, pp. 1-21 | Questionnaire: Please fill in the questionnaire and send it me to via e-mail, preferably before Wednesday’s class. |
| Sept 23 |
“Design features”: Human language vs. animal communication systems Grammar as a mental object Main ideas of first language acquisition |
– Finish reading Chapter 1, pp. 1-21, if you haven’t already – Read Chapter 9, pp. 394–397 and pp. 422-425 (don’t worry if you encounter any unfamiliar terms; simply focus on the main ideas) |
HW1 assigned |
| Sept 28 |
The biological basis of language Language and the brain Main questions of linguistic theory Main subfields of linguistics |
– Read this article for class discussion. – Read Chapter 10, pp. 461-482 on ‘Brain and Language’ – Read Nunberg and Wasow’s overview of the field of linguistics |
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| Sept 30 |
Introducing Morphology: Morphemes |
Chapter 2 pp. 33-49 | HW1 due at 8pm by e-mail |
| Oct 5 |
Morphology cont.: Morphological structure and analysis |
Read this article and watch this video for class discussion. Read Chapter 2, pp. 49-66 Also, take a look at the exercises on Zulu (pp. 67-68), Swedish (pp. 68), Cebuano (p. 69), and Turkish (p. 73). |
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| Oct 7 |
Processes of word formation Morphological typology |
Finish chapter 2 if you haven’t already — Also, Read this chapter from the Language Files | HW2 assigned |
| Oct 12 |
Finishing up morphology Intro to syntax |
Chapter 3, pp. 76-87 | |
| Oct 14 |
Intro. to Syntax: Constituency Phrase structure grammar |
Continue to read Chapter 3 through pp. 87- 108 | HW2 due |
| Thu Oct 15 | Episode 1 of Language Matters: ‘How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk’ (at 4:30-5:30 in Axinn 219) | ||
| Oct 19 |
Syntax cont.: Transformational rules |
Read this article on forensic linguistics Chapter 3 cont., pp. 109-129 |
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| Oct 21 |
Syntax cont.: Universals and variation |
Finish reading Chapter 3 if you haven’t already | HW3 assigned |
| Oct 23-25 | Midterm Recess | Have fun! | |
| Oct 26 |
Articulatory phonetics: Consonants |
Read this article on ‘How many languages are there in the world?’ Chapter 5, pp. 189-208 |
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| Oct 28 |
Consonants and Vowels Phonetic transcription |
Finish reading Chapter 5. | HW3 due |
| Thu Oct 29 | Episode 2 of Language Matters: Internet language and textspeak (4:30-5:30 in Axinn 219) | ||
| Nov 2 |
Accents Coarticulation |
Read this article on California accent. Also read this article on ‘What’s wrong with America’s ugliest accent tournament’ Read the section on prosodic features in Chapter 6, pp. 252-255. |
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| Nov 4 |
Syllable structure Suprasegmentals |
Midterm exam assigned | |
| Nov 9 |
Phonology: Phonemes and allophones Phonology problems and Phonological rules |
Chapter 6, pp. 224-235, and the section on the rules of phonology (pp. 241-250) and the section on phonological analysis on pp. 260-264. | |
| Nov 11 |
Discussion of first language acquisition |
Read this article on children’s “mistakes” Read this article on words for “father” and “mother” in human languages Read Chapter 9, pp. 394-424. |
A talk on translation by Ellen Elias-Bursać: Translating Evidence and Interpreting Testimony at a War Crimes Tribunal: Working in a Tug-of-War (at 7:30pm in RAJ conference room) |
| Thu Nov 12 | **Midterm due on Thursday Nov 12 by 8pm via e-mail, or in my office as hard copy by 5pm** | ||
| Nov 16 |
Sociolinguistics: Language and society — Regional dialects of American English — Language attitudes |
Read Chapter 7, pp. 279-287 |
250-word paper proposal due HW4 assigned |
| Nov 18 |
Language and ethnicity (the case of African American English): The Ebonics debate |
Chapter 7, pp. 287-301 Readings on the ‘Ebonics debate’: |
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| Thu Nov 19 | Episode 3 of Language Matters: Screening of The Linguists (@ 4:30-5:30pm in Axinn 219) | ||
| Nov 23 |
Language and gender Lecture slides |
Read these extracts from Deborah Cameron’s book The Myth of Mars and Venus on language and gender: Read the section on ‘Genderlects’ in Chapter 7, pp. 297-301. |
HW4 due |
| Nov 24-29 | Thanksgiving Break | Enjoy the holiday! | |
| Nov 30 |
Language change: Lexical, semantic, morphological, syntactic, and phonological change |
Chapter 8, pp. 337-361 | HW5 assigned |
| Dec 2 |
Historical linguistics: reconstruction and the comparative method |
Read the following articles on the debate on the origin of Indo-European: Article from the NYT on the issue Finish reading Chapter 8, pp. 362-371 and pp. 374-381 |
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| Dec 7 |
Creating language out of thin air: Pidgins and Creoles |
Read the section in chapter 7 on Languages in contact, pp. 301-312 Read this article on Haitian Creole And if you can, read this article on Hawaiian Pidgin English |
HW5 due |
| Dec 9 |
Language and thought revisited Course response forms |
Chapter 1 of the textbook, pp. 21-25 Read Crystal’s discussion of “Language and thought”, pp. 14-15 in the Encyclopedia |
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| Thu Dec 10 | Episode 4 of Language Matters: Thesis presentation by Mark Balderston, an Independent Scholar in Linguistics (4:30-5:30pm) | ||
| Fri Dec 18 | Final Paper due by 1pm via email |