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English 301: Introduction to Language
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| Instructor: John Foreman |
| Office: ET A612 |
| Office Hours: T 11:30-12:00, R 11:30-12:30 |
| Mailbox: ET A637 |
| Phone (no messages): (323) 343-4157 |
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| Required Texts: |
2 Course Packets, 1 of Readings, 1 of Handouts/Notes available from Student Book Mart and Copy Center 1725A N. Eastern Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90032 (323) 262-5511. The packet of handouts/notes should be brought to class everyday. It is also available on the web site for download.
Steven Pinker Language Instinct, HarperTrade. 2000. 0060958332
Joseph M. Williams Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace, 7th Edition, 2003. Addison-Wesley. 0321095170
All required material will also be available on limited loan reserve in the library.
I highly recommend looking on the web for good book bargains. The website www.addall.com is an excellent price comparison site and a good place to start. Since we will not be using the Williams' book until the second half of the quarter, you have plenty of time to order it and have it delivered, for example.
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| Recommended Text: |
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A recent introductory linguistics textbook. The course packet consists of lecture notes. In some places, the material is sketched out and you might benefit from having an intro linguistics book as a handy reference. I recommend Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction by O'Grady et al. Either the 3rd or 4th Edition will suffice or The Language Files, 7th or 8th edition of the Ohio State Department of Linguistics. I highly recommend going to a price-comparison site like www.addall.com to find the cheapest available book. The references for the most recent editions of Contemporary Linguistics and The Language Files is given below:
O'Grady, William, et al. Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction 4th Edition, Bedford/St. Martin's. 2001. ISBN:0312247389
Stewart, Thomas W. Jr., Nathan Vaillette, et al. Language Files: Materials for an Introduction to Language and Linguistics. Ohio State University. 2001. ISBN: 0814250769.
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Course Goals:
Students are introduced to the basic concept of language analysis through an investigation of properties as they appear in exercises and problems in linguistic analysis and through a critical review of the analyses and views of the assigned readings. The physiology of speech, the stages in which language is acquired, and the processes of phonology, word formation, and sentence production are also examined in detail. The relation of language and the brain in language acquisition and the variations within a speech community are explored to gain insight into modern theories of language, its evolution and development and the changing roles of grammar.
Course Requirements:
| Homework Assignments: | 45% |
| 3 Quizzes: | 45% |
| Attendance and Participation: | 10% |
| Total: | 100% |
- Homework: There will be a homework assignment due almost every class. Homework assignments will be posted on my web site for you to download and print out. I will make reminders periodically in class, but it is your responsibility to check the site regularly and keep up with the assignments.
The assignment will include various homework assignments, little quizzes, and writing assignments on the reading assigned in the class.
Homework assignments are due at the following class meeting unless otherwise noted. Some of the assignments, though not all, will be discussed in class on the due date. It is very important then that you come to class having already worked through the assignment to the best of your abilities and are prepared to present and discuss the answers when called upon. Homeworks discussed in such manner will be collected and marked for completion and will be used as a way to keep track of attendance and participation. It is therefore very important that you come to class every meeting.
If for some reason you anticipate missing a class, homeworks can be placed in my mailbox in ET A637 before the end of class that day. Such homeworks will be graded on a percentage basis, whether the assignment was so graded or not. Due to the number of assignments, I cannot accept late homework assignments except in the case of well-documented emergencies or illnesses. Of course, I will be happy to go over the content of any missed assignments during my office hours.
To compensate for the strict policy on late homeworks, the lowest homework grade will be dropped. You are encouraged to work with each other when doing the homeworks, but please, write up each assignment separately.
Quizzes: There will be three quizzes given out during the course of the quarter. Most likely they will be take home. One will be due in week 4, one in week 8 and one on the day of the final exam. If you will a quiz for some valid, documented reason and notify me beforehand or have a documented emergency, the grade percentage of the other quizzes will be increased to compensate for the missed quiz. Attendance and Participation: Attendance and participation will mainly be noted through the discussion of readings and homeworks and particularly through collection of homework assignments. Therefore, late or missing assignments will negatively impact your grade. Roughly every late or missed assignment will reduce your Attendance and Participation score by 5%. Participation will be particularly important for borderline cases.
Tentative Schedule of Topics
| Class | Date | Topic |
| 1 T | 6/22 | Intro/Phonetic Symbols |
| 2 R | 6/24 | Phonetic Symbols, Transcriptions, Long and Short Vowels |
| 3 T | 6/29 | Phonetic Charts |
| 4 R | 7/1 | Features, Natural Classes, Minimal Pairs, English Phonology |
| 5 T | 7/6 | Syllables |
| 6 R | 7/8 | Lexical Categories |
| 7 T | 7/13 | Lexical Categories Continued |
| 8 R | 7/15 | Language & Writing Discussion |
| 9 T | 7/20 | Inflection, Verbal Forms, Finite/Non, Active/Passive |
| 10 R | 7/22 | Word Formation, Derivational Affixation, Nominalization |
| 11 T | 7/27 | Compounds |
| 12 R | 7/29 | Constituency Tests |
| 13 T | 8/3 | Basic Phrase Structure |
| 14 R | 8/5 | Basic Phrase Structure Continued, heads, Movement |
| 15 T | 8/10 | Identifying Subjects |
| 16 R | 8/12 | Characters |
| 17 T | 8/17 | Coherence/Cohesion |
| 18 R | 8/19 | Global Coherence |
| 19 T | 8/24 | Prescriptive Grammar |
| 20 R | 8/26 | Prescriptive Grammar Continued/Review |
Reading Schedule
All reading should be completed by the beginning of class on the date listed. There will be various small homework exercises, reading quizzes and writing assignments covering the reading.
Below, Pinker refers to The Language Insinct and Style to the Joseph Williams book. All other readings can be found in the course reader.
| Class | Date | Reading (to be done by the date indicated) |
| 1 T | 6/22 | |
| 2 R | 6/24 | |
| 3 T | 6/29 | Pinker Chapter 2, "Chatterboxes" |
| 4 R | 7/1 | |
| 5 T | 7/6 | Whittemore, Katharine "Saving California Languages" |
| 6 R | 7/8 | |
| 7 T | 7/13 | |
| 8 R | 7/15 | Hughes, John P. Languages and Writing AND Diamond, Jared "Blueprints and Borrowed Letters" |
| 9 T | 7/20 | |
| 10 R | 7/22 | Style pp. 62-71 on Actives and Passives |
| 11 T | 7/27 | Style Lesson 3 Actions |
| 12 R | 7/29 | Diamond, Jared ""Horses, Hittites and History" |
| 13 T | 8/3 | Aitchison, Jean "Bad Birds and Better Birds: Prototype Theory" AND Miller, George A. and Patricia M. Gildea "How Children Learn Words" |
| 14 R | 8/5 | |
| 15 T | 8/10 | |
| 16 R | 8/12 | Pinker Chapter 9, Baby Born Talking--Describes Heaven |
| 17 T | 8/17 | Style Lesson 4 Characters AND Pinker Chapter 10, Language Organs and Grammar Genes |
| 18 R | 8/19 | Style Lesson 5 Cohesion and Coherence |
| 19 T | 8/24 | Sobin, Nicholas "Prestige English is Not a Natural Language" & Pinker Chapter 12. "The Language Mavens" |
| 20 R | 8/26 | Style Epilogue From Clarity to Coherence |
If you would like additional explanations and review of our main topics-Sounds, Words, and Sentences-a good starting place is Pinker Chapter 6 "The Sounds of Silence", Chapter 5 "Words, Words, Words" and Chapter 4 "How Language Works". I recommend the following schedule:
Chapter 6 on Sounds completed by Week 4.
Chapter 5 on Words completed by Week 8.
Chapter 4 on Sentences completed by Finals Week
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