IDS155-01 Introduction to Linguistics

Willamette University - Spring 2005

Tuesday & Thursday: 1:50pm to 3:20pm

Walton 235

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Dr. Wayne Gregory

wgregory@willamette.edu

Kaneko 203 (ex.3306)

Office Hours: 3:30 ≠ 4:30 Tuesdays & 12:00 ≠ 1:00 Thursdays

& By appointment

Course co-developed with Dr. Miho Fujiwara

mfujiwar@willamette.edu

Walton 146 (ex.6015)

I. Course Description

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It touches a variety of academic disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, philosophy, foreign language studies, psychology, computer science and neurology. This introductory course is designed for those who have no understanding of linguistics. Students are introduced to: Phonetics/Phonology (sound), Morphology (word structure), Syntax (sentence structure), Semantics (meaning) and Pragmatics (language use). Students are also lead to apply these basic concepts to a variety of interdisciplinary areas, such as the psychology of language, language learning/teaching, language variation, language and the brain and computational linguistics.

II. Objectives

Specific course objectives are as follows:

∑ To help students gain an appreciation for the complexity of language;

∑ To introduce students to the field of linguistics as a framework for discovering how languages are structured, acquired, processed and used in daily life;

∑ To help students develop rudimentary language analysis skills which they can employ in probing both their first and second languages;

∑ To assist students in applying the knowledge they gain about language and the analytic skills they develop to their own major field of study;

∑ To aid students in developing their own understanding of the relationship of language, culture, society and identity.

III. Textbooks

∑ OπGrady, William, Archibald, John, Aronoff, Mark, Rees-Miller, Janie. 2005. Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. 5^th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St.Martinπs Press.

∑ Vanderweide, Teresa. Study Guide for Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. 5^th Edition. Boston: Bedford/St.Martinπs Press.

∑ Pinker, Steven. 2000. The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language. Perennial Publishers.

IV. Topics and course structure

Units	Topics
1. Introduction	∑ What is Language? ∑ The Language Instinct ∑ Language and Thought
Theoretical Linguistics
2. Sounds	Phonetics: The Sounds of Language
2. Sounds	Phonology: The Function and Patterning of Sounds
3. Words	Morphology: The Analysis of Word Structure
4. Sentences	Syntax: The Analysis of Sentence Structure
5. Meaning	Semantics: The Analysis of Meaning
Contextual Linguistics
Guest Speakers	Language in Social Contexts: Language Variation
	Gender and Language
	Second language acquisition
	Human Language Processing & Computer Processing of Human Language

V. Pedagogical Methods and Approaches

∑ Lectures

∑ Problem-Solving Activities

∑ Discussions

∑ Expert Reports

∑ Guest Speakers

VI. Requirements

∑ Active participation (attendance & small group and large group discussion)

∑ Completion of assignments prior to the class (reading, exercises & videos*)

∑ Reaction papers** (seven papers)

∑ Unit tests (four tests)

∑ Final examination

∑ Expert reports - optional

Video Viewing

You are required to watch the following videos prior to the assigned classes. Videos are shown at Language Learning Center (LLC) on the following dates and time:

∑ The Human Language Series, Part 1: Discovering the Human Language ≥Colorless Green Ideas≤ by January 25^th, Tuesday

TBA

∑ The Human Language Series, Part 2: Acquiring the Human Language ≥Playing the Language Game≤ by January 27^th, Thursday

1/26 (M), 1/28 (W) 7:00-8:00pm @ LLC

You can also check out the videos on reserve at the LLC.

VII. Reaction Papers

An important part of the learning experience in this class is the opportunity for you to react to what you read in the form of reaction papers. In order to do this, you must do a close and careful reading of the texts. You will be writing a reaction paper for each of the reading assignments in the OπGrady et al text: An Introduction to Language.

There is no particular requirement for the format of these reaction papers. The idea is that your reactions will be subjective and reflect a kind of conversation with the author. This means that your writing will be more expressive and inquisitive and will, undoubtedly, employ the first person.

Reactions can be about one point or many points in the text. Pick the idea or ideas that resonate with you in some way or which raise particular questions in your mind. You may raise questions about some point the author has made which you do not fully understand; you may choose to question the assumptions or conclusions the author reaches; you may choose to reflect on the implications of the author's suggestions; you may choose to comment on the personal impact some concept has made on your own understanding; or, you may choose some combination of all these possibilities.

The reaction paper should NOT simply summarize what the writer has written. Instead, your writing should emphasize and reflect your own analysis and consideration of what you have read. This is as much about what you think as it is about what the author has said. Each reaction paper should be two, double-spaced typed pages with 1" margins all around and 12-point type, preferably Times or Times New Roman.

VIII. Evaluations

∑ Reaction papers (10 points x 7 papers = 70 points)

(Late paper receives half credit.)

∑ Unit tests (100 points x 4 tests = 400 points)

∑ Final examination (200 points x 1 test = 200 points)

∑ Extra points ≠ an expert report (10 points)

∑ If you miss 5 or more classes, you will receive a final grade of ≥F.≤

Total 670 points

	B+ 583 ~602.9	C+ 516 ~535.9	D+ 449 ~ 468.9	F Below 401.9
A 623+	B 556 ~ 582.9	C 489 ~ 515.9	D 422 ~ 448.9
A- 603 ~ 622.9	B- 536 ~ 555.9	C- 469 ~ 488.9	D- 402 ~ 421.9