Linguistics

MLL331: Topics in Linguistics
Spring 2014

Instructor:
Dr. Jianhua Bai (427-5530) (Bai@kenyon.edu)
Office: 112 Ascension Hall
Office Hours: M. and W.: 11-12 and M.T.W. 2-4

Schedule:
T.R. 8:10-9:30 ASC 201

Required Textbooks:
Parker, F and K. Riley (5th edition). 2010. Linguistics for Non-linguists. New York: Allyn & Bacon.

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Course Description
This course is an introduction to linguistics, an academic field devoted to the study of various aspects of human language. We will deal with the following topics: pragmatics, semantics, syntax, morphology, phonology, and then move on to applied linguistics such as sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics. We will learn what languages are like, how they are analyzed, how they change, how they are acquired and taught, how they differ from culture to culture and how social relations are reflected in languages. In addition to exploring the major questions inherent in the nature of human language students will conduct and share their own research projects that are designed to develop and strengthen students' research and analytical skills not only in the area of linguistics but also in other areas of their academic research.
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Assignments and Evaluation
1. Class participation (20%). Before you come to class, you should finish the assigned reading. We will spend the class time discussing the fundamental concepts from the readings.
2. Weekly Exercises (10%). Late "arrivals" will not earn credits although I will be happy to correct them and provide feedback.
3. Two short critique papers (10%) that consist of 1) good summary that describes the research questions, the methodology employed and the findings of the research, 2) your reflections and critique of the article and, 3) how the information you obtained is relevant to your own research and/or interest. In other words what have you learned from the reading? Is it informative in terms of understanding of the issue under question or/and in terms of designing your own research methodology? Does the review of literature help you identify a direction in which your research can advance the understanding of the issue under exploration?
4. A 10-page double-spaced term paper (20%).
5. Mid-term (8:10-9:30, 3/18) and final examinations (8:30-10:30, 5/6) (40%)

The examinations are designed for you to demonstrate 1) that you have understood the key concepts of the textbooks and readings, 2) that you have done all the exercises, and 3) that you have grasped the topics discussed in class. For the first part of the examination, you need to define and explain key concepts such as (generative grammar, semantics, speaker meaning and linguistic meaning, synonymy, binary antonyms, coreference, syntax, constituent structure, transformational rules, structural ambiguity, phrase structure rules, nodes, root and derived structure, particle movement, conjunction constraint, extraposition, morpheme, grammatical morpheme, bond morpheme, prefix, derivational affix, inflectional affix, phonemic, allophone, distinctive feature, complementary distribution, phonological rule, affricate, manner of articulation.). The second part will be five questions that are identical or similar to the exercises that we have done so far. The third part will be two essay questions that are related to the topics discussed in class.

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Class Calender

Date	Content	Readings and Homework
1/14	Introduction to the course and pretest What is language? What do you know about different languages? What do linguists do? What are some of the major subfields in linguistics?	Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 Click here to read more
1/16	Pragmatics: examines language use in context. How contexts condition the interpretation of linguistic meanings? What is context? Situational? Linguistic? Cultural? We will explore speech acts, pragmatic presupposition, speaker reference etc
1/21	Pragmatics: examines language use in context. How contexts condition the interpretation of linguistic meanings? What is context? Situational? Linguistic? Cultural? We will explore speech acts, pragmatic presupposition, speaker reference etc	Chapter 3
1/23	Semantics: the study of linguistic meanings. What is meaning? What are the theories of meaning?	Chapter 4 Additional readings on sementics
1/28	Syntax: the study of sentence structures. What are the different approaches to the study of syntax? What is structural ambiguity? Phrase structure grammar? and transformational rules? How are these concepts used when we analyze language structures?	Chapter 4
1/30	More on syntax	Chapter 4
2/4	More on syntax and introduction to and Q&A about reflection papers and the final research paper.	Please do the reading about the required refection papers and the final research paper. Read Chapter 5
2/6	Morphology: the study of words and word structures. What is in a word? What do we know when we say that we know a word? Phonetic information, lexical and syntactic information, what else?	Chapter 5 Click here to read more on morphology
2/11	More on morphology Submit your research topic with two specific questions.	Read one article of your interest and write a critique paper due Feb. 18.
2/13	Research techniques and library skills; this class is taught by Ms. Greever in Chalmers Lab/Classroom on the first floor, around the corner from the LLC and near the vending machines. (https://lbis.kenyon.edu/sites/lbis.kenyon.edu/files/floor1.png)	Chapter 6
2/18	Phonetics: the study of sounds. How are human speech produced and heard (articulatory phonetics)? How speech sounds can be analyzed visually on a computer? Phonology: the study of the sound systems of a language. Is /t/ pronounced the same way in "tea" and "writer"? What is phonological rules behind systematic sound changes? The first critique paper due today.	Read Chapter 6 and start to work on your research project proposal due March 27
2/20	More on phonetics and phonology	Chapter 7 Read another article of your interest and write the second critique paper due Feb. 27.
2/25	Language Processing	Chapter 7
2/27	The second critique paper due today.	Happy spring break!
	Spring Break March 1-16	Prepare for the Midterm (March 18)
3/20	Language Varision. We examine regional, social, and personal variation, types of language typical of different activities.	Read Chapter 8 and William Labov
3/25	Continue with sociolinguistics	Read Chapter 9
3/27	Language Change: How does language change over time and how languages can be historically related?	Read Chapter 10 Research project proposal due March 27
4/1	L 1 Acquisition: What are the stages of acquisition? What have we learned about the intricate system known as "LAD"?
4/3	L 1 Acquisition	Read Chapter 11
4/8	L2 Acquisiton: we will deal with the difference of L1 and L2 acquisition, interlanguage and other issues involved in L2 acquisition.
4/10	Continue with L2 acquisition	Read Chapeter 12
4/15	Written Language	Read Chapeter 13
4/17	The Neurology of Language: how language is stored and processed in the brain.
4/22	Finish Chapter 13 and start final review.
4/24-5/1	General Review and Presentations of Research Projects	Review for the final exam and submit final papers.
5/6	Finan Exam 8:30-10:30

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Useful Links to Internet Resourses
1. Guidelines for Research Papers
2. Linguist List
3. Doing phonetics with computers
4. Languages of the World
5. National Foreign Language Center.
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Recommended Reading:
Bates, E. 1976. Language and Context : The Acquisition of Pragmatics. New York : Academic Press.
Bolinger, D. 1968. Aspects of Language. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.
Brown, P. 1987. Politeness : some universals in language usage. Cambridge Univ. Press.
Brown, H. D. 1994. Principles of language learning and teaching. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall
Chomsky, N. 1957 or 1966. Syntactic structures. The Hague, Mouton.
Crystal, D. 1987. The Cambridge encyclopedia of language. Cambridge Univ. Press.
Hymes, D. 1974. Foundations in sociolinguistics; an ethnographic approach. Univ. of Penn. Press.
Jespersen, O.1969. Essentials of English Grammar. University of Alabama Press.
Levinson, S. C. 1983. Pragmatics. N.Y.: Cambridge University Press.
Lightbrown, P. M. 1999. How languages are learned? London: Oxford Univ. Press.
Pinker, Steven. 1994. The language instinct. New York: W. Morrow and Co.
Sapir, Edward. 1921. Language: an introduction to the study of speech. N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and World.
Slobin, Dan. 1971. Psycholinguistics. London: Scott, Foresman and Co.
Tannen, D. 1990. You just don't understand : women and men in conversation. NY: Morrow.
Thomas, J. 1995. Meaning in Interaction : An Introduction to Pragmatics. London: Longman.
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Statement of Academic Integrity
At Kenyon we expect all students, at all times, to submit work that represents the highest standards of academic integrity. It is the responsibility of each student to learn and practice the proper ways of documenting and acknowledging those whose ideas and words they have drawn upon (see Academic Honesty and Questions of Plagiarism in the Course Catalog). Ignorance and carelessness are not excuses for academic dishonesty. If you are uncertain about the expectations for this class, please ask for clarification.
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Disability Access Statement
If you have a hidden or visible disability which may require classroom or test accommodations please see me as soon as possible during a scheduled office hour. If you have not already done so, you must register with the Coordinator of Disability Services (Erin Salva, salvae@kenyon.edu, x5145), who is the individual responsible for coordinating accommodations and
services for students with disabilities. All information and documentation of disability is strictly confidential. No accommodations will be granted in this course without notification from the Office of Disability Services.
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