Linguistics 201
Introduction to Language in the Humanities
Winter 2008

Course meeting time: Tuesday and Thursday 1:30-3:18PM in Jennings Hall 136

Course website: http://carmen.osu.edu/

Instructor: Adriane Boyd Please check the course website regularly and do not hesistate to let me know if you have any questions!



Required textbooks: Course description:

This course is a general survey of language and linguistics. We will systematically investigate what it means to know and use language. The focus of the course is not on any specific language or languages, but on properties common to all languages and ways in which languages may differ. For the first half of the class, we will examine the basic components common to all languages. In the second half, we will apply this knowledge in examining topics such as language variation and language and the mind.

This course will: This course fulfills the GEC 5. Arts and Humanities - B. Analysis of Texts and Works of Art - 3. Cultures and Ideas requirements.



Course requirements:
  1. Homework

    There will be six homework assignments, five of which will count toward your final grade. Each homework assignment will be handed out one week in advance and will be due at the beginning of class on the day specified. If you are going to miss class, you may put your homework in my mailbox or submit it to the assignment dropbox in Carmen by the beginning of the class period.

    Please go over the assignment well in advance of the due date so that you have time to ask me for any clarification. You may discuss the general issues in the homework problems with your classmates, but you must write up your answers on your own. If you do consult others at any point, please write their name(s) on your assignment.

  2. Reading Notes

    Each class meeting will have an assigned reading from Language Files. To encourage careful attention to the reading, you will be expected to turn in reading notes for at least 12 class meetings. The length of your notes will vary depending on the kind of notes you take, but an approximate guideline is half a page to a page of notes for each section of Language Files. You may include definitions, examples, summaries, criticisms, or any discussion or clarification questions that you may have. The reading notes should show me that you have done the reading carefully and should prepare you to participate in an in-depth discussion of the material in class. If you are going to miss class, you may put your reading notes in my mailbox or in the Carmen dropbox.

  3. Exams

    The midterm will be a take-home exam handed out on February 7, 2008, and due on February 12, 2008. The final will be an in-class exam on March 12, 2008, 1:30-3:18 PM. The midterm will cover material in the first half of the course and the final will be cumulative, but with more weight on the material in the second half of the quarter.

  4. Linguistics Outside of the Classroom (LOC)

    Students in all sections of Linguistics 201 must fulfill a requirement called Linguistics Outside of the Classroom: Talks and Experiments. To fulfill this requirement you must either participate in two linguistics experiments, attend two talks, or do one of each. At each talk or experiment you will receive a questionnaire, which you should complete and return to me. The first talk or experiment questionnaire is due by February 8, 2008, by 5 PM and the second questionnaire is due by March 7, 2008, by 5 PM. This component of the course is explained in further detail in the LOC handout and at http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/courses/outside.html.
Grading: Grades will be based on homework, reading notes, the LOC requirement, the midterm exam, and the final exam.
Homework 40% (5 total, 8% each)
Reading Summaries 10%
Midterm 20% (Due Tue., Feb. 12, 2008)
Final 25% (Wed., Mar. 12, 2008, 1:30-3:18PM)
LOC   5% (2 total, 2.5% each)
Make-up Policy: Class Etiquette: I expect you to respect your fellow classmates, to respect me, and to respect yourself. TA Coordinator:
Dr. Hope Dawson
dawson.165@osu.edu
222a Oxley Hall
688-3109

Academic Misconduct: Academic misconduct is taken very seriously. I am required to report any suspected violations of Section 3335-23-04 of the Code of Student Conduct (http://studentaffairs.osu.edu/resource_csc.asp) to the Committee on Academic Misconduct (http://oaa.osu.edu/coam/home.html). Please take the time to read the Code of Student Conduct carefully. All OSU students are assumed to be familiar with it and ignorance of Code of Student Conduct is no excuse in cases of academic misconduct.

The most common form of misconduct is plagiarism. Remember that you must provide clear citations for any ideas or materials that are not your own. This includes material that you find online. The University provides guidelines for online research at http://liblearn.osu.edu/tutor/. Academic misconduct also includes working together without permission and copying answers from other students on homework or exams. Do your own work!



Students with Disabilities:

Students who need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact me to arrange an appointment as soon as possible to discuss the course format, to anticipate needs, and to explore potential accommodations. I rely on the Office of Disability Services for assistance in verifying the need for accommodations and developing accommodation strategies. Students who have not previously contacted the Office for Disability Services are encouraged to do so (292-3307; http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu).



Schedule:
Week Month Date Day Topic Readings from LF Due
1 Jan 3 R Introduction    
2   8 T Animal Communication 1.1-1.5, 14.1-14.3  
    10 R Pragmatics 7.1-7.4  
3   15 T Semantics 6.1-6.4  
    17 R Syntax 5.1, 5.3  
4   22 T (cont.) 5.4-5.6 HW 1
    24 R Morphology 4.1-4.3  
5   29 T (cont.) 4.4-4.5 HW 2
    31 R Phonetics 2.1-2.2  
6 Feb 5 T (cont.) 2.3, 2.6 HW 3
    7 R Phonology 3.1-3.3, 3.5  
7   12 T (cont.)   Midterm
    14 R Writing Systems, Language Change 13.4, 12.1-12.3  
8   19 T Language Change 12.4-12.6 HW 4
    21 R Language Variation 10.1-10.4  
9   26 T Language Acquisition 8.1-8.3 HW 5
    28 R Language Storage and Processing 9.1-9.4  
10 Mar 4 T Language and Computers 15.1-15.5  
    6 R Final Review   HW 6
Final   12 W FINAL (1:30-3:18pm)    

Disclaimer: This syllabus is subject to change. All important changes will be announced in class and made in writing (email, website).

This document was translated from LATEX by HEVEA.