Linguistics H201: Introduction to Language in the Humanities

Introduction to English Linguistics

Instructor:Professor Elizabeth (Beth) Hume

Course Description

Speaking or understanding a language are activities that most of us take for granted. But how is it that a child learns to decipher the sounds coming out of her parents' mouth and interpret it as meaningful chunks of language? Why are some sequences of sounds used in one language but not in another? Do all languages form sentences in the same way? Why do people speak with accents and why are some accents more highly valued than others?

These are just a few of the questions that we'll be exploring in this course as we learn about the study of language, referred to as the field of linguistics. This course will provide you with a broad overview of this field with particular attention given to the English language. Note that learning about language is different from studying language to learn a foreign language. That is, you should not expect yourself to be able to speak and/or write aforeign language that you don't already know by taking this course. Rather, you will learn about the properties that languages share and the ways they differ. To appreciate the similarity and diversity among languages, you will be exposed to various subfields of linguistic studies, including the study of sound systems, word formation, language acquisition, language use, language variation, among others.

Readings:The principal text is Language Files (12th Edition), The Ohio State University.

Requirements:

* If you miss four classes or more, you will not get on A or A+ grade regardless of the results of the other criteria for evaluation.

Course policies:

1. Come to class prepared. Reading assignments are due the day for which they are assigned. We will explain difficult concepts in class, answer your questions about the readings and do exercises pertaining to the topics of the readings, but class time will not be used to rehash the readings in great detail.

3. If you have a cell phone, please make sure it never rings during class.

4. If you have to come late to a class meeting or leave early, please let me know ahead of time.

5. We will at times have discussions that venture onto controversial ground. Listen and respond respectfully to others that might have opinions and experiences that differ from yours.

6. Homework assignments are dueat the beginningof the class for which they are assigned, and I will try to return them to you by the next class. Late assignments will receive a 25% deduction and are only accepted until 3pm on the day following the day the assignment or paper was due. Exceptions are made only for documented (e.g. medical) emergencies.

7. We will often not teach directly from the assigned readings. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find outfrom one of your classmatesabout the material we covered.

Course outline

(subject to modification; information about associated readings will be forthcoming)

Week

1-2Introduction. Course objectives and overview. What does it mean to ‘know’ a language? How do we know if something is a language?

Sounds of language: Learning to use the tools for writing and describing sounds. What are the sounds of English and how are they produced?

Systems of speech sounds: How do sounds combine to form words and sentences in English? What changes can sounds undergo?

3Words & sentences: What’s the connection between the form of a word and its meaning? How are words formed in English? Is word formation the same in all languages? How do words combine to form sentences in English? What are the structural constraints on combining words?

4Language Acquisition. How do children acquire language? How do adults talk to children and what are the consequences of this for acquisition? How is learning a first language different from learning a second one?

Language variation. How does language vary within and across speakers of a given language? What are the factors that influence variation?

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