English 256 [SSCI] Introduction to the Study of Language Spring 2020
class website: 256-spr20.gordon-carden.net
Guy Carden
E-mail: guy.carden@wsu.edu
Calendar Course Description
Engl 256 [SSCI] Introduction to the Study of Language 3
Introduction to the ways in which sound, meaning, and structure of words and sentences in natural languages are described and analyzed by linguists.
Expanded Course Description
Engl 256 [SCSI] Introduction to Linguistics 3 credits (no prerequisites)
This course concentrates on the core areas of linguistics: Sound structures (phonetics and phonology), word structure (morphology), and sentence structure (syntax). We will look briefly at the connection between sentence structure and meaning (semantics), and talk briefly about two examples from historical linguistics; but we will largely ignore applications and related fields.
Our objective is to give you a sample of real linguistics, analyzing specific data sets and building explicit models to account for the data. Most of our data will come from English, but problems and exams will also include data from other languages like Turkish, Swahili, Modern Persian and Haitian Creole. Most weeks there will be a problem set with specific data to analyze; experience shows that these problem sets are 90% of the work and produce 90% of the learning.
Expect to spend the standard 6 hours a week outside of class doing the required reading and problem sets; the balance between reading and problems will vary from week to week.
Learning Goals -- Linguistics
Learning Goals -- UCORE
Required Texts & Materials
There is no required textbook.
Required and optional readings and other materials will be available on line through the class website 256-spr20.gordon-carden.net. You will need the course password _____________, given in class. (There are no course fees.)
Course Requirements
Problem sets (25%) – probably 10 problem sets, graded credit / no-credit. Problem sets can be turned in by e-mail or as hard copy at the end of the relevant class. If you turn in your assignment by e-mail, you should also bring hard copy to class so you can take notes as we go over the analysis.
In-class quizzes (30%) – probably 4 quizzes, typically 20-30 minutes.
Cumulative final (45%) This will include replay of analyses worked out in class and also new data to analyze. The final may include a take-home component.
Grading:
All grades will be curved, with the objective of matching a typical WSU grade distribution. Expect a class median in the “B” range.
Attendance policy
There is no grading penalty for missing classes. On the other hand, the problem sets, quizzes, and exam all depend on the analysis methods taught in class. If you miss a class, do the reading, download the handouts, get notes from a fellow student, and then see me with questions: Catch up fast. If you miss several classes, see me to make a a plan to catch up.
Late assignments or missed quizzes
We usually discuss problem sets in class the day they are due; there is normally no credit for an assignment that is turned in after we have discussed it in class or handed out a solution. There is normally no credit for a missed quiz. If you have a personal or family emergency, explain, and we can arrange for you do do a make-up problem set or quiz. If you know that you will need to miss a quiz, talk to me in advance and we can probably work out a way for you to take the same quiz as the rest of the class.
Academic Honesty
Academic integrity is the cornerstone of higher education. As such, all members of the university community share responsibility for maintaining and promoting the principles of integrity in all activities, including academic integrity and honest scholarship. Academic integrity will be strongly enforced in this course. Students who violate WSU’s Academic Integrity Policy (identified in Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 504-26-010(3) and -404) will fail the course if the cheating involves the final exam, will fail the assignment if the cheating involves a problem set or quiz, will not have the option to withdraw from the course pending an appeal, and will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct.
Cheating includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism and unauthorized collaboration as defined in the Standards of Conduct for Students, WAC 504-26-010(3). You need to read and understand all of the definitions of cheating: http://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=504-26-010. If you have any questions about what is and is not allowed in this course, you should ask course instructors before proceeding.
If you wish to appeal a faculty member's decision relating to academic integrity, please use the form available at https://communitystandards.wsu.edu/ ,
https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?WashingtonStateUniv&layout_id=10
Safety and Emergency Notification
Please sign up for emergency alerts on your account at MyWSU. For more information on classroom safety and related topics, please view the FBI’s Run, Hide, Fight video (https://oem.wsu.edu/emergency-procedures/active-shooter/) and visit the classroom safety page https://provost.wsu.edu/classroom-safety/].
For more information, please visit: https://vpue.wsu.edu/policies/statements/#safety-and-emergency-notification
Students with Disabilities:
Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please either visit or call your campus resource to schedule an appointment. All accommodations MUST be approved through the campus resource. For more information contact a Disability Specialist on your campus: 509-335-3417, Washington Building 217, https://accesscenter.wsu.edu/contact-us/ .
Class Schedule (subject to change!)
13 Jan. Unit 1, What is Linguistics? Samples of articulatory phonetics (English, Cantonese tone), phonology (English place assimilation), segmentation morphology (Turkish), and syntax (English infinitives).
Reading for week of 13 Jan. – Scan these useful links from The Linguistic Society of America:
https://www.linguisticsociety.org/what-linguistics
https://www.linguisticsociety.org/resource/science-linguistics
https://www.linguisticsociety.org/issues-linguistics
PS 1, Introduction: ( hand out Wednesday 15 Jan, due Friday 24 Jan.)
(20 Jan.) 22 Jan. Unit 1, continued: English infinitives continued, historical linguistics (Beowulf, Grimms Law.)
Monday = Martin Luther King Day, no class
Friday = last day for routine add/drop/audit/credit changes
27 Jan. Articulatory Phonetics 1: Mechanisms of speech production. Structure of the consonant chart, mostly English examples.
PS 2. Consonant dimensions and transcription, anatomy of the vocal tract.
(Unless otherwise specified, problem sets are handed out Monday and due at the beginning of class the following Monday.)
3 Feb. Articulatory Phonetics 2: Structure of the vowel chart, mostly English examples.
PS 3. Vowel and consonant dimensions and transcription.
10 Feb. Articulatory Phonetics 3. Review and transcription practice; easy non-English.
Quiz 1. Articulatory Phonetics. Friday 14 Feb. (no PS this week.)
Tuesday 11 Feb. = Deadline for dropping a course without record.
(17 Feb.) 19 Feb. Acoustic Phonetics 1. Introduction to Praat. Analog and digital representations of speech signals: Waveform displays. Duration measurements, application to vowel length. Calculation of fundamental frequency. Comparison of computer estimates and hand measurements. Precision of measurement – “significant figures”. Application to Cantonese tone.
PS 4. Measurements of vowel length and fundamental frequency. (Hand out Wednesday, due the following Wednesday.)
Monday = Presidents’ Day, no class
24 Feb. Acoustic Phonetics 2. Finish discussion of fundamental frequency. No quiz on acoustic phonetics. Begin Phonology 1. Basic phonemics: Predictable vs contrastive distribution. English and non-English examples.
PS 5. Basic Phonemic analysis. (Hand out Wednesday, due Monday 2 March)
2 Mar. Phonology 2, Phonological rules and derivations. Model for phonological/phonetic system.
PS 6. More phonological data analysis.
Mid-term grades due 4 March.
9 Mar. Phonology 3. More complex phonological interactions.
Quiz 2: Phonological analysis Friday 13 Mar. (no PS this week.)
16 Mar. Spring vacation, 16-20 March.
23 Mar. Morphology 1. Segmentation. Word structure in English and other languages. Analyzing words as trees. Phrase-structure rule notation for representing analyses.
PS 7. Segmentation morphology.
30 Mar. Morphology 2 and Surface Syntax 1
Quiz 3: Morphological analysis
6 Apr. Surface Syntax 2: Recursion. Context-Free Grammar as a formal model.
PS 8. Simple phrase structure rules:
13 Apr. Surface Syntax 3: Properties that a CF Grammar won’t handle.
PS 9: More phrase-structure analysis.
Quiz 4: Surface syntax. Extending our analyses from class.
20 Apr. Reflexive and Imperative: Evidence for abstract structures, Oder of rule application. Generative vs. interpretive models. Links between syntactic structure and meaning.
PS10. Extending the textbook analyses of Reflexives and Imperatives.
27 Apr. English and Persian complement structures: more evidence for abstraction.
4 May Final Exams, 4-8 May. Closed book. (Date of exam will be determined later.)
Final grades due 12 May.