Welcome to the Spring Quarter 2008
Linguistics 1 Home Page

LINGUISTICS 1 MAIN MENU

• General information on Linguistics 1 (Spring 2008)
• Section times and places
• Info on Prof Schuh and TAs
• Course outline
• Grading basis: assignments, paper, and exams
• Honors credit
• Course paper outline (including links to sample papers, paper grading, and policy on reading paper drafts)
• Answers to "Pretest" and Discussion Questions
• Written assignments: downloadable assignments and keys to returned assignments
• Web assignment information
• Links to sites about language(s)

To download these files you nead Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Download notes for first lecture
• Download notes to video for 4/1/08
• Download notes for lecture for week 2 (4/8, 4/10)
• FOR 7TH WEEK: Download revision of 7th week lecture notes on "Language and the Brain"

SECTION TIMES AND PLACES

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Below are the times, places, and Teaching Assistants for Linguistics 1 sections.

THERE ARE SEVERAL LOCATION CHANGES FROM THE ORIGINAL POSTING!

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GENERAL INFORMATION ON LINGUISTICS 1

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Purpose of course

The most complex ability and set of facts that any human being ever acquires is the (implicit) knowledge of a native language. This course examines what the nature of language is, how the science of linguistics analyzes language data, and how language is integrated within culture and history. Everyone speaks a language and everyone is interested in language at some level. We all notice different accents, we all are aware of "grammatical mistakes" that we and others make, and we all make and understand jokes and play games that use language in clever ways. Language is a continual object of interest in newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. This course will use such materials as a source of data for analysis and, in some cases, as a way to draw attention to myths about language which many, if not most people believe.

Textbook

Steven Pinker, The Language Instinct, HarperPerennial, 1995. [Perennial Classics edition, 2000, 2007]

The content of all these editions is identical. The page numbers in the 1995 edition are different from the pages in the 2000 and 2007 editions (the latter two seem to be identical in all respects). Page numbers in the course syllabus, lecture notes, and assignments will refer to the 2000/2007 editions. You can use the 1995 edition as long as you are aware that you may need to look at pages different from those in the course materials.

Lecture, discussion sections, and reading

The course will be organized around the main text, The Language Instinct. This book has been a bestseller and can be found in virtually any bookstore, yet the author, Steven Pinker, is a respected linguist, and although the book is written for a popular audience, it presents a serious picture of language as viewed by many linguists (I can't say all linguists--linguists are a diverse bunch!). The full class meetings on Tuesday and Thursday will be a combination of films and lectures. The films will parallel the chapters in The Language Instinct insofar as this is possible. Lectures will expand on themes in the textbook and the films. You will be responsible for information from all three source--textbook, films, lectures--in weekly assignments and in the final examination.

Grading: assignments, paper, and examinations

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Web assignments: Each week, weeks 1-10, you will complete an online web assignment. Because of limitations on the types of questions that can be posted online, these will consist of multiple choice or matching questions. The idea of the web assignments is to allow you to review concepts from the course as much as you want, then submit your results when you are satisfied. Web assignments for weeks 1-8 will parallel the written assignments and should help you with the written assignments and final exam. Assignments for weeks 9-10 will be a little more challenging and will bear a little more credit because there are no written assignments in those weeks. Web assignments will be available only during a specific time window during the week in which they are due. If you do not submit a completed assignment within that window, you do not get credit and there is no way to make it up.

Written assignments: You will receive a total of 8 written assignments. These will be distributed in discussion sections, one each week in weeks 1-8. Blank assignments will also be posted on this web site, and once corrected assignments have been returned, an answer key will be posted. Each written assignment is due in your discussion section the week after it is distributed. The lowest assignment grade will be dropped, leaving 7 assignments for your course grade. Each of the 7 counted assignments will be worth 9 points toward the 63 points total on assignments.

Paper: You will write a paper of 4-6 pages (typed, double spaced, 12 point type), due in sections of the tenth week. PAPER COPIES ONLY PLEASE--NO E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS! Click on the paper link or see pages 5-6 of the APS course reader for a description of the paper topic. The purpose of the paper will be to get you to reflect on your own language instinct.

Final exam: The final will be cumulative for the entire course. It will be in class, closed book and closed note. It will consist of 80 multiple choice questions and will be machine scored. The time for the final in Spring Quarter 2008 is Tuesday, June 10, 8:00-11:00.

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