A selection of assigned readings and additional readings from typologcial textbooks, articles, and web materials will be made available in the Resources on Owlspace. Assigned readings are required for all enrolled students; additional readings, identified by instructor, are required for graduate students and for undergraduates, they can be used as sources for assignments and/or for additional background or greater depth on a particular topic.

Course Requirements

• Participation in class analyses and discussions; contribution of data periodically, with copies for other students; feedback for other students' analyses
• Readings (see above)
• A short description (up to a paragraph) of your interim and final report topics. For interim report: description should be sent to me around spring break or shortly after. For final report: Before end of classes. (NB: I received most of paper #1 descriptions orally, which was acceptable.)
• 2 short oral presentations with powerpoint. [As of mid-Feb, we began to use the Owlspace blog tool not just for collecting data, but as guiding points for informal oral descriptions by students to the whole class. This turned out to be more practical than actual formal presentations, so grading includes an item for data presentation in class, with the several episodes of informal presentation replacing the originally-planned 2 formal oral presentations.]
• For undergraduates: Interim written typological report on a specific typological topic (ca 5 pp) using language data from grammars of different languages. The aim is a clear readable description summarizing the data collected and any patterns seen in the data (i.e. generalizations about the data). Due March 13 to Assignments tool on Owlspace.
• For undergraduates: Final report on a different typological topic (ca 10 pp using language data from grammars, 7-10 languages: Due on the day of the final exam slot for the course (Saturday April 28, 5:00pm). As above, these are to be uploaded to Assignments tool on Owlspace. Graduate students should also place a hard copy in my mailbox.
• Graduate students: The graduate-level final research report should be a more in-depth look at a typological topic using grammars and literature in the field, rather than just a summary of data and some generalizations from those data. Numbers of languages, range of language families, and length of paper are somewhat more than for undergraduates; but the paper is not expected to be in-depth one. In form/format it should be reasonably polished, but in terms of content it can be a draft for later in-depth work. Further, it can be tailored to ongoing research by the graduate student in consultation with the instructor.

Possible topics have been posted in a document under Resources on Owlspace. Students can consult with me about their topics and new ones not on list can be proposed. Range of appropriate languages to look at can be tailored to the topic, under consultation with me.

Disabilities

If you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please contact me to discuss your needs. Additionally, you should register with the Disability Support Services Office in the Ley Student Center.

Updated Feb 24; March 15; April 18, 2012
© 2012 Suzanne Kemmer