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This foundation course serves as an introduction to language and linguistics. We will begin by examining the structure of language at all levels: the principles which motivate the structure of conversation (discourse and conversation analysis); how words are related to each other, and what word meaning reveals about the mind (lexical and cognitive semantics); how words are built up from smaller parts (morphology); and how words are arranged in sentences (syntax). We will then discuss the physiology of speech sounds and the vocal tract (articulatory phonetics), and how speech sounds are organized systematically (phonology). Next we will study language variation, the complex relationship between language and society, the principled and systematic ways in which languages change over time, the development of writing systems, and the psychological underpinnings of language. We will conclude with brief sketches of specific languages, in order to demonstrate how the tools of linguistics are applied in documenting and describing a field language. Throughout the semester we will highlight the interdisciplinary nature of linguistics, especially as it relates to anthropology, sociology, and cognitive science. Students will gain experience with hands-on data analysis from English and a number of other languages.
Each student in the class is assigned to one Teaching Assistant, based on the initial letters of the student's last name. See the table on the home page for specific details of which TAs are assigned to which parts of the alphabet. This will help to make such a large class more personal, since it will give your TA a chance to get to know you and your work throughout the semester. Your TA will be grading your assignments and exams, and s/he should be your first point-of-contact for questions and concerns. TAs will also be holding review sessions before the exams. You are welcome to come to any of our office hours at any point during the semester, whether or not you are assigned to that particular TA. And you are always welcome to come to the professor's office hours as well.
The course web page contains links to a number of useful resources about language and linguistics. Among these are links to the IPA fonts that you are required to use when you submit your exams and assignments. The page also contains a direct link to the Owl-Space course site, where you will download and print your handouts, and where you will submit your homework assignments and exams online. You will receive a handout in class with instructions for using Owl-Space and the other computer resources you will need. Please familiarize yourself with these, and contact your college computer associates or the helpdesk in Mudd Hall if you get stuck or need additional assistance.
Finegan, Edward. 2008. Language: its structure and use (5th ed.) Boston: Wadsworth.
The textbook is available at Rice Campus Bookstore. One copy has been placed on reserve in Fondren library for limited 2-hour loan.
Lectures will parallel the readings but will not necessarily cover the same material. You are responsible for all material covered in readings and lectures. Since many of the concepts in Linguistics 200 may be new to you, you will find that you will do your best in this course if you do the reading assigned for each class beforehand. Regular class attendance and active participation is essential for mastery of the material and will be reflected by your overall course grade.
Lecture slides and notes will not be made available online. If you have to miss class, please arrange to borrow notes from a friend, or e-mail the professor directly for that day’s slides.
| Top 8 scores from 9 homework assignments | 48% |
| Midterm Exam (Mar. 11) | 20% |
| Final Exam (during Registrar-scheduled date/time, TBA) | 28% |
| 4 short online Pop Quizzes/Surveys (announced in class) | 4% |
| Extra-Credit Report (Due by April 22) | 5% | TOTAL | 105% |
| 0-59.99% | 60-69.99% | 70-79.99% | 80-89.99% | 90-99.99% | 100%+ |
| F | D | C | B | A | A+ |
Designations of plus and minus will be given to grades ranging within 1 percentage point of the cutoff. For example: 90-90.99% is an A-, 89-89.99% is a B+, and so on. A grade of A+ is a special case, reserved for scores of 100% and above. There is no grade of F+! Students who earn less-than 60% will fail the course.
There are nine homework assignments for this class, due on most Tuesdays as noted on the course schedule. Each homework is worth 6% of your course grade. Your lowest of these 9 scores will be dropped, thus leaving 8 scores to be calculated into your overall course grade. Because you have one “free” assignment, late homework will not be accepted under any circumstances. Homework must be submitted on Owlspace before 9:25a.m. on the day it is due. Hardcopy homeworks will not be accepted. If you turn your homework in late, you will not receive credit for the assignment—although we will be glad to give you comments and feedback.
There is one midterm exam for this course, worth 20% of your total course grade. It will be administered online via Owl-Space during regular class time (9:25-10:40am) on Thursday, March 11. The midterm is closed-book, closed-note, covering all course material through March 9. Make-up exams will be given only under extreme extenuating circumstances, and you must make arrangements with me beforehand. If you miss the midterm and do not clear it with me ahead of time, you will receive a score of 0.
The final exam (worth 28% of your overall course grade) is cumulative and covers all course material from the semester. It will be online, closed-book, closed-note. It will take place during the exam time scheduled by the Registrar’s office for this course (TBA). You will have three hours to complete the exam. Students who miss the final or fail to turn it in will receive a score of 0 on the exam. Students are not permitted to work together or discuss the exam in any way until after it has been turned in.
There will be four short online pop quizzes/surveys which you are required to submit using Owlspace at various points during the semester. Each survey/quiz will only take between 5-10 minutes to complete and is worth 1% of your overall course grade. They are ungraded—simply doing the survey/quiz will give you the 1% credit. They will be announced in class, in plenty of time for you to turn them in. If you miss class, you may miss this announcement.
Over the next semester, I would like you to be thinking about language and linguistics outside of this classroom! This may include experiences in your own life, or things you see in the media, news, movies, or internet. Be alert for interesting linguistic behavior that you can observe, comment on, and tell me about in a short written report. (Examples: new or unusual pronunciations; creative use of word-formation processes; interesting, complex or ambiguous syntactic structures; use of metaphor; language used to define social context or relations between participants; example of language change; ‘prior texts’; social stereotypes or attitudes reflected in language form.) Another option: report on a language-related news item or controversy presented on radio, television, the internet, or in the print media. Once you have chosen your data to work with (or your news story), prepare a 3-5 page (double-spaced, 12pt font) report and turn it in to me before April 22. Be sure to tie it into class themes: why is your data/news story interesting, given what we’ve done this semester? Reports will be scored for: (1) originality; (2) appropriateness; (3) relevance and contextualization within the framework of the course; (4) accurate use of terms and concepts discussed in class, and (5) clarity of presentation.
Appropriating someone else’s work and portraying it as your own is cheating. Obtaining answers to homework assignments or exams from previous semesters is cheating. Falsifying data or experimental results is cheating. (The foregoing is not intended to be a complete list. A complete description of Rice’s Honor Code, plagiarism, and other general information can be found at the Rice Honor Council Web page.) If you are caught cheating, you will be referred to the Honor Council. If you are unsure about whether a specific action is cheating, you may check with your TA or the professor. Some general guidelines are:
I encourage students to form study groups to talk about readings and lectures, and especially to discuss and work through analyzing homework problems. However, after you figure/argue them out together, type up your homework answers alone, separately from the other study group members.
If you require course material in an alternative format or need special accommodations due to a disability, please contact the instructor and the Disability Support Services Office (111 Allen Center).