Introduction to Linguistics

Linguistics 101

Spring 2007

Time and Place

Textbook

We will use the following textbook in this course:

• The Language files, 9^thedition, Stewart Jr., Thomas W. and Nathan Vaillette (eds). 2004, published by Ohio State University Press.
• Some additional (sometimes optional) readings will be taken from The Language Instinct, by Steven Pinker. You do not need to buy this book -- however, reading it may help you with conceptual understanding of the issues.

Other material will be posted on the web.

Course Requirements

In order to participate in this course, you are expected to:

• Attend the lectures and discussion sections.
• Complete reading assignments prior to the lecture and discussion sections.
• Print out and start work on problem sets prior to discussion sections.
• Complete individual practice assignments and formulate questions about these assignments. 
• Hand in all homework assignments in a timely manner.
• Take 2 exams.

Grades will be based on the following:

1. Attendance and participation 10 %
2. Assignments 40%
3. Tests (2) 25% each

  Extra credit will also be available. If you have questions about your grade or the general grading policy of this course, please speak with the instructor.

Attendance and Participation

Attendance is checked in every discussion session, and must miss a class, you are obliged to let the instructor or your discussion leader know prior to your absence (the most convenient way to do so is to email us). If you cannot notify us beforehand for some reason, you need to provide a letter from the Dean documenting the reason for your absence to get full credit.  Attendance will not be checked in the lecture, but material will be presented there that does not appear in the textbook, and you will be tested on this material.

Each discussion session has a maximum of 25 students and will be further divided into small work groups (4-5 students each). This work group forms a foundation for the discussion sessions. You are expected to play an active role in small group projects during the discussion sessions; this participation will help you to do well on assignments. Furthermore, your participation is evaluated by the TAs and counts towards the final grade.

Homework

In most section meetings you will be given problem sets to work on during class. Problem sets will be available on this web site on the day of the corresponding class lecture. You will be expected to print out these problem sets, try them and to bring them to your section meeting on Thurs. At section, you should bring your questions regarding these exercises.

Answers to problem sets should be handed in individually. You can work on general issues with other students from our class, but the final answers on the homework should be in your own words and with your own solution. These assignments will count toward 40% of your grade (5% per assignment).

All responses to assignments must be typed, with the exception of phrase structure trees and phonology/phonetics exercise that require IPA.

Assignments are typically due in Lecture a week after they are distributed. Occasionaly, you will have an extra week to complete an assignment -- this will be clearly marked on the syllabus webpage. Late homework will not be accepted unless some arrangement is made prior to its due date.

At times you will be given suggested readings, exercises or exploration of demos on the web. This work does not need to be handed in -- it will be assigned to assist you in preparation for the exams. If you cannot complete or understand these additional assignments, you should meet with your TA or visit the Tutoring Center for help.

If you are sick or have an emergency and have to miss class, contact your TA or the professor as soon as possible, ideally BEFORE the class you are going to miss. YOU are responsible for finding out what an assignment was and handing it in on the normal due date (are sick for several days, we require verification from the Dean's office). If you miss the midterm for any reason, you contact the professor and your TA before the next class.

Extra Credit

An opportunity for Extra Credit will be available to all students, either by summarizing a topical radio show or paper, or by participating in a psycho-linguistic experiment. Each extra credit experience will add 1% to your final grade. You may do up to 2 EC activities.

1: To participate in the psycholinguistic experiment, contact David at mccoyd_at_UDel.Edu. He will be making appointments Mondays, Weds, Fridays 10-2, and other times as necessary.

2: Find an (online) article on Ebonics/Black English Vernacular/African American English. Write a 2 page reaction paper, summarize the article and tie in at least three points from Linguistics into your discussion. Include your references and a copy of the article you used. DUE: May 17th 5pm in your TA's mail box.

Lecture notes

Powerpoint lecture notes will not be available for download. Instead, students should plan to take their own notes relating to lectures. Any student who has a disability which requires previewing course materials or limited note-taking should make an appt. with the professor at the onset of the semester to discuss accommodations.

Exams

Exams will be entirely in a multiple choice/true false format/short answer format. Each exam will have approximately 35-40 questions. You should bring a sharpened number two pencil, a spare pencil and a blue book to each exam (the blue book can be used as scratch paper.)

Tutoring

If you have questions about the course or feel that you need extra help, your first port of call should be the instructor or the TA.  Still, sometimes people would rather go to somebody else for help.  For this reason, the Department of Linguistics has arranged to make free tutoring for LING 101 students available at the Academic Enrichment Center (at 148-150 South College Ave).

At least one graduate student from the Department of Linguistics will be available at the Academic Services Center on most days of the week.  The schedule is now on-line at: Tutoring schedule.

In order to get the most out of the tutoring services, you should do the following:

1. Ask for help early---don't expect a miracle cure to be found the day before the exam!
2. Come to the tutor armed with specific questions (e.g., "I'm having trouble figuring out when two sounds are allophones of one phoneme", or "I'm trying to gather evidence for a syntactic structure, but I don't understand what the tests are telling me"). Don't expect to gain much from very general pleas (e.g., "I don't understand ANYthing, the instructor makes no sense, and the exam is the day after tomorrow---HELP!").
3. Bring a copy of relevant materials: textbook, homework assignment, class notes, etc. The tutors will be working with students from a number of different sections of LING 101, so they will want to know about the specific material being covered in your section.
4. Do not even try to elicit answers to homework questions from them. (The tutors give us a report on who came to see them and what questions were asked.)

Please talk to the instructor or the TA if you have any further questions about the tutoring service. We hope it will be a useful resource. Also, if you have comments on the LING 101 tutoring service, please pass these on to the instructor.

Schedule (subject to change!)

Links for Lecture I (introduction)

Facts about languages spoken in the US

Facts about world languages.

Announcements

2/6/07 Assignment I is up! Please print it out and bring it to Discussion sections.

Links for phonetics

Manipulate phonetic features on-line, and see the IPA outcome

Ladafoged's course on phonetics, including sounds from many of the world's languages.

Interactive IPA chart for consonants and vowels (click on symbol to hear sound)