LING101 Spring 2008

LING001 Introduction to Linguistics Spring 2008

Instructors: David Embick embick@ling.upenn.edu 601 Williams Hall Office Hour: Wednesday, 2pm Charles Yang charles.yang@ling.upenn.edu 608 Williams Hall Office Hour: Thursday, 11-12pm Lecture: Mon/Wed 12-1, STIT B6 Webpage: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/courses/ling001/	TAs and recitations: C. E. Ariel Diertani: diertani@ling.upenn.edu Office Hours: Monday, 1-3pm, 401 Williams Hall Aviad Eilam: eilamavi@ling.upenn.edu Office Hours: Tuesday, 9-11am, 402 Williams Hall Catherine Lai: laic@ling.upenn.edu Office Hours: Monday, 3-5pm, 401 Williams Hall `NUM DAY TIME ROOM TA 201 REC F 11-12NOON PSYL A30 Catherine 202 REC F 12-1PM TOWN 305 Aviad 203 REC F 12-1PM WILL 4 Catherine 204 REC R 3-4PM CAST D28 Aviad 205 REC R 3-4PM COLL 318 Ariel 206 REC R 4-5PM COLL 318 Ariel`

Announcements:

General course information

Schedule

Week 1: Introduction

Jan. 16
Introductory Notions. The scientific study of language. [ppt]

Week 2: The notion of grammar

Jan. 21
Jan. 23
MLK day. No class
Grammar. Descriptive vs. prescriptive. [ppt]

READING: For Weeks 1 and 2: Odlin.
HW1
HW1 Solutions

Week 3: Sound and Sound Structure

Jan. 28
Jan. 30
Sounds of Language. (zip) Note that the file unzips into a PPT file
Structure of sound. (zip) along with audio/video in a separate directory

READING: Language Instinct, Ch. 6; McMahon
HW2
HW2 Solutions

Week 4: Structure of words

Feb 4
Feb 6
Word structure. (ppt)
Morphology. (ppt)

READING: Language Instinct, Ch.5
HW3
HW3 Solutions

Week 5: Structure of sentences

Feb. 11
Feb. 13
Sentence structure. (ppt)
Generative syntax. (ppt)

READING: Infinite Gift, Ch. 6
HW4
HW4 Solutions

Week 6: Semantics and interpretation

Feb. 18
Feb. 20
Understanding language. (ppt)
Language, meaning, and logic (ppt)

READING: Partee
HW5
HW5 Solutions

Week 7: Languages

Feb. 25
Feb. 27
Languages of the world. (ppt)
Languages of the world. (ppt)

READING:

Week 8: Pragmatics - Toward the 2nd half

Mar 3
Mar 5
Midterm.
Language in context. (ppt)

READING:

Week 9: Language acquisition

Mar. 17
Mar. 19
Language as an instinct (ppt as a zip file with associated multimedia files)
Acquisition I: learning to listen (ppt as a zip file again)

READING: Language Instinct, Ch 2, Infinite Gift Ch 2
HW6
HW6 Solutions

Week 10: Language and Brain

Mar. 24
Mar. 26
Acquisition II: learning to speak (ppt)
Acquisition III: words and grammar (ppt as a zip file)

READING: Infinite Gift Ch 4 & 5
HW7
HW7 Solutions

Week 11: Language and Brain

Mar. 31
Apr. 2
Brain & language I (ppt)
Brain & language II (ppt)

READING: Bulkpack: Kaan and Swaab, Obler and Gjerlow
HW8
HW8 Solutions

Week 12: Variation and History

Apr. 7
Apr. 9
Brain & language III (ppt)
Language in history (ppt)

READING:

Week 13: Language and Inventions

Apr. 14
Apr. 16
Language in society (ppt)
Writing systems (pdf)

READING: Bulkpack: numbers 13-15 [Pinker; Chapter 1; Ringe]
HW9
HW9 Solutions

Week 14: Animal communication and evolution

Apr. 21
Apr. 23
Language and computers (ppt)
Animal communication (pdf)

READING: Bulkpack, 17 [Chapter 12]
HW10: Extra Credit
HW10 Solutions

Week 15: Conclusion
Apr 28. Language and evolution (ppt) READING: Lewontin

General information

Description: Ling 001 is a general introduction to the scientific study of language structure, history, and use. Topics include notions of "grammar"; written versus spoken (and signed) language; the structure of sounds, words, sentences, and meanings; language in culture and society; language change over time; language acquisition and processing; comparison with non-human communication systems. It is appropriate for any Penn undergraduate interested in language or its use.
The course has no prerequisites, and satisfies the General Requirement in Living World (Sector V). Although accessible to a general audience, Ling 001 is also recommended as an introduction for students considering a major or minor in linguistics.

Readings: There is a bulkpack of required readings available (starting Monday Jan 22nd) at IKON Copy Center, located in Levine Hall.

Requirements: You are expected to do the assigned readings and regularly attend lectures and recitations, since these are necessary for you to understand the material tested by written work. There are three kinds of assignments that will be graded:

Homework: There will be frequent homework assignments (distributed most Wednesdays, due the following Wednesday in class); they give practice in applying the principles studied in class and in analyzing particular linguistic phenomena. Normally the materials will only be available on the web, from the links on the course schedule. They are graded on a scale of 0-10.

Late assignments will be penalized, and will no longer be accepted once the answer sheet has been posted. Since there are recitations on Thursday at 3 pm, that is generally the latest that assignments will be accepted, even with penalty. Make-up assignments will be provided only for students with proof of a medical or personal emergency.

There will not be any extra credit assignments; instead, your lowest homework grade will automatically be dropped at the end of the semester, and will not figure in the calculation of your final grade (one and only one zero for a homework that you do not turn in will be dropped- but only one zero will be dropped, and all of the other homeworks will count).

The following specific rules on homework will apply to all assignments:

Your assignment is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, 12 noon. It's your job to leave enough time to deal with any printing or other technical glitches that may arise.

Email submissions are NOT accepted unless you have prior permission due to illness or other extenuating circumstances. Make arrangements through your TA, and (upon approval) email it directly to him or her.

Assignments that are submitted after the end of class, or that are emailed after 12 noon on Wednesday, will be penalized one point. Assignments that arrive after midnight on Wednesday will be penalized two points. No late assignments will be accepted after 3pm on Thursday, because that is when answer sheets will be posted.

Recall also that makeup assignments are not provided except in the case of a documented medical or personal emergency.

Turn in your homeworks to your own TA at the beginning of class. Always include your recitation section (201-206) on your assignment. Assignments without a section number will be penalized 1 point.

It is ok for you to work in groups or discuss homework questions with other students, but you must turn in your own separate effort (i.e. no joint homeworks can be turned in).

Midterm: An in-class midterm exam on Wednesday Feb. 27th will test knowledge of basic facts and concepts covered in the first half of the course (weeks 1-8). It will take the form of multiple-choice, matching, and short-answer questions requiring you to explain or illustrate a particular concept in linguistics.

Final: A comprehensive final exam will cover material from the entire course, with more emphasis on the second half (since it was not included on the midterm). It has been scheduled for Tuesday May 6th 12-2pm. Like the midterm, it will consist of multiple-choice, matching, and short-answer questions.

Grading: The final grade for the course will be determined as follows.
Homework assignments: 40%
Midterm exam: 20%
Final exam: 40%
While attendance and participation are not a formal part of the grade, regular attendance in recitation sections (especially with an active role in discussions) will affect whether your grade is rounded up to the next higher level in borderline cases.

Page maintained by the LING101 Spruce Street Gang

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Description:	Ling 001 is a general introduction to the scientific study of language structure, history, and use. Topics include notions of "grammar"; written versus spoken (and signed) language; the structure of sounds, words, sentences, and meanings; language in culture and society; language change over time; language acquisition and processing; comparison with non-human communication systems. It is appropriate for any Penn undergraduate interested in language or its use. The course has no prerequisites, and satisfies the General Requirement in Living World (Sector V). Although accessible to a general audience, Ling 001 is also recommended as an introduction for students considering a major or minor in linguistics.
Readings:	There is a bulkpack of required readings available (starting Monday Jan 22nd) at IKON Copy Center, located in Levine Hall.
Requirements:	You are expected to do the assigned readings and regularly attend lectures and recitations, since these are necessary for you to understand the material tested by written work. There are three kinds of assignments that will be graded: Homework: There will be frequent homework assignments (distributed most Wednesdays, due the following Wednesday in class); they give practice in applying the principles studied in class and in analyzing particular linguistic phenomena. Normally the materials will only be available on the web, from the links on the course schedule. They are graded on a scale of 0-10. Late assignments will be penalized, and will no longer be accepted once the answer sheet has been posted. Since there are recitations on Thursday at 3 pm, that is generally the latest that assignments will be accepted, even with penalty. Make-up assignments will be provided only for students with proof of a medical or personal emergency. There will not be any extra credit assignments; instead, your lowest homework grade will automatically be dropped at the end of the semester, and will not figure in the calculation of your final grade (one and only one zero for a homework that you do not turn in will be dropped- but only one zero will be dropped, and all of the other homeworks will count). The following specific rules on homework will apply to all assignments: Your assignment is due at the beginning of class on Wednesday, 12 noon. It's your job to leave enough time to deal with any printing or other technical glitches that may arise. Email submissions are NOT accepted unless you have prior permission due to illness or other extenuating circumstances. Make arrangements through your TA, and (upon approval) email it directly to him or her. Assignments that are submitted after the end of class, or that are emailed after 12 noon on Wednesday, will be penalized one point. Assignments that arrive after midnight on Wednesday will be penalized two points. No late assignments will be accepted after 3pm on Thursday, because that is when answer sheets will be posted. Recall also that makeup assignments are not provided except in the case of a documented medical or personal emergency. Turn in your homeworks to your own TA at the beginning of class. Always include your recitation section (201-206) on your assignment. Assignments without a section number will be penalized 1 point. It is ok for you to work in groups or discuss homework questions with other students, but you must turn in your own separate effort (i.e. no joint homeworks can be turned in). Midterm: An in-class midterm exam on Wednesday Feb. 27th will test knowledge of basic facts and concepts covered in the first half of the course (weeks 1-8). It will take the form of multiple-choice, matching, and short-answer questions requiring you to explain or illustrate a particular concept in linguistics. Final: A comprehensive final exam will cover material from the entire course, with more emphasis on the second half (since it was not included on the midterm). It has been scheduled for Tuesday May 6th 12-2pm. Like the midterm, it will consist of multiple-choice, matching, and short-answer questions.
Grading:	The final grade for the course will be determined as follows. Homework assignments: 40% Midterm exam: 20% Final exam: 40% While attendance and participation are not a formal part of the grade, regular attendance in recitation sections (especially with an active role in discussions) will affect whether your grade is rounded up to the next higher level in borderline cases.