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General course information

Schedule

Week 1: Introduction
Jan. 14	Introductory Notions. The scientific study of language. [ppt]
Week 2: Prescriptive vs. Descriptive
Jan. 19 Jan. 21	MLK day. No class Grammar. Descriptive vs. prescriptive. [ppt]
READING: For Weeks 1 and 2:  Odlin; Language Instinct, Chapter 2; Infinite Gift Ch. 2
Week 3: Sound and Sound Structure
Jan. 26 Jan. 28	Articulatory and Acoustic Phonetics. [zip] Phonology. [ppt]
HW1 HW1 Answers
READING: Language Instinct, Ch. 6; McMahon
Week 4: Structure of words
Feb. 2 Feb 4.	Word structure. [ppt] Knowledge of words. [ppt]
HW2 HW2 Answers
READING: Language Instinct, Ch.5
Week 5: Structure of sentences
Feb. 9 Feb. 11	Sentence structure. [ppt] Generative syntax. [ppt]
HW3 Phrase structure rules for HW3 HW3 Answers
READING: Infinite Gift, Ch. 6
Week 6: Semantics and interpretation
Feb. 16 Feb. 18	Understanding language. [ppt] Language and logic. [ppt]
HW4 HW4 Answers
READING: Partee
Week 7: Languages
Feb. 23 Feb. 25	Languages of the world. [ppt] Complex structures. [ppt]
Week 8: Pragmatics - Language and meaning in context
Mar. 2 Mar. 4	Language in context. [ppt]  Midterm exam.
IPA chart of English Vowels IPA chart of English Consonants
Midterm Answers
Week 9: Language acquisition
Mar. 16 Mar. 18	Biological capacity to learn. [zip]  Learning to listen. [zip]
Week 10: Language acquisition
Mar. 23 Mar. 25	Learning to speak. [zip] Learning structures. [zip]
HW5 HW5 Answers READING: Yang 2004 [pdf]
Week 11: Language and Brain
Mar. 30 Apr. 1	Language & brain I. [ppt] Language & brain II. [ppt]
HW6 HW6 Answers
Week 12: Variation and History
Apr. 6 Apr. 8	Sociolinguistic variation. [ppt] Historical linguistics. [ppt]
HW7 HW7 Answers
READING: Labov 1995
Week 13: Language and Inventions
Apr. 13 Apr. 15	Language & computers. [ppt] Written language. [pdf]
HW8 HW8 Answers
Week 14: Animal communication and evolution
Apr. 20 Apr. 22	Animal communication. [ppt]
HW9 HW9 Answers
Week 14: Animal communication and evolution
Apr. 27 Final: 9-11am Monday, May 4th, Stiteler Hall, B6	Language and evolution (ppt)

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 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 on Thursday 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 Mar. 4th 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 Monday May 4th, 9-11am. 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.