SUNYNewPaltz

LIN20104
Spring2014
______________________________________________________________________________________________
_____

IntroductiontoLinguisticsCOURSESYLLABUS

Instructor:
Email:
Office:
OfficeHours:
ClassTime:
Numberof
CreditHours:
Location:

CorbinianNeuhauser
neuhausc@newpaltz.eduORcneuhauser@gc.cuny.edu
JFT416
MondaysandThursdays,23PMorbyappointment
MondaysandThursdays,3:304:45
3
Humanities,Room208

COURSEOBJECTIVES:

Humanlanguagesareorderly,rulegovernedsystems,andourjobasscientistsistodiscoverandexplainthe
rulesandexceptions.Studentswillbuildafoundationinthecoreareasoflinguistics,includingphonetics,
phonology,morphology,syntaxandsemantics.Classlectureswillbecomplementedbyhandsonanalysisof
languagesamples,encouragingstudentstodevelopanaptitudefordataanalysis.Studentswillalsoexplore
someoftheappliedfieldsoflinguistics,suchasneurolinguistics,sociolinguistics,languageacquisitionand
historicallinguistics

Bytheendofthesemester,studentsshouldbeableto:

Recognizehumanlanguageasanorderly,rulegovernedsystem.
Identifyphonological,morphological,syntactic,andsemanticfeaturesoflanguage.
Discusswhatmakesjokesfunnybyappealingtoplaysonsound,meaning,andgrammar.
Refutepopularmythsaboutlanguage.

ROADMAP:

Linguisticsisthescientificstudyofthemeaning,structure,andsoundsoflanguage.Accordingly,fiveweeks
eachwillbedevotedtothestudyoflanguagemeaning(SEMANTICS/PRAGMATICS),structure
(MORPHOLOGY/SYNTAX),andsound(PHONETICS/PHONOLOGY).

EXPECTATIONS:

Eachstudentisresponsibleforcontributingtotheprofessionalatmosphereandsmoothprogressionofthe
class.Tothisend,studentsareexpectedto:

Arriveontimeforeachclass,andstayuntilclassisreleased.
Bepreparedforeachclass.Completeallassignedreadingandhomeworkbeforeeachclassandbringall
necessarymaterials.
Participateactivelyduringpairwork,groupwork,andindividualworkingsessions,andcontributetoclass
discussionsanddemonstrations.
UseBlackboardregularlytodownloadandsubmitmaterials,andviewcourseannouncements.
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SUNYNewPaltz
LIN20104
Spring2014
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EVALUATION

Evaluationisbasedonapointsystemoutofapossible100points.

Homework:60%(7assignmentsdroppingthelowest)
Midterm:10%
FinalExam:10%
FinalPresentation:10%
Participation/Attendance:10%

Forreference,thebreakdownofpercentagestolettergradesisasfollows:

A93%
C+77%
A90%
C73%
B+87%
C70%
B83%
D+67%
B80%
D63%

ATTENDANCEandPARTICIPATION:

Attendanceistakenatthebeginningofeachclassandispartofyourlargerparticipationgrade,worth1/10th
ofyourfinalscoreforthecourse.Togetfullcreditforthis,youarerequiredtonotonlybepresent,ontime,
fortheentiretyofthelecture,butalsotobepreparedfordiscussionviahavingdonetheappropriatereading(s)
foragivenlecture,and,furthermore,tocomportyourselfinaprofessionalmannerbothinsideandoutsideof
theclass.

Ifyouareunabletoattendlectureforwhateverreason,itisyourresponsibilitytoobtainanymissing
informationfromaclassmate.

EXTRACREDIT:

Therewillbeopportunitiestoincreasethescoreforacontentareaduring(butnotafter)thesemester.Thiswill
beviaoptionalassignmentsthatyoucancompletebeforetheunittesttoboostyourunderstandingandearn
extrapointsforthatunit.Unlessotherwisenoted,eachoptionalassignmentisworthoneextrapoint.
OTHERNOTES

TEXTBOOK:
Title:LanguageFiles11thEdition(2011)
Authors:OhioStateUniversity
Publisher:OhioStateUniversityPress(ISBN:9780814251799)

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SUNYNewPaltz
LIN20104
Spring2014
______________________________________________________________________________________________
_____

SCORING:

Withinthebodyofanassignment,specificanswerswillbeindicatedascorrect,
partiallycorrect,orincorrectasfollows:

Correct

Partial

Incorrect

EMAIL:

PREREQUISITES:

SCHEDULE:

GROUPWORK:

TESTS:

Studentsmayemailmewithquestionsanytime.Samedayresponsesarenot
guaranteed,butIwilltrytorespondwithin24hours.Pleaseincludeyourfullnameand
thecoursenameinyouremail.IfIneedtosendanemailtotheclass,Iwillsendan
announcementtotheemailaddressyouhaveregisteredwithBlackboard.Pleasemake
suretocheckyouremailaddressthatislinkedtoBlackboardregularly.
Therearenoacademicprerequisitesforthisclass.BasicknowledgeofBlackboardis
necessaryinordertoaccessclassmaterialsandsupplementaryreadings,andtotrack
grades.
ThisclasswillfollowthesyllabusunlessIstateotherwise.Ifyounoticeanyscheduling
inconsistencybetweenthesyllabusandinclassinstructions,pleasecontactmebefore
theclass.Youareresponsibleforcompletinghomeworkandfollowingthesyllabus
schedulecloselyevenwhenIdontmentionitinclass.
Therewillbegroupworkandpairworksessionsinclass.Studentsareencouragedto
workindependentlyonhomeworkassignments.Ifyoudoworkwithanotherstudent,
pleaseindicatethecollaborationontheassignmentyouturnin.Ireservetherightto
requirethathomeworkassignmentsbecompletedindependentlyatanypointinthe
semester.
Itisyourresponsibilitytoattendclassonthedayofbothtests.Studentsmayleavethe
classroomaftercompletingthetest.Latecomerswhoarriveafteranystudentshaveleft
theroommaytakethetestforhalfcreditonly.Studentsmaynotmakeupanytest
unlessarrangementshavebeenconfirmedinadvanceorthestudenthasadoctors
note.Makeuptestsaredistributedatmydiscretion.

PRESENTATION:Towardstheendofthesemester,youandasmallgroupofyourfellowstudentswill
havetogiveashort(roughly10to15minutes)presentationeithergivingabroad
overviewofaspecificsubfieldoflinguistics(e.g.sociolinguistics,historicallinguistics)
orontheresultsofashortjournalarticle.Specifictopicswillbepresentedtoyouto
selectandyouwillbedividedintogroupsbasedonyourinterests.Moredetailswillbe
providedasthesemesterprogressesexpectafulloutlineoftopicsafterthemidterm.

POLICIES:

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SUNYNewPaltz
LIN20104
Spring2014
______________________________________________________________________________________________
_____

Cellphonesandotherelectronicdevicesmustremainoffandoutofsightwhileinclass.Nolaptopsmaybe
usedinclassforactivitiesotherthantakingnotes.IfIfeelthatyouareusingalaptopforanythingotherthan
takingnotes,youwillbeaskedtodiscontinueitsusefortheremainderofthesemester.Pleaseberespectfulof
theinstructorandyourfellowstudentswheninclass.

Ifforanyreasonthereisaquestionaboutstudentwork(e.g.unclearhandwriting,directionsnotfollowed,
suspicionsofcheating)agradewillnotbeassigneduntilameetingisarranged.

ACADEMICINTEGRITY:

Cheating,forgeryandplagiarismwillnotbetolerated.Allworkmustbeoriginalandanyuseofother
workmustbeproperlycited.Ifyouareunclearonwhetheranactionisanoffense,pleaseconsultthe
AcademicIntegritysectionoftheAdvisingHandbook,freelyavailableonthewebat
www.newpaltz.edu/acadav.Anyandallacademicdishonestywillbesubjecttothefullestextentof
disciplinaryaction.

DISABILITYRESOURCECENTER:

Ifyouhaveanykindofdocumenteddisability,pleaseconsulttheDisabilityResourceCenter(SUB,Room
205,2573020)togettheappropriateformssothatIcanaccommodateyou.Irecommendthatyoudothis
assoonaspossiblesothatyoucanbeprovidedwithanyadditionaltimeorotherassistancethatyoumight
require.

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SUNYNewPaltz
LIN20104
Spring2014
______________________________________________________________________________________________
_____

COURSECALENDARThefollowingcoursecalendarissubjecttochange.

DATE
TOPIC
WRITTENASSIGNMENT&READING
1.8/25
IntroductionPrescriptionand

Description
2.8/28
WhatisLinguistics?Overview Assignment1HandedoutChapter1
andDiscussion
3.9/1
NoClassMemorialDay

4.9/4
Phonetics
Assignment1DueAssignment2HandoutChapter2
5.9/8
Phonetics

6.9/11
Phonetics
Assignment2Due
7.9/15
Phonology
Assignment3HandedoutChapter3
8.9/18
Phonology

9.9/22
Phonology

10.9/25 Phonology
Assignment3Due
11.9/29
Morphology
Assignment4HandedoutChapter4

12.10/2
Morphology

13.10/6
Morphology

14.10/9
MorphologyReview
Assignment4Due
15.10/13 NoClass

16.10/16 MidtermExam

17.10/20 Syntax
Assignment5HandedoutChapter5
18.10/23 Syntax

19.10/27 Syntax

20.10/30 Syntax

21.11/3
Syntax
Assignment5Due
22.11/6
Semantics
Assignment6HandedoutChapter6
23.11/10 Semantics

24.11/13 Semantics

25.11/17 Semantics

26.11/20 Pragmatics
Assignment6Due
27.11/24 Interfaces
Assignment7Handedout
11/27
NoClass!
HappyThanksgiving!
28.12/1
Presentations

29.12/4
Presentations

30.12/8
LastDay/Review
Assignment7Due

TheFinalExamwillbeon12/15startingat2:45.

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