Course Description

From the course catalog: This course is a general introduction to the scientific study of language, particularly its theoretical debates, methodology, and relationship to other disciplines. With this aim in mind, we will examine the analytic methods and major findings of various subfields of linguistics, including phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and language change. Additional topics may include dialects, American Sign Language, the acquisition of language, and the official English language movement. By the end of the course, you should be acquainted with systematic methods of studying language, be aware of the fundamental similarities and startling diversity of human languages, and have an informed perspective on how issues of language have an impact on our society. Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: participation in discussions, weekly homework, a midterm exam, and a final exam. No prerequisites. Enrollment limit: 40 (expected: 40).

This course is cross-listed as Anthropology 107.

If the course is over-enrolled, preference on the waiting list will be given to students who are planning on graduating with a concentration or major centered on linguistics or a related area, students who have taken linguistics courses in the past, and students planning to take linguistics courses in the spring. The remaining students will be assigned a lottery order, with those in attendance at the first lecture getting priority. All students on the waiting list are encouraged to continue attending class anyway, as some students may drop, opening up space in the course.

Readings

Required textbook: William O'Grady, John Archibald, Mark Aronoff, and Janie Rees-Miller. 2005. Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. 5th edition. St. Martin's Press. ISBN #0312419368.

Earlier editions of Contemporary Linguistics may be cheaper and easier to find, and they are suitable for use in the course, though you may have to make some adjustments when using the older books for certain topics.

A few supplementary readings will also be available from time to time, listed on the Supplemental Readings webpage.

Grading

Your grade for the course is calculated as a weighted combination of your class attendance/participation (5%), homework average (25%), midterm exam score (30%), and final exam score (40%).

Homework

Homework is generally assigned on a Monday and due the following Monday, so you should usually have a full week to work on it. Homework is available from this website, so missing lecture is not an excuse for skipping homework. Homework is due at the beginning of class since solutions are often discussed in lecture. For this reason, late homework cannot be accepted. To compensate for this strict policy, your lowest homework grade is dropped when computing your grade for the course.

You are encouraged to work together in groups, but in accordance with the Williams College Honor Code, you must write up your own solutions, in your own words, listing the names of all students you consulted with.

Your homework should be either neatly written or typed in a reasonable font with reasonable spacing and margins for writing comments (e.g. 10-12pt, double-spaced, approximately 1-inch margins, only using one side of the page). Please, do not submit spiral-bound paper with ragged edges! Staple (rather than paper clip or fold) multiple pages together. Be sure to put your name on every page in case they get separated.

Exams

There are two exams: a midterm and a final. The midterm covers material from the first half of the course. It is an in-class exam, designed to take the full class time to complete. The final exam is longer (two to three hours) and more comprehensive, covering material from the entire course, with a focus on material covered after the midterm. Both exams are open-book, open-note, and in accordance with the Honor Code, you must do your own work on these exams without the help of any other student. Violations will be pursued to the full extent of College policy.