195b f98

Diana Archangeli, Ph. D.
Professor, Department of Linguistics, University of Arizona
Faculty, Cognitive Science Program, University of Arizona

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Arts & Sciences 195b, Fall 1998 - Freshman Colloquium "Language in life: it's what we do"

Administrative Details – Attendance Policy – Description – Expectations – Goals
Grades – Office hours & location – Schedule – Texts

Administrative Details

Professor: Diana Archangeli, Linguistics, 621-2184

Email: dba@u.arizona.edu

Time: 11-11:50 M

Location: Harvill 140

Office hours & location

Office hours: Monday 12:30-1; Thursday 12:30-1

Description

A: "do you have your shoes on?"
B: "ok, ok, I’ll take out the trash" Have you ever been party to a conversation whose meaning is not simply a translation of the words involved? Find out why language works this way! In this colloquium we will explore some of the many myths about language, about how language is learned, about what it is, and about how it is used. We will focus on how to critically evaluate "facts" about language through research exercises that examine our use of language in ordinary situations.

Goals

Academic Skills

know how to create a hypothesis and to test it empirically
know how to argue clearly (orally & in writing)

Linguistic Skills

know the distinction between literate language and spoken language and between prescriptive grammar and descriptive grammar, and why these distinctions are significant
know the formal basics of human language, semantics, pragmatics, morphology, syntax, phonology, and phonetics
know the difference between opinion and empirical observation

Texts Spring, C. (1997a) Linguistics for Humans: A Field-based Approach to Linguistics, Real Grammar, Catalina, AZ. (FAL)

Spring, C. (1997b) Linguistics for Humans: The Basics, Real Grammar, Catalina, AZ.

Expectations & Grade (see also Attendance Policy)

Field-based exercises (80% of grade):

record and transcribe three to four minutes of a natural language conversation (with the consent of the participants of course!) (15%)
fieldwork exercises involve analysis of these recordings with regards to different linguistic properties -- the meaning, the structure, the sound. The three analyses each count for 10% of the grade (45%).

Final (20% of grade):

short essays based on assignments, class discussion, & readings
revision of one of the class projects

Class attendance:

each class missed lowers the grade by 1 letter (A becomes B; B becomes C; C becomes D)

Schedule:

date	topic	reading/assignment due	grade %
Background
Aug 24	introductions – people & course
Aug 31	transcription & "funediks"
Sept 7	Labor Day – no class
Sept 14	what does it mean to "know a language"?	Basics, chapter 1, FAL, chapters 1 and 2 transcription of taped conversation	20%
Sept 21	what does it meant to "study language"?	FAL chapter 3
Meaning
Sept 28	semantics	Basics, chapter 2 to p. 15
Oct 5	semantics – examples from tapes
Oct 12	pragmatics	Basics, chapter 2 p. 15 to 24
Oct 19	pragmatics – examples from tapes
Structure
Oct 26	morphology	Basics, chapter 3 to p. 41
Nov 2	morphology – examples from tapes	meaning report	20 %
Nov 9	syntax	Basics, chapter 3 p. 14 to 57
Nov 16	syntax – examples from tapes
Sound
Nov 23	phonetic transcription	structure report	20%
Nov 30	phonology – examples from tapes	Basics, chapter 4 p. 59-69, p. 73-77, p. 81-84
Dec 7	course wrap-up	sound report	20%
Dec 11	Final exam (11 – 1)		20%