Texts: Language Files (9th Edition). S. Jannedy, R. Poletto, and T. Weldon, eds. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. 2004. http://gettextbooks.com/search/?isbn=978-0-8142-5128-7

The English Language by Michael Buckhoff

Relevant Web Pages to supplement course instruction:

Course study guide for all quizzes and tests

FAQs about English 311

Research papers about linguistics written by CSUSB English 311 students

Self-study exercises for phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics

Course Description:

This course is designed to introduce you to the study of linguistics and the English Language. Since the field of linguistics focuses on descriptive rather than prescriptive uses of the language, we will not look at how to speak or write, according to someone's ideas of what is good or bad. Instead, we will objectively describe what speakers know about a language and how they use the language . We will examine the different variations of language and try to account for them by making descriptive generalizations. The areas that we will examine in this course are the following: Phonetics and Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics, Pragmatics, and Psycho- and Sociolinguistics. We will be looking at each area so that we can view language as a system through which we interact, communicate, and transmit our culture.

Course Objectives

After this course, you will have a basic understanding of the following concepts:

	what language is
	what the field of linguistics covers
	how English and other language systems work--their sounds, words, sentences
	how children and adults acquire language
	how society and culture influence language
	how attitudes about standard and non-standard dialects affect and influence us in education and daily life
	why a knowledge of linguistics will help you become a more effective student and/or teacher

Late Work

No make up quizzes or tests will be allowed. If you fail to take a quiz, your overall grade for this class will be deducted by 8.3%. If you miss a test, your overall grade will be lowered by 25%. I will only allow you to make up missed work if you have a written documented excuse from someone stating the urgency of the situation (e.g. Doctor's note, CHP accident report, etc.).

Attendance

Your attendance is required at all class meetings. Attendance is important because I will be clarifying what you have read in the files, adding new information, and answering questions you will raise. This will help you keep up with the pace of this class. Three unexcused absences will result in an overall reduction of one full letter grade and five unexcused absences will result in a failing grade for this class. I will excuse you for an absence if you have a written documented excuse from someone stating the urgency of the situation (e.g. Doctor's note, CHP accident report, etc.).

O absences = 5% of attendance grade

3 unexcused absences = Grade is reduced a full letter grade

5 unexcused absences = Failure in class

Late/ Tardiness

Unfortunately, some students may occasionally arrive late for this class. If you are late, please enter quietly and take a seat closest to the door. Please try not to distract the other students.

*Any student who arrives sixty minutes late or more will be counted absent for that class period.

Quizzes and Tests

We will have three quizzes, two tests, and one final exam. The quizzes and tests will cover current material; the final exam will be cumulative.

Grading

The number letter grading scale is set as follows:

A 95-100

A- 90-94

B+ 87-89

B 84-86

B- 80-83

C+ 76-79

C 73-75

C- 70-72

D+ 66-69

D 63-65

D- 60-62

Scoring Grade

Your final grade will be broken down as follows:

Attendance and participation 5%

Quizzes: 25% (8.3% each)

Tests: 50% (25% each)

Final Exam 20%

English 311 Course Outline

(This schedule may be subject to change throughout the quarter).

Date	Discussion Topics	Language Files you should read	Workbook pages you should read/complete	Quizzes/Tests
April 3	Introduce class/explain syllabus	1.1-1.4 Appendix B: taking exams	.	.
April 5	Linguistic competence versus performance Prescriptive versus descriptive approach to language Characteristics of consonants/vowels Sound spelling pattern inconsistencies Introduction to IPA Distinguishing sounds	3.1-3.5	1-9	.
April 10	Explanation of consonant/vowel chart Identification of individual sounds Phonetic transcription practice	3.6-3.11	10-16	.
April 12	Phonetic transcription practice continued Review for Quiz One			.
April 17	Definitions in phonology Organizational sound patterns Phonemes versus allophones Solving problems in phonology Isolating phonological environments	4.1-4.3	17-21	Quiz One
April 19	Unusual consonant spelling patterns Definitions in morphology Lexical categories	4.4-4.7	21-22; 27-32	.
April 24	Inflectional versus derivational morphemes Isolating morphemes Solving problems in morphology Drawing tree diagrams of words	5.1-5.3	23-26; 33-37	.
April 26	Drawing tree diagrams of words continued Affixes in other languages Review for Test One	5.4-5.6	37-44	.
May 1	Test One	Test One	Test One	Test One
May 3	Definitions in syntax Identifying NP's and VP's Review for Quiz Two	6.1-6.2	44-46	.
May 8	Deep/surface structure Transformations	6.3-6.6	47-48	Quiz Two
May 10	Comparing phrase structure rules to other languages Tree Diagrams		49-50	.
May 15	Tree diagrams continued continued		51-76	.
May 17	Definitions in pragmatics Direct speech acts Indirect Speech Acts	8.1-8.3	77-88	.
May 22	Grice's Maxims Conversational analysis Review for Test Two	8.4-8.6	89-110	.
May 24	Test Two	Test Two	Test Two	Test Two
May 29	Some preliminaries in child language acquisition Innateness hypotheness Milestones in CLA Linguistic features of CLA Theories of CLA	9.1-9.5	111-116	.
May 31	Some preliminaries in adult language acquisition Theories of CLA Review for Quiz Three	9.6-9.9	117-138	.
June 5	Dialect versus language Appalachian English African American English Spanish Influenced English	10.1-10.5	139-152	Quiz Three
June 7	Review for final exam	10.6-10.10		.
June 14	Comprehensive	Final	Exam	2:00 p.m.

English 311 Winter Quarter 2006

Class Meetings: Saturday 9:00-12:50 p.m.

Instructor: Michael Buckhoff Office Phone: 880-5824 (Leave message)

mbuckhoff@aol.com

Office: UH 301.27

Classroom: UH 240

Office Hours: MW 2:00-3:50 p.m.; Saturday 8:00-8:50 a.m. and by appointment

Class Period: S 9:00-12:50 p.m.

Course Overview and Policy

Texts: Language Files (9th Edition). S. Jannedy, R. Poletto, and T. Weldon, eds. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. 2004.

The English Language by Michael Buckhoff

Relevant Web Pages to supplement course instruction:

Course study guide for all quizzes and tests

FAQs about English 311

Research papers about linguistics written by CSUSB English 311 students

Self-study exercises for phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, and sociolinguistics

Course Description:

Course Objectives

After this course, you will have a basic understanding of the following concepts:

	what language is
	what the field of linguistics covers
	how English and other language systems work--their sounds, words, sentences
	how children and adults acquire language
	how society and culture influence language
	how attitudes about standard and non-standard dialects affect and influence us in education and daily life
	why a knowledge of linguistics will help you become a more effective student and/or teacher

Late Work

Attendance

Your attendance is required at all class meetings. Attendance is important because I will be clarifying what you have read in the files, adding new information, and answering questions you will raise. This will help you keep up with the pace of this class. One unexcused absences will result in an overall reduction of one full letter grade and two unexcused absences will result in a failing grade for this class. I will excuse you for an absence if you have a written documented excuse from someone stating the urgency of the situation (e.g. Doctor's note, CHP accident report, etc.).

O absences = 5% of attendance grade

1 unexcused absences = Grade is reduced a full letter grade

2 unexcused absences = Failure in class

Late/ Tardiness

Unfortunately, some students may occasionally arrive late for this class. If you are late, please enter quietly and take a seat closest to the door. Please try not to distract the other students.

*Any student who arrives sixty minutes late or more will be counted absent for that class period.

Quizzes and Tests

We will have three quizzes, two tests, and one final exam. The quizzes and tests will cover current material; the final exam will be cumulative.

Grading

The number letter grading scale is set as follows:

A 95-100

A- 90-94

B+ 87-89

B 84-86

B- 80-83

C+ 76-79

C 73-75

C- 70-72

D+ 66-69

D 63-65

D- 60-62

Scoring Grade

Your final grade will be broken down as follows:

Attendance and participation 5%

Quizzes: 25% (8.3% each)

Tests: 50% (25% each)

Final Exam 20%

English 311 Course Outline

(This schedule may be subject to change throughout the quarter).

Date	Discussion Topics	Language Files you should read	Workbook pages you should read/complete	Quizzes/Tests
Jan 7	Introduce class/explain syllabus	1.1-1.4 Appendix B: taking exams	.	.
Jan 7	Linguistic competence versus performance Prescriptive versus descriptive approach to language Characteristics of consonants/vowels Sound spelling pattern inconsistencies Introduction to IPA Distinguishing sounds	3.1-3.5	1-9	.
Jan 14	Martin Luther King's	Birthday	Observed	No Class
Jan 21	Explanation of consonant/vowel chart Identification of individual sounds Phonetic transcription practice	3.6-3.11	10-16	.
Jan 21	Phonetic transcription practice continued Review for Quiz One			.
Jan 28	Definitions in phonology Organizational sound patterns Phonemes versus allophones Solving problems in phonology Isolating phonological environments	4.1-4.3	17-21	Quiz One
Jan 28	Unusual consonant spelling patterns Definitions in morphology Lexical categories	4.4-4.7	21-22; 27-32	.
Feb 4	Inflectional versus derivational morphemes Isolating morphemes Solving problems in morphology Drawing tree diagrams of words	5.1-5.3	23-26; 33-37	.
Feb 4	Drawing tree diagrams of words continued Affixes in other languages Review for Test One	5.4-5.6	37-44	.
Feb 11	Test One	Test One	Test One	Test One
Feb 11	Definitions in syntax Identifying NP's and VP's Review for Quiz Two	6.1-6.2	44-46	.
Feb 18	Deep/surface structure Transformations	6.3-6.6	47-48	Quiz Two
Feb 18	Comparing phrase structure rules to other languages Tree Diagrams		49-50	.
Feb 25	Tree diagrams continued continued		51-76	.
Feb 25	Definitions in pragmatics Direct speech acts Indirect Speech Acts	8.1-8.3	77-88	.
Mar 4	Grice's Maxims Conversational analysis Review for Test Two	8.4-8.6	89-110	.
Mar 4	Test Two	Test Two	Test Two	Test Two
Mar 11	Some preliminaries in child language acquisition Innateness hypotheness Milestones in CLA Linguistic features of CLA Theories of CLA	9.1-9.5	111-116	.
Mar 11	Some preliminaries in adult language acquisition Theories of CLA Review for Quiz Three	9.6-9.9	117-138	.
Mar 18	Dialect versus language Appalachian English African American English Spanish Influenced English	10.1-10.5	139-152	Quiz Three
Mar 18	Review for final exam	10.6-10.10		.
Mar 25	Comprehensive	Final	Exam	8:00 a.m.