Summer/Fall 2001
Undergraduate Course Listings and Descriptions
To reduce file size, listings for undergraduate and graduate courses may be viewed
separately. This document contains undergraduate courses only. Graduate
courses are in a separate document. Undergraduate lingustics courses
specifically geared toward non-majors are also listed in a separate document,
in addition to being listed below.
Click on the course name for the course description. Click on home icon 
to see the
home page for that course, if there is one. For more information on these courses
(including instructor, course time and course location), see the Summer
Linguistics course schedule (undergrad) or Fall
Linguistics course schedule (undergrad).
Summer 2000
Fall 2000
LIN 306: Introduction to the Study of Language (TBA)
This course will introduce you to linguistics, the scientific study of language.
In what ways do languages differ? In what ways are languages the same? How do languages
change over time? Why do languages change? What are the differences between verbal
and non-verbal communicating? Do dolphins speak? How do children learn language,
and how do adults learn language? Does language control our view of reality? How
does language interact with social class? What kind of language should be taught
in schools? What language problems do other countries have? What are the different
language families of the world?
The course will deal with sociolinguistics
(language in society), historical linguistics
(language change and language relationships), and formal linguistics. Basic material
covered under formal linguistics includes phonetics
(the properties of speech sounds), phonology
(the systematic sound patterns of language), morphology
(the grammatical structure of words), syntax
(the structure of sentences), and semantics/pragmatics
(the meaning and use of words and sentences).
See 306 Home Page for prerequisites, requirements,
and texts.
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LIN 306: Introduction to the Study of Language (King)
This course is an introduction to the scientific study of languageñthe academic
discipline known as linguistics. What does it mean to say that you "know"
a language? How is language organized in the brain? What does it mean to a linguist
to "analyze" a language? How do languages resemble each other, how are
they different? Why and how do languages change? Do dolphins have language? Does
language control our view of reality? What role does language play in society and
in politics? What is the best way to learn a foreign language? What kind of language
should be taught in schools? Is English the World Language? What are the different
language families in the world?
In the first half of the course we survey formal linguistic theory: phonetics
(speech sounds), phonology (sound
patterns), morphology (word formation),
syntax (sentence formation), and semantics (meaning). The rest of the
course is given over to sociolinguistics
(language in society) and historical
linguistics (language change and language relationships).
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
There will be four exams given at equal intervals through the semester.
Texts
Hudson, G. Essential Introduction to Linguistics.
Course Supplement packet, Speedway Copies, Dobie Mall.
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LIN 306: Introduction to the Study of Language (Woodbury)
This course is an introduction to the scientific study of languageñthe academic
discipline known as linguistics. What does it mean to say that you "know"
a language? How is language organized in the brain? What does it mean to a linguist
to "analyze" a language? How do languages resemble each other, how are
they different? Why and how do languages change? Do dolphins have language? Does
language control our view of reality? What role does language play in society and
in politics? What is the best way to learn a foreign language? What kind of language
should be taught in schools? Is English the World Language? What are the different
language families in the world?
In the first half of the course we survey formal linguistic theory: phonetics
(speech sounds), phonology (sound
patterns), morphology (word formation),
syntax (sentence formation), and semantics (meaning). The rest of the
course is given over to sociolinguistics
(language in society) and historical
linguistics (language change and language relationships).
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
There will be four exams given at equal intervals through the semester.
Texts
Hudson, G. Essential Introduction to Linguistics.
Course Supplement packet, Speedway Copies, Dobie Mall.
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LIN 312: Language & Prejudice (Warren)
When beginning to look at language from an academic perspective, one may quickly
become aware of ways in which language and society are strongly interrelated. Social
issues spanning a broad range are often part of this direct relationship, and an
essential agent in this relationship is linguistic prejudice. In an attempt to understand
and perhaps be less susceptible to linguistic prejudice, this course will attempt
to examine how and why one language, dialect, or accent is neither superior not inferior
to another. We will direct our course by covering types of linguistic prejudice that
can arise in situations where there are any of the following components:
- many minority languages and one or more dominant (national, standard) language(s)
- dialects of a language for which a standard is being developed
- dialects of a language that has a standard
- diglossia
- nationalism
In addition to studying how populations and sub-populations define and defend
themselves through language, we will also include the manifestation of issues like
sexism, racism, and classism in language.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Weekly homework, two short tests (two papers for the Substantial Writing Component
section), short presentation, class participation
Texts
Course packet
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LIN 312: Language & the Law (McCartney)
This course looks at language use in a variey of contexts that have legal consequences.
Topics we will be addressing include:
- The role context plays in interpretation
- Discourse in legal contexts and linguistic disadvantage
- Addressing social issues through linguistic evidence
- Forensic linguistics
- Legalese
- Styles of litigation and jurisprudence
- Verbal legal trickery
This course is of interest for anyone desiring familiarity with the legal consequences
of verbal (both spoken and written) conduct.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Several short written assignments; leading class discussion (based
on final paper); final argument paper
Texts
Course packet.
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LIN 312: Language and the Internet-W (Bhatt)
The course will survey natural language technologies currently in use on the internet.
We will focus on translation tools, cryptography, text simplification, search engines,
etc.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
TBA
Texts
"Natural Language Understanding" - James Allen, Benjamin
Cummings
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LIN 315: Speech Science (summer:Davis, fall:Sussman)
[same as CSD 315S]
Speech Science is the field of study exploring the neuromuscular, aerodynamic,
and acoustic bases for speech production and speech perception. Topics discussed
include: respiration, phonation, coarticulation, vowel & consonant production
and acoustic cues underlying this perception. [This course fulfills the Area C (Science)
requirement.]
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
TBA
Texts
Recommended: Borden & Harris, Speech Science Primer
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LIN 321L: American English (Underwood)
[same as E321L]
This course examines American English as a unique "branch" of the English
language, composed of several distinctive "sub-branches." It begins with
an analysis of the historical development of American English and the way in which
such recognizable varieties as "standard American English," "Black
English," "Southern English," etc., have evolved. This analysis has
two components-internal history and external history. The internal history attends
to matters of structure (i.e., differences in pronunciation, morphology, syntax,
and semantics), and the external history studies the interrelations between language
and society.
Of particular interest are the issues of linguistic imposition, status, power,
and domination. American English developed from several transplanted varieties of
British English, which competed with one another for acceptance and approval. These
varieties also competed with and were influenced by many other languages. The American
English that consequently developed became unique but not uniform, and each of the
new varieties of American English developed its own status or lack of status. Just
as "standard American English" became dominant over other varieties of
American English, American English itself became dominant over other languages spoken
within the boundaries of the US.
The second half of the course focuses on the issue of linguistic domination by
focusing on efforts to make English not just the "national" language but
the "official" language of the US. It examines the history of compulsion
and coercion-both overt and covert, official and unofficial--to turn speakers of
other languages into speakers of English. It examines the arguments for and against
the establishment of English as the official language of the US, considers the consequences
of such an establishment, and studies alternatives to an official language. The analysis
extends to symbolic implications of language conflict, the rights of linguistic minorities,
linguistic diversity and education, and language politics.
Prerequisites
Credit for E 306, E 316K, and 30 semester hours of credit.
Requirements
Fifty-minute test on the Bryson book: 25%
Fifty-minute test on the Crawford book: 25%
Written report on one of the supplemental texts and oral discussion of the book:
25%
Group project related to one of the proposed Amendments to the U.S. Constitution:
25%
Texts
Bryson, Bill, Made in America: An Informal History of the English
Language in the United States, New York: Avon, 1994
Crawford, James, Hold Your Tongue: Bilingualism and the Politics of "English
Only" Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 1992
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LIN 321L: American English-W (Kimball)
In this class we will examine the development of American English from colonial
times through the present. Topics we will cover include: the influence of Native
American languages; American post-colonial nationalism and attitudes toward British
English; and the origins and diffusion of regional dialects. We will take a close
look at language use in Texas and the South as examples of regional dialect areas.
We will also look at modern social and ethnic dialects, including African-American
Vernacular English, and at the emergence of new varieties of American ways of speaking
and writing in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries in the wake of
emerging computer technology and networked communication.
Prerequisites
Credit for E 306, E 316K, and 30 semester hours of credit.
Requirements
Two 3-5-page essays with required drafts (30%)
Participation in regional usage study and a 2-3-page write up (15%)
10 pages end-of-semester paper (45%) and short oral presentation (10%)
Texts
Textbook (to be announced)
Readings packet
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LIN 322: Gypsy Language and Culture (Hancock)
This course presents the linguistic history of the Romani ("Gypsy")
people, from 5th Century BC India to the present day. Theories relating to this exodus
out of the Subcontinent and the subsequent migrations into Europe are discussed on
the basis of the social and linguistic evidence available to us. In addition to studying
aspects of the lexicon and syntax of the modern American and European dialects of
the Romani language, an introduction to Gypsy history and culture will also form
part of the course. We will examine the sociology of this Diaspora people, the Indian
roots of their music, cuisine and social traditions, external linguistic and cultural
influences, and interactions with non-Gypsy peoples. The reasons for the persistence
of the stereotypical image of the Gypsy among non-Gypsies will be discussed, and
also examined will be the five hundred years of slavery, transportation to the American
plantations, the fate of the Romani people in the Holocaust, and the current struggle
for civil and political rights since Gypsies gained admittance to the United Nations
Organization in 1979.
Prerequisites
None.
Requirements
2 term papers, 4 written tests, 1 book report
Texts
Required: Hancock, Pariah Syndrome; Hancock, Handbook of Vlax Grammar
Recommended: Crowe & Kolsti, Gypsies of Eastern Europe; Fraser, The Gypsies
Course supplement at Speedway Copying in Dobie Mall.
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LIN 344K: Phonetics: The Production and Perception of Speech
Sounds (Harms)
This course is an introduction to phonetics, the area of linguistics concerned
with such questions as how speech sounds are produced, how different speech sounds
differ acoustically, and how they are perceived.
The first part of the course is concerned with the production of speech sounds
as well as their phonetic transcription. The anatomy and physiology of the vocal
tract as well as the interplay of sound energy and the vocal tract will be presented.
The second part of the course is concerned with the properties of sound waves.
To understand this, students will be introduced to basic. These concepts will be
illustrated through lab demonstrations and assignments using acoustics analysis software.
The third part of the course is concerned with auditory phonetics, how the ear
works in the perception of speech sounds.
Prerequisites
LIN 306 or consent of the instructor
Requirements
There will be two in-class examinations (no midterm, no final) and
a phonetics lab project. The homework, the two tests and the lab profect will each
account for roughly one quarter of your grade. Written homework will be assigned
twice a week for the first several weeks of the semester. After that it will be assigned
once a week.
Texts
Ladefoged, A Course in Phonetics
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LIN 350: Arguing about Language-W (Walters)
Although Americans generally donít realize it, they spend a great deal of time
arguing publicly and privately about language. The 1996-7 debates about Ebonics and
continuing discussions about bilingual education and making English the national
language stand as examples at the national level. Such debates are especially common
on university campuses, where the nature of hate speech and ìpolitical correctnessî
have been hot topics within the past five years. Yet they also extend to writing
courses, where students are required to write what one researcher terms ìhyperstandardizedî
English; to courses in business and communication, where women learn ìto talk like
menî in order to succeed; and to courses in language and gender, where students debate
why males and females seem to have such difficulty communicating and who, if anyone,
should change. As these examples illustrate, arguments about language transcend simple
labels like ìliberalî or ìconservative,î ìgood old boyî or ìfeminist.î
What might studying these arguments teach us about language as tool and symbol
and about ourselves as individuals, as members of various social groups, and as members
of this society? What might we learn about the complex links between language and
society? In this course, weíll find out by considering in detail several of these
debates. Examining a range of textsñpamphlets, newspaper and magazine articles, television
interviews, web sites, and academic analyzes of theseñwill enable us to analyze these
efforts to affect language and its use; it will likewise force us to read and write
critically. Taping interviews with peers and analyzing the structure and nature of
their arguments will demonstrate the immediacy and power of such arguments in our
daily lives. Along the way, weíll also learn a great deal about how to structure
and critique arguments.
Students will choose some of the particular language debates we examine.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Attendance, participation, critical reading and thinking, short homework
assignments
An analysis of an interview taped interview with a friend
Participation in a group-research project, including a group oral presentation and
a written summary
Two papers (3 pp., 7 pp.) with revisions
Several short exams and a final.
Texts
Andrea Lunsford, John Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. 2000 Everything's
an argument, with readings, 2nd ed. Bedford/St. Martin's.
A packet of readings from a nearby copyshop
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LIN 350: Linguistics and Education (Green)
The goal of this course is to consider research in linguistics and its relation
to the field of education. This course explores the ways in which linguistics can
be applied in curriculum-central areas of reading, writing and language arts. For
example, this course will consider the development of reading skills in relationship
to phonemic/phonological and syntactic awareness. In addressing issues in linguistics
and education, we will investigate areas such as linguistics and its application
in the classroom, linguistics and theories of language acquisition and linguistics
and teaching mainstream English to speakers of dialects.
It has been argued that changing demographics have increased an expressed need
by educators to understand linguistic diversity. This course will address issues
in linguistic diversity in the classroom as they relate to reading achievement and
success in education. The study of linguistic diversity will be approached from the
standpoint of students' use of unique rule-governed patterns of dialects such as
African American English (AAE) in the classroom. This course will review major research
documenting the type of misunderstanding that can result from the use of dialectal
patterns by children in mainstream English environments. It will also address issues
of language, literacy and the development of appropriate assessments, materials and
teaching practices from multiple perspectives.
The introduction to the course will survey the structural properties of human
language and the way linguistic analysis has been argued to account for these properties.
In this introduction to linguistics, we will consider rules and principles that govern
the way units are combined and ordered. These discrete units will be discussed in
the sub-areas of morphology, phonetics, phonology and syntax.
Prerequisites
There are no course prerequisites, but students should have a genuine
interest in the subject matter and be willing to think about issues related to linguistics
and education.
Requirements
The grade for the course will be based on homework assignments, a
midterm exam and a course project.
Texts
TBA
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LIN 350: Sign Languages and Signing Communities (Meier)
One of the most important findings of the last 25 years of linguistic research
is that the sign languages of the Deaf are natural languages with their own grammars.
Moreover, the grammars of these sign languages are independent of whatever spoken
language is used in the same community. The existence of sign languages provides
an important testing ground for many claims about the nature of human languages:
by comparing the structure of signed and spoken languages, we can gain insights into
how languages are shaped by the particular transmission modality in which they are
used. To what extent are spoken languages structured the way they are because they
are spoken and heard? To what extent are signed languages the way they are because
they are signed and seen? And, lastly, to what extent are all languagesósigned or
spokenóstructured similarly because they all draw on the same linguistic and cognitive
capacities?
Among the issues that we will discuss are: 1) How have sign languages been viewed
over the last 200 years? 2) How have sign languages developed? 3) Non-signers are
often impressed by the pictorial quality (i.e., the iconicity) of many signs in American
Sign Language (ASL). Does iconicity have an important impact on the grammatical structure
of sign languages? 4) How are the grammars of ASL and other sign languages structured?
5) How are sign languages acquired by deaf children who are being raised in signing
households? 6) How do systems such as Manually Coded English differ from American
Sign Langauge? 7)What are signing communities like? We will, for example, compare
the signing community that once existed on Marthaís Vineyard to other signing communities
such as the larger American Deaf community and the Nicaraguan Deaf community.
Prerequisites
Upper division standing required.
Requirements
Homework exercises; two midterms and a final exam.
Texts
Klima & Bellugi. 1979. The Signs of Language.
Groce. 1988. Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language.
Padden & Humphries. 1988. Deaf in America.
Packet of articles.
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LIN 350: Slang: Nature & Function (Underwood)
[meets with E376L]
This course explores slang as a healthy phenomenon. It begins with attempts to
define slang, followed by a brief look at the history of studying slang. It explores
the various methods employed to create slang and examines how and why people use
slang rather than more conventional English. It studies several corpora of slang
collected at different times and different locales to learn about the spread, evolution,
and life span of slang items. Students will also collect and edit slang items.
Prerequisites
Rhetoric and Composition 306 and English 316K or their equivalents,
and three additional semester hours of lower-division coursework in either English
or Rhetoric and Composition. No exceptions.
Requirements
30% Exercises
20% Slang collection
20% Editing the collected items
30% Paper
Texts
Eble, Connie. Slang and Sociability. Chapel Hill: University
of North Carolina Press, 1996.
Supplemental readings to be determined.
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LIN 350: Jewish Languages in Jewish History - W (King)
[meets with JS361]
This course is an introduction to Jewish languages in history and at the present
time. Specific topics we will deal with are: the Hebrew language in history and in
particular its ìrebirthî in Israel; the Yiddish language (ìJudeo-Germanî); the Ladino
language (ìJudeo-Spanishî); ìYinglishî (the influence of Yiddish on English); ìJewish
accentsî in European languages and the consequences for Jews during the Holocaust;
little-known Judaicized versions of language such as Arabic, Slavic, Persian, and
French. A major focus of the course is the place of Jewish languages in Jewish history:
how language has interacted with Jewish history, and what languages such as Yiddish
reveal to us about Jewish history.
This is a course in cultural history, not linguistics. It is as much about Jewish
languages and their part in the formation of Jewish history as about the languages
themselves. What linguistics is required to understand the material of this course
I will give in the course.
Prerequisites
Upper-division standing
Requirements
A short paper and one longer (10-15 pages) paper are required and
will form the principal basis for the grade in the course.
Texts
I am preparing a course packet of readings which will constitute the
basic reading material for the course. There is no textbook as such which I can in
good conscience assign for the course. If one is available by next fall, I will assign
it. Also, there is today a good deal of information on certain Jewish languages,
notably Ladino and Yiddish, available on the Internet.
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LIN 350.2: Language & Thought (Birdsong)
[meets with PSY 341K]
In this course we will explore some questions about the relation between language
and thought, taking a Cognitive Science approach. Languages vary in many ways, yet
the minds of speakers are similar. We will look at questions about the words people
use and how they think; whether language structure affects thought; and some cognitive
aspects of language. The course will begin with a short, general introduction to
the study of language.
The words people use affect and reflect the way they think. We'll consider studies
of word use in areas such as war, politics, minority groups,by and about women. At
the level of structure, we will study the 'Whorfian' hypothesis, which says in its
strongest form that the structure of a language determines the way speakers think.
There are interesting studies which compare speakers of English and languages with
radically different structures. We will look at supporting and dissenting studies
in areas such as color, time, and space.
In studying the relation between language and cognition, we will look at clinical
studies of normal children and adults, and pathological cases (spina bifida, Williams
syndrome). We will ask whether language and cognitive development always proceed
together, as they do in normal people, or whether the two can be dissociated.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Final paper; homework; discussion notes; midterm exam
Texts
A packet of selected articles and book chapters.
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LIN 357: Undergraduate Research
Hour(s) to be arranged. Offered on pass/fail basis only. May be repeated for credit.
Prerequisite: LIN 306 with a grade of at least C.
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LIN 360K: Introduction to English Grammar (Smith)
Have you ever wondered how your language works? Whether there's any logic to the
way words are put together into sentences? How and why one dialect differs from another?
This course will introduce you to the some of the mysteries of English, especially
syntax. Syntax is the study of how words group together to form phrases and sentences.
We will use the general framework of generative grammar developed by Noam Chomsky.
We will learn the basic principles of structure and techniques of syntactic analysis
as well as the facts. We will also discuss the differences between dialects of English:
what makes a dialect different, whether some dialects are better than others, what
people think they should say and what they actually do say.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Homework assignments, class participation; midterm and final examinations.
Texts
Anne Lobeck, Discovering Grammar. Oxford Universtiy Press, 2000.
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LIN 360K: Intro to English Grammar (Underwood)
[meets with E 360K]
The title of this course is misleading. Two-thirds of the course is devoted to
"grammar" (the study of the systems of inflection and syntax of the language),
the remaining one-third to "usage" (the study of how words and phrases
are actually used and attitudes toward those uses). The course does not include any
attention to "mechanics" (spelling, punctuation, and capitalization). The
purpose of the course is to teach students to analyze the structure of sentences
and to become more sophisticated in their understanding of language variation. It
does not presume to teach them skills in the use of English.
The course begins with the establishment of theoretical framework for studying
the English language. Following a brief, but critical, review of the traditional,
Latinate description of English grammar to establish its numerous inadequacies, the
course progresses with the development of a phrase structure analysis of English
syntax. Students learn tests for constituents and for relationships between constituents
that are objectively verifiable, and they learn principles of categorization for
lexical and phrasal constituents. They use these tests and principles to analyze
sentences and justify their analyses.
The usage portion of the course focuses on language, ideology, and discrimination
in the United States. Students study issues such as the following:
- How language variation relates to regional and social identity
- How the educational system institutionalizes linguistic prejudice
- How mass media and the entertainment industry promote linguistic stereotyping
and prejudice
- How employers discriminate on the basis of language differences
- How the judicial system protects the status quo and reinforces linguistic subordination
This course assumes a familiarity with traditional Latinate grammar of English,
which is commonly taught in primary and secondary schools in this country. Students
who have forgotten what they were taught about grammar will need to review on their
own.
Prerequisites
Rhetoric and Composition 306 and English 316K or the equivalents,
plus three additional semester hours of lower-division coursework in either English
or Rhetoric and Composition. Completion of 30 semester hours. No exceptions. Note:
E 360K and LIN 360K cannot both be counted
Requirements
10% Approximately ten syntax exercises
20% A paper on language ideology and the language subordination model
55% Three syntax tests
10% Approximately ten reading quizzes
5% Class performance
5-point bonus: satisfactory analysis of a sentence selected by the instructor
Texts
Required: Two course packets available from Speedway Printing in Dobie
Mall
Lippi-Green, Rosina, English with an Accent, London and New York: Routledge,
1997.
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LIN 360K: Introduction to English Grammar (Cable)
[meets with E 360K]
TBA
Prerequisites
TBA
Requirements
TBA
Texts
TBA
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LIN 372L: Syntax & Semantics: The Structure and Meaning
of Utterances (Wechsler)
In this course we will study the syntax and semantics of human language. Syntax
is concerned with how words are combined to form sentences. Semantics is concerned
with what those sentences mean, and how the meaning is of a sentence is constructed
from the meanings of the component words. We will survey syntactic and semantic phenomena
from a wide variety of the world's languages. This will reveal regular patterns lurking
within human languages, despite their sometimes chaotic surface appearance. We will
also discover surprising similarities across seemingly diverse languages.
Prerequisites
Upper division standing.
Requirements
TBA
Texts
Maggie Tallerman, Understanding Syntax. Arnold, London, 1998.
C.L. Baker, English Syntax. 2nd Edition.
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LIN 373: Indo-European Languages and Cultures - W (Justus)
[meets with CC 348, HIS 366N, EUS 361, MES320]
Several centuries ago scholars suspected that there once was a unity of people
that broke up millennia before recorded time. Traces of their language and culture
remain in such older languages as Greek, Sanskrit, Latin, Hittite, Celtic, Germanic
(including English), and Slavic. Study of linguistic and cultural artifacts give
us insight into these early peoples, where they came from, why they left their homeland,
and why so many descendants of their languages are still spoken today. Use of comparative-historical
methods allows us to evaluate their languages and other artifacts.
No knowledge of an early language is required. Activities augmenting class lecture
/ discussion periods will include readings (about the Indo-Europeans and translations
of selected myths & epics, prayers, laws, treaties), linguistic exercises, and
other problem solving activities related to the data of the course. The writing component
is also integral to this class (see below).
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Grading will be based on class participation (20%); three papers (50%); exercises,
quizzes, and a midterm (30%). Papers on topics of the student's choice will be graded
on both content and the quality of writing. Two initial 3-page papers and one final
10-page paper must total at least 16 double-spaced typewritten pages (about 4,000
words) in length.
Paper 1: (ca. 3 pages: 10%), using the comparative method discussed in class, should
describe how language reflects one aspect of culture.
Paper 2: (ca. 3 pages: 10%) should focus on one language or language family.
Paper 3: (ca. 10 pages: 30%) will research a solution for a specific problem. It
might well revise and expand a previous paper.
Conferences with the instructor should guide students' topic choice and approach.
Texts
Required:
Barber, Elizabeth Wayland. 1999. The Mummies of Ürümchi. NY: W. W. Norton.
Mallory, James. 1989. In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology, and
Myth. London: Thames & Hudson.
Renfrew, Colin. 1988. Archaeology and Language. The Puzzle of Indo-European Origins.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Packet with articles and selected passages from the original languages.
Recommended:
Buck, William, reteller. 1973. Mahabharata. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Gurney, Oliver R. 1986. The Hittites. NY: Penguin. Jacobsen, Thorkild. 1976. The
Treasures of Darkness. A History of Mesopotamian Religion. New Haven: Yale University
Press. Pritchard, James B., ed. 1969. Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the
Old Testament. 3rd ed. with supplement. "The Code of Hammurapi" 163-180;
"The Hittite Laws" 188-197. Princeton: Princeton University Press. AHD:
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 3rd ed. (or an edition with
the article by Calvert Watkins, "Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans",
a chart of Indo-European sound correspondences, and the appendix of Indo-European
Roots). Copies of the Iliad, and the Odyssey.
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LIN f373: Concepts in Judaic Cuture - W (Bar-Adon)
This course is designed to fill the need for an authorative culture-enriched course
which will introduce the student to the basic concepts, ideas, trends, epochs, personalities,
and outstanding works representing the various areas of Jewish life and letters ñ
in both ancient and modern Israel and the cultural centers they created in the Diaspora
in the last two millennia, and the languages they used. This will include such areas
as religion & theology, philosophy & mysticism, literature and linguistics,
history, customs and folklore, ancient and modern life, Jewish languages (including
Yiddish).
The primary aim is to introduce students to the rich Judaic culture, from Biblical
times to the present, including aspects of special relevance to Western Judeo-Christian
civilization (including influence of translations of the Hebrew Bible on English
literature). Indeed, by better understanding the Biblical genius and post-Biblical
Judaic culture, one will find a key to various literary and artistic traditions of
the Western world.
The format of this course will combine lecture, slide/film presentations, class
discussion and studentsí reports on topics/readings of their choice. Needless to
say, students will be encouraged to present questions about concepts and topics they
would like to clarify, in class or in individual sessions.
The size and structure of this inter-disciplinary (and multi-cultural) course
are designed to offer individual attention to students who wish to work on specific
topics of interest to them within the broad area of Judaic culture. Thus, majors
in English may concentrate on Jewish writers in the U.S. (inclding Nobel Prize Laureates
Saul Bellow and Isaac Bashevis-Singer), or on the Hebraic and Judaic impact on English
literature(e.g., John Milton), or on Bible as literature; Middle East Studies students
may concentrate on aspects of Hebraic and Judaic cultures in Israel, relations with
Arabic and Islamic cultures during the Golden Age in Spain and in the Middle East
ñ past and present; Linguistics students may concentrate on topics relating to various
Jewish languages (e.g., Hebrew through the ages-Biblical to Modern, the recent revival
of Hebrew; Yiddish and its history; Judeo-Spanish/Ladino), and so on. For this reason,
students will have the option of either taking the final set of essay questions or
writing a paper within their special area of interest.
Prerequisites
None except for studentís registering under English 379N: 9 semester
hours of lower-division English, including E314K or the equivalent.
Requirements
Regular assignments and class participation; oral report on reading of studentís
choice, and, written assignments ( to fulfill the Substantial Writing Requirement).
- One set of essay questions on material of the first half on the term (at mid-term)
(6 pages).
- One written report to supplement the above Oral Book Report (2 pages).
- One final set of essay questions, or a term paper on a topic of the studentís
choice (8 pages).
Texts
TBA
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LIN 373.1: Child Language (Meier)
[same as PSY 333P]
This course is an introduction to the linguistic and psychological issues involved
in the study of how children acquire a first language. Among the questions to be
considered are:
- What is the biological basis for language acquisition?
- Is the capacity to acquire and use language a species-specific ability?
- How dependent is the child on the linguistic environment?
- Does parental reinforcement guide the child's acquisition of language?
- What is the developmental time course for language? What is the relationship
between prelinguistic developments, such as babbling, and the emergence of the child's
first words? When do children first produce simple sentences? What kinds of errors
do children characteristically make?
- Are visual-gestural languages, such as American Sign Language, acquired in a
different fashion than spoken languages?
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Method of evaluation: 5 short reaction papers (each approximately one-and-a-half
pages), 2 in-class exams, and a final exam. The 5 discussion notes will together
count 25% of your grade, the in-class exams will each count 20%, and the comprehensive
final will be 35%.
Texts
Erika Hoff. Language Development.
A packet of key papers reporting research on language acquisition.
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LIN 373.2: Language & Speech in American Society (Sherzer)
[same as AMS 321.2, ANT 325N, SOC 352M.3]
Just talking to friends around the University or listening to the radio and watching
TV makes us aware of the diversity of ways of speaking in the United States. This
diversity becomes even more striking when we look at American society more generally,
in relation to history and geography, with regard to such social and cultural categories
as gender, ethnicity, and class, and in terms of such institutions as politics, law,
and education. This course provides useful and interesting understanding of the languages,
dialects, and patterns of speaking in American society.
Topics covered:
- Languages and dialects in the USA
- Black English/Ebonics
- Language and language use among American Indians
- Language use in Hispanic communities
- Language and gender
- Language and medicine
- Language and law
- Language and education
- Playful, expressive, and artistic uses of language
- Storytelling
- Nonverbal communication
Prerequisites
ANT 302 or LIN 306
Requirements
Two exams during the semester; no final exam. Two short projects involving analysis
of language and speech in American society. In the compilation of the grade, exams
count 45%, projects count 45%, and class participation counts 10%.
Texts
Course packet.
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LIN 373.7: Intro to Cognitive Science (Stankiewicz)
[same as CGS 360.1, PHL 365.2. Meets with PSY341K.]
TBA
Prerequisites
TBA
Requirements
TBA
Texts
TBA
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LIN 374M: Introduction to Sociolinguistics (Zhang)
[same as ANT 374M]
This course examines language as a social practice and investigates language use
from a broad social, cultural and historical context in a diverse range of communities.
We will discuss a wide range of topics in the study of language and society. We will
learn a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the investigation
of linguistic data. We will also gain first-hand experience in sociolinguistic data
collection and analysis through project assignments. Throughout the course, emphasis
will be placed on applying sociolinguistic theories and findings to the linguistic
diversity of the US and communities with which students have personal experiences.
Students will be encouraged to compare and contrast their own experiences with those
discussed in readings and class lectures.
Some of the topics to be covered are: languages, dialects, and other varieties;
language variation (including regional, social and ethnic variation, style-shifting);
language challenge; language and gender; language contact (including bi/multilingualism,
code-switching, diglossia, pidgins and creoles, language maintenance, shift and death);
analysis of conversation; sociolinguistic fieldwork methods; language planning and
policy; sociolinguistics and education; other applications of sociolinguistics (including
language and law, language and medicine).
Prerequisites
ANT 302 or LIN 306
Requirements
Attendance, class participation, four short (2-3 pages) reaction papers;
a group-research project that involves gathering and analyzing real language data,
a short proposal (2-3 pages), a group oral presentation and a written research report
(12-15 pages); a midterm and a final exam.
Texts
Mesthrie, Rajend, Joan Swann, Andrea Deumert, and William L. Leap. 2000. Introduction
to sociolinguistics. Philadelphia: John Benjamins.
ISBN: 1 55619 206 1 (paperback)
ISBN: 1 55619 205 3 (hardcover)
A packet of readings from a copy shop to be announced in class.
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LIN 379: Conference Course
Individual instruction. Prerequisites: Six hours of upper-division Linguistics.
Consent of instructor must be obtained. Requirements: You must have the prior written
consent of the instructor before you register for or add this course. Undergraduate
conference course agreement forms are available in Calhoun 503.
27-Aug-01
Comments to: linclass@www.utexas.edu