Fall 2002
Linguistics for Non-Majors
To reduce file size, listings for undergraduate and graduate courses may be viewed
separately. This document contains undergraduate courses for nonmajors only. Graduate
courses are in a separate document. The complete list
of undergraduate courses, including those listed below, are also in a separate
document.
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 Linguistics
course schedule (undergrad).
LIN 306: Introduction to the Study of Language
Language is all around us: whatever else people do when they come together, they
talk. Language, more than any other attribute, distinguishes humans from other creatures.
Language pertains to scientific, medical, and therapeutic fields; business; education,
foreign languages, translation; formal systems, mathematics and logic; and law, argumentation,
and practical reasoning. It also relates to language use and social issues in such
areas as persuasion, gender, cultural diversity, and differences between political
and social groups. Finally, linguistics is essential in the growing, inter-disciplinary
areas of cognitive science and language acquisition.
In this course students learn what speakers know when they know a language: how
language is organized. Issues of language and how it is used in society, and language
change, are also discussed. Topics include: writing systems; phonetics, phonology,
morphology, syntax, semantics; pragmatics: discourse, language use, metaphor; sign
language, sociolinguistics: dialects and sociolects, language and gender; language
change, language families; animal communication.
See306 Home Page for prerequisites, requirements,
and texts.
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LIN 312: Language & National Security (Warren)
This class will examine the role of language in National Security issues. The
class will be divided into three parts. First, we will overview the languages cited
by the National Security Education Act of 1991. Examples include Arabic, Chinese,
Korean, Pashto, and Farsi. We will examine these languages from a typological viewpoint,
the students will learn to classify them in terms of their relation to other languages.
Second, weíll examine the role of linguistics in National Security issues. Weíll
discuss code breaking, interception, and construct a hypothetical translator. The
student will become familiar with acoustic phonetics, syntax, and semantics, three
core areas of linguistics. Third, once every two weeks, weíll examine open source
information and analyze it on the basis of National Security implications. Each student
will focus on a specific area and language of the world and report on their area
when significant news is published in open sources (newspapers, online, etc). This
will sharpen the studentsí skills of examining and analyzing text and discourse.
This class is ideal for military and government majors, but should be accessible
to computer science majors, math majors, or any student with an interest in examining
National Security issues. No prior knowledge of Linguistics or National Security
is necessary.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
TBA
Texts
Course Packet,
The Code Book: The Science of Secrecy from Ancient Egypt to Quantum Cryptography
by Simon Singh.
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LIN 312: Language, Gender, Ethnicity and Asian American Identities
(Chun)
In this course, we will examine various linguistic issues of importance to Asian
Americans, including bilingualism, code switching, stylization, and accent. We will
also address the relevance of these issues to personal and political identifications
of ethnicity, gender, and sexuality. In our attempt to describe Asian American linguistic
practices, we will ask ourselves questions such as the following: How important is
it to be bilingual? Is language-mixing harmful? Do some Asian Americans speak with
an accent? Do some speak 'white'? Do any talk 'black'? In order to answer these and
other questions, basic concepts and approaches from various disciplines within the
social sciences will be introduced, but a special emphasis will be placed on applying
conceptual tools from sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology. Although the
topics of discussion will relate to Asian American experiences, students will have
the opportunity to discuss issues of social identity and language more generally:
What does it mean to be an ethnic American? What do Americans speak like? How are
ethnicity, gender, and sexuality related? In what specific ways can language be used
to represent a person's identity?
In addition, we will also discuss the social position of Asian Americans in popular
and academic discourses, in order to understand how language and representations
of language are used (and can be used) in the process of Asian American identity
construction. We will explore various images of Asians and Asian Americans ('the
model minority', 'the exotic Oriental', 'the inscrutable alien', 'the kung-fu master',
'the fob') and discuss the relevance of these images to Asian American linguistic
practices. Diversity within the 'Asian American community' will be explored, as well
as the relationship between Asian Americanness to a diverse range of social identities
in the US. Students will engage in hands-on data collection and incorporate their
personal experiences and observations in their academic discussions and writing.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Final paper, weekly response/journal, class participation
Texts
TBA
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LIN 312: Language, the Self & Sexuality (Peebles)
This course provides a broad overview of many issues in social and linguistic
theory related to the self, identity, and sexuality. We will begin by considering
the various aspects of ìselfhoodî that constitute individual and social identity,
e.g., sex, ethnicity, gender, sexuality. Is there such a thing as an ìauthenticî
or ìtrueî self? If so, how is the self expressed through language in daily life?
How much of identity is ìimage presentationî or ìimage managementî? What role does
language play in these image projections? We will then survey a range of topics to
begin learning about language and the ìselfî in relation to society, beginning with
gender and leading to various aspects of sexuality.
Students will get an introduction to basic components of linguistics as we analyze
male and female speech differences and inter-personal communication patterns. From
this, we will learn how to apply general theory to analyze phenomena in specific
contexts. Some instances of discussion will be: the language of dating and romance,
self- presentation in the language of personal ads, the development of self-identity
and sexuality in adolescents, and how the media portrays sexuality through language.
In dealing with identity and sexuality, we will be discussing issues related to both
heterosexual and homosexual identities and how those are managed and portrayed through
language both individually and in society.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
Non-writing-component: Journal entries, a few quizzes, class
project/presentation, participation
Writing component: Journal entries, a few quizzes, 1 essay test, 1 paper in
two drafts, class presentation, participation
Texts
Course packet of readings; textbook TBA
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LIN 315: Speech Science (summer:Matyear, 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: anatomy and physiology of speech production, acoustic characteristics of
the speech signal, and perception of speech. [This course fulfills the Area C (Science)
requirement.]
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
TBA
Texts
Recommended: Borden & Harris, Speech Science Primer
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LIN 325: Introduction to Study of African-American English
(Green)
African American English (AAE), which is spoken by some African Americans, is
a linguistic variety that has set rules for putting sounds and other units together
to form words, putting words and phrases together to form sentences and interpreting
sentences. After clarifying the difference between AAE and the intended meaning of
Ebonics, we will investigate four areas: Speech events, components of the grammar,
history and educational issues. The section of speech events will focus on the communicative
styles of some African Americans and the role these styles play in the development
of verbal skills. In addition it will compare speech eventsósuch as call and response
and strategies used in sermons and rapóin secular and religious environments. The
discussion of the components of the grammar will provide an analysis of present-day
patterns (sound patterns, word use and meaning, sentence structure) of AAE and explain
how they provide evidence to support the claim that the language system is rule-governed.
For example, in expressing the fact that nobody left, speakers of AAE can use two
types of sentences with two negatives (nobody and didnít):
1) Nobody did leave.
2) Didnít anybody leave?
These sentences are not accepted in mainstream America; however, they are formed
according to rules. They are not mainstream English with mistakes. Also, AAE speakers
use words that occur in other varieties of English, but they use them with different
meanings. Kitchen and steady have special uses in the following sentences:
3) I didnít know you could do that with your kitchen.
4) That girl was steady driving.
In this section of the course, we will address the difference between ësounding
Blackí and speaking AAE. Also, in this course, we will discuss hypotheses about the
African, Creole and English origins of AAE. Issues such as teacher attitudes, strategies
for instruction and attitudes toward AAE in the marketplace will be considered in
the section on education and employment. Finally, we will discuss the use and representation
of AAE in literature and the media. We will analyze passages from works such as Zora
Neale Hurston's Jonah's Gourd Vine and John Edgar Wideman's Brothers and
Keepers. In addition, we will compare speech events and minstrel speech in Warren
Beattyís Bulworth and Spike Leeís Bamboozled.
Prerequisites
There are no course prerequisites, but students should be interested
in the subject matter.
Requirements
1) Two 2-3-page papers; 2) Short homework assignments; 3) Midterm
exam and final exam
Texts
Green, L. 2002. African American English: A Linguistic Introduction.
Cambridge.
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LIN 344K: Phonetics: The Production and Perception of Speech
Sounds (Myers)
This is an introduction to the study of speech sounds in human languages, including
the following topics.
(1) (a) What are the sounds of English?
(b) How do people make those sounds?
(c) Whatís the difference among the various accents of English (e.g. General American,
British, Southern)?
(2) (a) What sounds are there in the worldís languages?
(b) How do people make those sounds?
(c) How do children and adults learn a pronunciation?
(3) (a) How do people distinguish different speech sounds?
(b) How can computers produce and ìunderstandî speech?
Students will explore their own speech and the speech of others, both through careful
listening and through computer analysis.
Prerequisites
None
Requirements
TBA
Texts
Ladefoged, A Course in Phonetics (4th edition)
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LIN 350: Language Politics in Latin America (England)
The course considers the positions of indigenous languages with respect to Spanish
or Portuguese in Latin America, with particular attention to cases from the highland
areas of Mesoamerica and the Andes. The situation of indigenous languages is covered,
including demography, literacy, literatures, and maintenance and shift. Language
policy is discussed, with attention to issues of discrimination on the basis of native
language, proposals for officialization and standardization of indigenous languages,
ideologies regarding language and nation-building, and educational policies. The
connection between language and identity is considered, at the individual, community,
and national levels. The focus is on the contemporary Latin American situation, but
historical background is also taken into account, with attention given to the pre-contact
situation, Crown and colonial policy, and language policy after independence.
Prerequisites
TBA
Requirements
Three short (5 page) papers summarizing topics and readings, one term
paper (10-15 pages) on a topic to be decided between student and instructor, a class
presentation on the topic of the term paper.
Texts
Garzon, Brown, Richards, WuquÇ AjpubÇ: The Life of Our Language
Hill and Hill, Speaking Mexicano
Heath: Telling Tongues
Hornberger: Indigenous Literacies in the Americas
other readings TBA.
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LIN 350: Sign Languages and Signing Communities (Meier)
Do you want to learn more about signed languages and signing communities? LIN
350 is an upper-division course - with no prereqs - that explores the world of signing.
In the Fall Semester, we will focus on three major topics: 1) How signing communities
work; 2) How ASL and other signed languages are organized, and 3) How deaf children
learn sign languages. This course is not taught in ASL, but it will deepen your understanding
of what you learn in the ASL language courses. The course is open to everyone: it's
open to students who know ASL, as well as students who don't. And it's open to students
who have previously taken linguistics classes, as well as students who haven't.
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 Martha's 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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19-Apr-02
Comments to: linclass@www.utexas.edu