Fall 2004 Advance Course Information

This information effective for Fall 2004. Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.

Linguistics

[LING-020] [LING-052] [LING-080B] [LING-101] [LING-120]

20. Introduction to Linguistics

Instructor: Jorge Hankamer
hank@ucsc.edu
MWF 3:30-4:40pm
Thimann 1

This course is a general introduction to the nature of language, its complexity and its diversity. The first part of the course will focus on the core areas of language study: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. The second part of the course will focus on issues in language and society and language and the brain. These may include such topics as dialects, American Sign Language, the acquisition of language, the official English language movement, and aphasia. By the end of the course, you should be acquainted with systematic methods of studying language, be aware of the fundamental similarities of all human languages as well as their startling diversity, and have an informed perspective on how issues of language impact our society. This course does not satisfy any named requirement for the linguistics major. Course requirements: class participation, weekly homework assignments, a midterm, and a final exam.

Prerequisites: none.
General Education Code: IH (Introduction to Humanities)

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52. Syntax I

Instructor: Jorge Hankamer
hank@ucsc.edu
MWF 9:30-10:40am
Cowell 131

This course is an introduction to English syntax (principles of sentence construction) and to syntactic analysis in the framework of generative grammar. It constitutes the entry course to the syntax sequence for linguistic majors. No prior linguistic or other training is presupposed. The work for the course consists entirely of homework problems. An assignment will be given at every class, due at the following class, and returned the class after that. The homework will require time and careful attention and will usually be rather challenging. These problems will be designed to involve students in observation and analysis of linguistic data and in the construction and testing of syntactic theories. At two times during the quarter, the problems will be more comprehensive and time consuming and will function as take-home exams. There is no text. Though it is part of the required core sequence for linguistics majors, Syntax I is designed for all students interested in an introduction to a rigorous, scientific approach to language study; a better understanding of the structure of English and of language, in general; or just plenty of exercise in precise thought and writing.

Prerequisites: Satisfaction of the Subject A and C requirements.

General Education Codes: IH (Introduction to Humanities), W (Writing Intensive).

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80B. Modern English Grammar

Instructor: Geoff Pullum
pullum@ucsc.edu
MW 5:00-6:45pm
Classroom Unit 1

This course is something that can't be found anywhere else at UCSC: an elementary introduction to the grammar of modern Standard English, the world's most important and widely known language. This course doesn't presuppose that you're a linguistics major or that you want to be. It covers the most basic points about how to describe English sentences—of both formal and informal styles. It demystifies the old-fashioned nonsense that used to be taught as grammar, rather than repeating it. There are no prerequisites.

The course is not about how to write, though it is quite probable that the attention it focuses on sentence structure will play a role in helping you to improve your writing on a technical level. It is not about learning foreign languages, though having a good grounding in grammatical description of a language you know is an enormous advantage when you come to study a different language. The main aim of this course is to take a look at the details of English grammar in terms that make sense, as so many earlier grammars do not. That, it turns out, is not only an interesting new challenge intellectually; it is also surprisingly entertaining.

General Education Codes: T4-Humanities and Arts

101. Phonology I

Instructor: Jaye Padgett
padgett@ucsc.edu
MWF 11:00-12:10pm
Stevenson 175

Phonetics and phonology are the two branches of linguistics that deal with sound structure. While phonetics focuses on the physical manifestations of sounds and on theories of speech production and perception, phonology is concerned with the systems of rules that determine how the basic sounds of a language combine. We will begin by discussing the internal structure of sounds and developing a precise formalism (the distinctive feature system) for representing this internal structure. We will then consider the kinds of systematic regularities in sound-combination that motivate phonological rules. The rest of the course will be devoted to three fundamental questions that can be raised about phonological rules: What is the form of these rules? How do they interact with one another? And what are the properties of the representations to which they apply? Because phonological rules can depend on word structure, any rigorous investigation of phonology inevitably touches on this area as well. Thus, this course also constitutes an introduction to morphology (word structure). Course requirements: Weekly problems, midterm, and final exam.

Prerequisites: Satisfaction of the Subject A and C requirements; Introduction to Linguistics (LING 20) or Phonetics (LING 51).

General Education Code: W (Writing Intensive).

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120. The Structure of English

Instructor: Geoffrey Pullum
pullum@ucsc.edu
MWF 2:00-3:10
Oakes 106

This course is a broad survey of the syntactic and morphological structure of Standard English, suitable for students who are linguistics or language studies majors, or intending to be. [Students who need a lower-division introduction with no prerequisites to similar material should see Linguistics 80B, Modern English Grammar.] The approach is not that of the linguistic theorist; rather, it is descriptive. The aim is that students should be able to analyze sentences confidently and accurately in terms that are of broad relevance for many different grammatical theories and constitute a baseline minimum understanding of sentence and word structure to permit intelligent speculation concerning theoretical explanation of such structure. The course text will be a new book by Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum; it is to be published in 2005 by Cambridge University Press, and by special arrangement it will be made available for this class in typescript form.

The prerequisite listed for this course is Linguistics 52 or 55, and it would be ideal if students had taken those, because a serious level of engagement with linguistic material will be expected. However, the instructor is prepared to consider allowing enrollment by students who wish to take one of those courses simultaneously with this one.