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First-Year Courses in LinguisticsThis page was created at 6:55 PM on Mon, Jan 21, 2002. Winter Academic Term, 2002 (January 7 - April 26)Open courses in Linguistics Wolverine Access Subject listing for LING Winter Academic Term '02 Time Schedule for Linguistics. LING 102. First Year Seminar (Humanities).Section 001 – Language and Mind.Instructor(s): Mark Hale (markhale@umich.edu)Prerequisites & Distribution: Only first-year students, including those with sophomore standing, may pre-register for First-Year Seminars. All others need permission of instructor. (3). (HU). First-Year Seminar Credits: (3). Course Homepage: No homepage submitted. What is the human mind? In this course, we will exploit research into one of the richest and most extensively investigated components of the mind – language – to attempt an answer to this question. Taking as our starting point the theoretical work of Noam Chomsky and his followers, we will examine in detail the nature of the cognitive sciences as well as the place of linguistics as a field within them.
LING 112. Languages of the World.Section 001.Instructor(s): Edward R Barrett (rustyb@umich.edu)Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (SS). Credits: (3). Course Homepage: https://coursetools.ummu.umich.edu/2002/winter/ling/112/001.nsf This course will examine the similarities and differences found in the world's languages. The course will begin by examining how historical and genetic relationships between languages are established, theories of the evolution and dispersion of languages across the world, and the role of linguistic typology in comparing linguistic structure across different languages. We will then examine particular language families, looking at both the structural features of the languages and the social and cultural contexts of different language families. Particular emphasis will be given to the indigenous languages of Australia, North and South America, Africa, Polynesia, and Asia, in addition to pidgin and Creole languages and signed languages. We also will compare various (ancient and modern) writing systems used to represent different languages. The remainder of the course will consider issues of linguistic diversity, including the effects of language contact, the relationship between linguistic, cultural and biological diversity (eco-linguistics), the impact of language death, and efforts to preserve and maintain endangered and minority languages around the world.
LING 210. Introduction to Linguistic Analysis.
Section 001.Instructor(s): John M Lawler (jlawler@umich.edu)Prerequisites & Distribution: (4). (SS). Credits: (4). Course Homepage: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jlawler/210.html Edward Sapir said: "Everything that we have so far seen to be true of language points to the fact that it is the most significant and colossal work that the human spirit has evolved – nothing short of a finished form of expression for all communicable experience. This form may be endlessly varied by the individual without thereby losing its distinctive contours; and it is constantly reshaping itself as is all art. Language is the most massive and inclusive art we know, a mountainous and anonymous work of unconscious generations." At about the same time (circa 1920), Krazy Kat said:
True, all true. As Krazy suggests, this "massive and inclusive art" is also the information bottleneck of the human condition. A vast amount of our knowledge, including virtually everything we learn in formal education, comes to us through Language. Consequently, learning to analyze language, in ways that work for all languages, and to describe it objectively, is an indispensable tool for intellectuals, and one that stimulates in addition the habit of close attention to language, which is one of the things necessary for effective writing, not to mention clear thinking. Further, an understanding of how language really works (in contrast to the linguistic mythologies usually taught in schools) gives one a metaphorical place to stand that facilitates the study of anything that is described in language, which means just about everything. Over the last century, linguistic scientists have amassed an array of analytic procedures, concepts, and findings that allow one to de-mystify speech, grammar, and language use, and to discover a number of surprising facts about one's own and others' languages. This course is a medium-sized (maximum 60) 4-credit intensive introduction to the methods linguists use for describing languages (although general training in analytic thought is our ultimate goal). Drawing on examples from a large number of the world's languages, we will devote about two weeks to each of the major areas of linguistic analysis, in order:
By focusing simultaneously on language data, and on the techniques used to make sense of these data, we will see that our understanding of the object of inquiry (language) is influenced by our methods of inquiry. There will be frequent quizzes and daily data analysis problems, which will form the context for our discussion. In addition, there will be comprehensive midterm and final take-home exams, which may be done in groups. This course is especially recommended for those with interests in scientific analysis (including mathematics, computing, and engineering), since the analytic methods discussed are generalizable easily. There is no textbook; materials for analysis and handouts are in a course pack. Students who would like a textbook to study should invest in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, available at all local bookstores. No prerequisites except an interest in language and thinking.
LING 211. Introduction to Language.Section 001.Instructor(s): Sarah G Thomason (thomason@umich.edu) , San Duanmu (duanmu@umich.edu)Prerequisites & Distribution: (3). (SS). Credits: (3). Course Homepage: No homepage submitted. From time immemorial human beings have been curious about what appears to be a uniquely human possession, human language – about its structure, its diversity, its use, and its effects on others. This course explores the human capacity for language. We begin with a discussion of the uniqueness of human language and then review major aspects of language structure common to all human languages: sound systems, words and their meanings, sentence structures and meaning. We will then examine child language development, sentence processing, and language change; finally, we will extend our results to discussions of language variation, including social and political attitudes toward language (for instance, what is "Standard English", and is it better than other dialects of English? And should English become the official national language of the United States?). Course requirements include regular homework assignments, one midterm exam, and a final exam. Required Textbook:
LING 272 / ANTHRCUL 272. Language in Society.
Section 001.Instructor(s): J DickinsonPrerequisites & Distribution: Primarily for first- and second-year students. (4). (SS). (R&E).
Credits: (4; 2 in the half-term). Course Homepage: No homepage submitted. See Cultural Anthropology 272.001.
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