Linguistics

Introduction to Linguistics This course presents an overview of the field of linguistics, introducing basic concepts, topics and analytic methods. It includes study of the structure of language (systems of sound, structure, and meaning), nonverbal communication, historical and comparative linguistics, and language acquisition.

English Grammar This course presents and reviews the rules and formative processes of English grammar. Students will work with grammatical exercises and then apply their knowledge learning how to organize sentences and paragraphs and to structure and develop their ideas in papers. The course is designed to help students improve their writing skills by learning formal rules of grammar. It is also designed for students who are good writers but who want to finally learn what English grammar is all about. Grades will be based on daily grammar exercises, class participation, and a final exam. This course adds to offerings in English, in writing, in linguistics, and in the study of language. However, this course does not count towards fulfillment of the language requirement.

Applied Linguistics: Language Acquisition and Teaching Foreign Language How do we learn a foreign language, and how does this process differ from native-language acquisition? What does it mean to be proficient in a language? How do people become proficient? What characteristics of a foreignlanguage classroom maximize opportunities to become proficient? This course explores these theoretical questions with applications for teaching any foreign language. It is designed for students who have fulfilled the language requirement at Simon’s Rock and who plan on improving their language skills so that they may be able to teach language in the future. It may also be appropriate for students who would like to teach English as a second language, either in the U.S. or abroad. Prerequisite: Linguistics 100 or permission of the instructor.

Historical Linguistics: Introduction to Gothic Wulfila’s Bible translation from Greek into Gothic is by far the earliest literary record in a Germanic language. Comparable writings in other Germanic languages are four to nine centuries later. In this course, students read parts of Wulfila’s Bible translation in the original and learn the basics of Germanic linguistics and philology. Through the study of Gothic, students gain insight not only into Gothic, but also into the history of a related Germanic language, English, and into the study of the history of languages. The origin of grammatical “exceptions” in English is treated, and ample attention is given to etymology of Germanic (English and Gothic) vocabulary items.

Language and Power This course examines interconnections between language and power relations. Language form and linguistic usage are shown to be influenced by contextual features of inequalities in the social power of participants. Linguistic usage is informed by such parameters as class, gender, race, ethnicity, and social status as demonstrated by casual and formal interactions in everyday contexts as well as in institutional settings such as medicine and law. The role that language in the media plays in solidifying and furthering social and political power relations will also be studied.

Language and Gender This module course examines relationships between language and gender. Specifically, how and to what extent are gender differences manifested in language? Do women and men employ alternatives of pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammatical structure? Are men’s and women’s conversational strategies significantly different? Do languages encode divergent cultural messages about women and men through the ways in which they label or talk about people? Although the majority of data considered is derived from English, linguistic and cultural evidence from other societies is also explored.

History of the English Language This course explores the development of the English language, including Old English, Middle English, Early Modern English, and Contemporary English. In addition to studying the internal history of English, the course will emphasize social and political events that shaped and transformed the language. We will also pay attention to literatures of the different historical periods and the development of a writing system and spelling rules. We will examine various dialects that developed as English grew more and more prominent to assume the status of a world language.

Cultural Perspectives: Native American Languages This course examines the structures of Native American languages. It consists of readings that present the phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic systems of languages representing each of the language families indigenous to North America. Prerequisite: Linguistics 100 or equivalent.

Topics in Syntax and Morphology This course presents readings in theories and methods of morphological and syntactic analysis. Readings and analytic problems acquaint students with principles of analyzing word formation patterns (morphology) and of phrasal and sentence construction (syntax). Structural and generative theories will be explored. Data will be drawn from indigenous, non-European, and European languages. Prerequisite: Linguistics 100 or its equivalent.

Discourse Analysis This course presents theories and methods of discourse analysis. Readings and analytic exercises acquaint students with principles of analyzing, contextualizing, and understanding discourse (connected speech). We examine the linguistic, contextual, and cultural markers that interconnect discourse and discourse types. Conversation, narratives, and speech genres are explored. Prerequisite: One course in Social Studies (preferably Sociology or Anthropology) or Linguistics.