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360K FALL 2009
E360K (35140), LIN360K (41505)
INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR
T/TH PAR 105 8:00-9:30
Class Policy and Grading
Course Description
This course is an introduction to the grammar of written English. It deals initially with traditional
methods of linguistic analysis, presenting them as groundwork for introducing Chomskyan or TG
(“transformational-generative”) grammar. Most of the course will consist of acquiring skills in this
theory, using interpretations found in Radford and in Jacobs and Rosenbaum. An overview of basic
linguistic theory will also be included, introducing and defining the concepts of phonology, morphology,
semantics, syntax and lexicon.
The course is designed mainly, though not exclusively, for student teachers, and places especial
emphasis on language attitudes and evaluation. Written, or “book” English will be presented as the
dialect having the most widespread applicability and usefulness. It will not be presented as the “best”
English, or as the only dialect that has “correct grammar,” but rather as the one most appropriate in the
greatest number of social contexts—that is, as a maximally useful tool.
Increasingly, teachers are dealing with speakers of vernacular English in their classrooms, i.e.
ethnic, regional or immigrant dialects, but they are not always properly prepared to distinguish between
good and bad English on the one hand, and appropriate and inappropriate English on the other. For
example, the general reaction to the common Southern construction “I might could do it” and “I could
might do it” is that they are both bad English, though the reason for that decision is different for each
sentence.
It is a sociolinguistic maxim that our attitudes towards an individual's language or dialect are
really a reflection of our attitude towards the group that that individual belongs to. Students have often
been penalized for using their natural speech, especially if it differs markedly from the written dialect,
and this can have its origin in attitudes we may have, whether we're teachers or not, to different
American populations. Part of the course will ask us to confront those attitudes, and will include ways to
deal with them. We will also see that all natural dialects are rule governed, and that there is a
“grammatical” and an “ungrammatical” way to speak any one of them.
Transformational-Generative Grammar has come a very long way since its early days. While
outside reading is encouraged, if you’ve found a book on your own talk it over with me since differences
in terminology and approach from author to author can easily confuse you. Questions on the tests will
be based ONLY upon material presented in class.
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You will be graded on the basis of (a) four tests and (b) performance and participation.
Tests
The tests will be on the three Thursdays indicated below, and one more during finals week. The last test
will not differ in content or format from the three earlier tests. Each test will consist of ten questions,
any five of which you can select to answer. Each question is worth 20 points, each test 100 points. The
lowest of the first three scores will be dropped and an average taken from the remaining three (96-100 =
A+, 90-95 = A-, 86-90 = B+, 80-85 = B-, etc.) and this overall score will count for 80% of your final
grade. There will be take-home assignments from time to time. You don’t need a blue book, but you
will need to bring three or four sheets of blank paper and a pen or pencil to each test.
Performance and Participation
This counts for 20% of your final grade. Coming into class once the bell has rung counts as a tardy and
will cost you points (see next page) and you will be marked absent. The dog ate my alarm clock is not an
excuse. Missing a shuttle bus is not an excuse, take an earlier one. I know that this is an 8:00 a.m. class
but you must be on time just as I have to.
Students with disabilities may request appropriate academic accommodations from the Services
for Students with Disabilities, 471-6259. Discuss this with me first.
It should not be necessary to remind you of the university’s policy regarding academic
dishonesty, which demands a failing grade and immediate dismissal from the class.
The rest is covered in the following “do’s and don’ts”. So speak up, join in, don’t be late, keep
good notes, do the assignments, write neatly, smile, it’s all 20% of you grade.
Calendar
August
Week
Tuesday
Thursday
27
September
1 2 3
4
1 8 15 22 29
3 10 17 24 1
First
Test
5
October
6
7
8
6 13 20 27
8 15 22 29
Second
Test
9
November
December
10 11 12 13
14
3 10 17 24 1
5 11 19 26
4
Third
Test
Thanksgiving
Break
Syllabus
August 27
What to expect: Overview of the class and your participation
Week 1 Tues. What is language? What is English?
Thurs. Why are there different kinds of English? Regional, social, ethnic varieties
Week 2
Good English? Who makes the rules?
Intro to the terminology: syntax, semantics, morphology, phonology, lexicon
Week 3
Efforts to describe language. The Classical Tradition.
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Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
September 17th First test
The Neogrammarians
Early attempts to find a new approach: C. C. Fries and others
Immediate Constitutent Analysis
Chomsky: kernel patterns
October 8th Second test
Chomsky: Deep vs. Surface structures
Phrase structure rule; Transformation theory
Transformations in simple sentences; practice
Transformations in simple sentences; practice
Transformations in simple sentences; practice
Transformations in simple sentences; practice
Transformations in complex sentences; embedding in VP and in NP
October 29th Third test
Relativized constructions; practice
Relativized constructions; practice
Complementized constructions; practice
Complementized constructions; practice
Grammars of other kinds of English: AAVE, SIE
No class
Overview; Current directions in Chomskyan linguistics
DO
Ask lots of questions. The day before each test can be devoted wholly to review if you bring
questions for that day, but of course you can ask questions at any time.
Turn in your homework assignment at the beginning of class if you were given one.
Don’t do it once you’re here.
Watch your neatness and spelling on the tests—remember, this is an English class.
Keep good notes in your notebook. They will serve as your textbook.
Make use of Office Hours (T-Th 7:00-8:00 and 11-12:30 in Calhoun 420).
Make use of e-mail (xulaj@mail.utexas.edu) to ask questions.
Create small study groups and meet outside of class.
Bring a tape recorder to class if you like, but no laptop computers.
Switch off your cell phone during class.
DON’T
Come late to class.
Talk when someone else has the floor.
Read non-related material after the bell has rung.
Do homework for another class during this class.
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Ask “what will be on the test?”
Ask “Do we have to know that for the next test?” – ANYTHING you learn in any of our classes could
potentially turn up on a test.
Miss class without a legitimate excuse. Unexcused absences will cost you two points each time off
your total grade. An attendance sheet will be circulated each day. You won’t be able to sign it if you
arrive after the bell’s rung, and you’ll be counted absent.
 Get up and leave in the middle of class to use the bathroom (or use your cell phone). Do this before
class begins. If you have a medical excuse for needing to visit the bathroom during class time, or for
special consideration otherwise, please provide me with a doctor’s note.
 Leave your cell phone on.
Resources
I do not require a textbook for 360K, which means that you must take detailed notes. Keep a section of
your notebook to list and define new technical terms (there will be a definition question on every test).
Keep a separate list for each new transformational rule you learn. There are very many books on the
kind of grammar we are dealing with in this class. The approach most like the one I will be following is
found in
Jacobs, R.A. & Peter S. Rosenbaum, 1968. English Transformational Grammar. Waltham:
Blaisdell.
An early approach to Chomsky’s grammar (dealing with his “kernel sentence patterns”) is
Cattell, N.R., 1966. The Design of English. Melbourne: Heinemann.
One important pre-TG book that influenced Chomsky’s thinking is
Fries, Charles C., 1952. The Structure of English. New York: Harcourt Brace.
Other useful works, in order of technicality, are
Keyser, Samuel & Paul Postal, 1976. Beginning English Grammar. New York: Harper and
Rowe.
Baker, Carl Lee, 1989. English Syntax. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Akmajian, A., & Frank Heny, 1980. An Introduction to the Principles of Transformational
Syntax. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Langacker, Ronald W., 1972. Fundamentals of Linguistic Analysis. New York: Harcourt
Brace.
Lyons, John, 1981. Language and Linguistics: An Introduction. London: CUP.
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Radford, Andrew, 1981. Transformational Syntax. Cambridge: The University Press.
Chomsky’s two most important early books are
1957. Syntactic Structures. ’s-Gravenhage: Mouton.
1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. Cambridge: MIT Press.
The grade you earn for the course will be carefully determined based on the
criteria set out in this policy statement. It will be final and not subject to
change; please don’t try to make a case for a revised grade. A grade can only
be changed in the event of an error in the addition. Keep in mind that according
to the Registrar’s official publication concerning grades, a C is “average,” a B is
“above average” and an A is “excellent.” Remember too that we on the faculty
are also repeatedly cautioned against grade inflation and can be called to
account for it.