ENGL 1325 Linguistics
Instructor: Dr. Mosheer Amer; Dr. Mohammed El Haj Ahmed
Office Hours: posted on the bulletin board next to my office.
Semester: Semester 1, September 2014
Email: mamer@iugaza.edu.ps
Webpage: http://site.iugaza.edu.ps/mamer/
Course Description:
This course is designed to provide students with proper understanding and knowledge
of the fundamental principles of general linguistics. Assuming no prior knowledge of
the field of linguistics, this course presents an overview of the main topics
encountered in the study of linguistics. It deals with the basic structure of language at
various levels: phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, pragmatic as well as
the historical aspects of language. The course presents key terms and helpful exercises
that aim to develop students' appreciation of the complexity of language and its role in
society.
Course Objectives:
On completion of this course, the students will be able to develop an appreciation
for the complexity of human language by the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
understand the nature and structure of language;
discuss the aims and scope of linguistics;
analyze the phonological system of the English language
describe how words are formed
study the organization of words and word phrases in a sentence
study meaning and its composition
know main terminology currently used in the scientific analysis of language
analyze the role of linguistic and extralinguistic factors interpreting meaning in
language
Expected Outcomes:
By the end of this course students should be able to:
1- clearly articulate views about the nature of language and its properties and
structures
2- gain experience in applying a set of tools and concepts in analyzing language
at various levels
3- make a contribution to the study of language by presenting a research report
on a major topic in the field of linguistics
4- be familiar with the main terms and concepts used in the scientific analysis of
language
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Course Textbook and Materials
The following will serve as the basis for class discussion and tasks and take-home
assignments.
Yule, G. (2010). The study of language (4th ed.). New York: Cambridge University
Press.
Other materials the course instructor finds suitable for the course.
Mode of delivery
This practical course is taught by way of fourteen three-hour weekly sessions. The
taught sessions consist of a mix of lectures, individual and small-group tasks, class
activities and student presentations. The lectures will introduce the main topics and
concepts while class activities will be used for practice and reinforcement of
presented concepts and skills. It is very important that you do all the readings and
assignments of each session to allow for stimulating and engaged class discussions
and participation.
Student Assessment:
Course grades will be determined roughly according to the following distribution:
Final Exam --------------------------------------- 50 %
Midterm Exam ---------------------------------- 20 %
Assignments -------------------------------------- 10 %
Research Project and Presentation ----------- 10 %
Quiz ------------------------------------------------- 5 %
Participation and attendance ------------------ 5%
Tentative Syllabus
Semester One
Activity
Week
1
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Course introduction;
What is language?
An overview of language system
The origins of language
Animal Communication Vs. Human language
2
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Properties of language
Phonetics: Place and manner of articulation in English;
English vowels
3
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English consonants
Syllables and Consonant clusters
4
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Phonology: Sound patterns in English
Phonemes, allophones, minimal pairs
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Cont'd from last session
Supra-segmental features in English
5
2
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Morphology: Morphemes, derivational and inflectional
morphemes
Word formation processes in English
Roots, prefixes and suffixes
7
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Syntax: The phrase, the clause and the sentence
Phrase structure rules
8
 Syntax Cont'd
6
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Midterm Exam
9
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Semantics: sematic features and semantic roles
10
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Lexical relations: the lexicon, polysemy, synonymy and
other meaning-related relations
11
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Pragmatics: contexts, deixis and reference
Speech acts
12
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Neurolinguistics: Language areas in the brain
Socio-linguistics: dialects, accents
Bilingualism and diaglossia
13
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Project Presentations
14
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Project Presentations
Revision
Student Participation and Attendance:
You are expected to attend all class sessions and to participate actively in all tasks.
Try to make the most of class sessions by completing the assigned readings ahead of
time and by contributing meaningfully to classroom activities. Attendance is
mandatory. Students who miss 20% of the classes will not be allowed to take the final
exam.
References
Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, H. (2011). An introduction to language (9th ed.).
London: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Meyer, C. (2009). Introducing English linguistics. New York: Cambridge University
Press.
The Ohio State University Department of Linguistics (2011). Language Files (11th
ed.). Ohio: Ohio State Press.
Todd, L. (1995). An introduction to linguistics (8th ed.). New York: Longman.
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