John Kellogg
Office: Curtin Hall Room 566
Email: vkellogg@uwm.edu
Office hours: 4–5Pm on Mondays or by appointment
This course will provide students from diverse majors with a general overview of language from a linguistic perspective. The topics focus primarily on English, ranging from misconceptions about the standard language and variation among regional/social dialects to the lexical system of English, historical change and the influence of English on other languages around the world. The lecture slides will be posted Tuesdays on a
D2L web site in a PowerPoint presentation format on the dates listed on the syllabus below.
You will need regular access to the internet for this course as we will use D2L.
Slides, quizzes, discussions, an up-to-date syllabus, and all other content for the course will be posted on the site. Additionally, announcements and grades are posted there. It is your responsibility to be aware of the content on the site. You will need to check the site to be sure that you are keeping up and that you are aware of any changes (if any).
The instructor can not give extensions or let you make up quizzes you have missed because you were unable to access the internet. For example, if you know you will be out of town when something is due for our class, it is your responsibility to assure you have access to the internet wherever you are going.
You can access the D2L site from the address below with your UWM username.
Desire to Learn at http://d2l.uwm.edu/
Any problems with access, please contact help@uwm.edu or call 414-229-4040.
None. For a listing of UWM policies relating to course registration, student rights and responsibilities, religious observances, and accommodation of students with disabilities, consult UWM Selected Academic and Administrative Policies, Policy #S-31 and UWM
Faculty Documents #1558 and #1602. Also, a description of the policies may be found in
UWM Schedule of Classes.
Desire to Learn at http://d2l.uwm.edu/
Any problems with access, please contact help@uwm.edu or call 414-229-4040.

Language Myths, ed. by Laurie Bauer & Peter Trudgill. New York: Penguin Books,
1998. ISBN 0-1402-6023-4
The Study of Language, 4 th Edition by George Yule. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-521-74922-0 available at Neebo (Panther Bookstore) at 3132 N. Downer Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211.
Students are expected to have completed the readings from the textbook along with studying through the PowerPoint slides, which will be available under “Content” on the course web page on the scheduled Tuesdays. Students will be given a set of questions per reading assigned each week in the form of a quiz, as indicated in the syllabus below.
In addition, assignments MUST be submitted on time, by the date listed in the following schedule, otherwise will result in score of zero. LATE SUBMISSION OF ANY
ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Under “Content”, lecture slides and additional course materials are uploaded on
Tuesdays; Under “Discussions”, students can post their questions regarding the course;
In “Dropbox”, students submit their assignments by due dates. Announcements will appear under “Course Home.”
1. Syllabus Quiz 2%
2. Reading Quizzes 33%
3. Assignments 45% (3 assignments x 15% each)
4. Examination (Online) 20% (1 cumulative exam)
Students can earn a maximum of 100 points accumulated from the three grading components. NO EXTRA CREDIT IS AVAILABLE.
1. I expect students to take the reading quizzes by the due dates listed on the calendar below. Students have 48 hours to take each quiz. Quizzes may not be taken a second time.
2. The writing assignments revolve around contents from the course lecture slides and readings, based on which students are to submit an approximately two-to-four-pagelong linguistic analysis/essay. I will provide detailed instructions and example responses when I post the assignments.
Assignments should be submitted under “Dropbox” on D2L by due dates.
All files must be either .pdf, or .doc or .docx (Microsoft Word). I will not give credit for any other file formatting.

For each assignment, please title the document with your last name and the assignment number. For example, if I were to submit the first assignment, I would title my document:
Kellogg1
I will not accept late submissions.
3. The online final examination will consist mostly of multiple-choice questions,
True/False statements and matching of terms. While the questions will be available under “Quizzes” on D2L for nine hours on Tuesday, December 18 from 12:00 PM to
9:00 PM, students will have 90 minutes to finish upon the start of their exam on D2L.
Any concerns regarding the final exam (such as time conflicts) should be notified to the instructor by Tuesday, December 4, 2012.
A
100-93
A-
92-90
B+
89-87
B
86-83
B-
82-80
C+
79-77
C
76-73
C-
72-70
D+
69-67
D
66-63
D-
62-60
F below
60
Your final letter grade will be available on D2L by 5PM on Wednesday, December 26,
2012. Final grades will be entered by PAWS on Wednesday, December 26, 2012. Please note that it might take a few days to process the grades in order for them to appear on the student version of PAWS. The instructor will try to post final grades before
December 26, but please do not e-mail the instructor about why your grade has not been posted before then.
If you have any questions regarding the course that might also interest your classmates, you can post them under “Discussion” and you will get the answers by Tuesdays.
Please e-mail me vkellogg@uwm.edu
regarding other questions or concerns.
Reading Quizzes will be available on the following dates:
1. September 25 12:00 am- September 26 11:59 pm
2. October 23 12:00 am- October 24 11:59 pm
3. November 27 12:00 am- November 28 11:59 pm
Assignments are due on the following Tuesdays:
1. October 9
2. November 6
3. December 4
Final Examination will be available at 12:00 PM on Tuesday, December 18 and students will have 90 minutes to finish upon the start of the exam. Again, you should

contact me by December 4, 2012 for any time conflicts you encounter with other final examinations.
This 3-credit course is conducted online. Students will typically spend 2.5 hours per week on the course website during the semester. Students are expected to put in approximately 7.5 additional hours per week studying and working on assignments in order to achieve the learning goals of this course.
Please visit this link to review important university policies regarding students with disabilities, religious observances, military duty, incompletes, discrimination, academic misconduct, complaint procedures, grade appeals, and final exams: http://www4.uwm.edu/secu/SyllabusLinks.pdf
Important Note on Academic Misconduct (i.e., cheating and plagiarism)
It is critical that your academic performance in this course be your own, not the result of co-work with anybody. In other words, I expect students to do all of their assignments or this course INDEPENDENTLY and SEPARATELY. You are allowed to receive help through campus tutoring services. If you need help with an assignment, please e-mail me or come to my office hours. Please refer to the following URL for detailed information on the UWM policy regarding academic misconduct: http://www4.uwm.edu/osl/dean/conduct.cfm
Unit Date Topics Readings
1
Due
Tues. September 4 Course Introduction,
Language Myths
Course syllabus,
Week 1 slides
Myth 2, 7 z2
Tues. September
11
Tues. October 2
Tues. October 9
Study of language
Tues. September 18 Prescriptive vs.
Descriptive
Grammar
Tues. September 25 Misbeliefs about languages
Week 2 slides
Yule Chap. 7
Myth 12, 14
Week 4 slides
Syllabus Quiz
Reading Quiz
1
Dialects Myth 20, 17
Dialects of English Week 6 slides Assignment 1

3 Tues. October 16
Tues. October 23
English Vocabulary
Lexical
Categorization
Specialized
Vocabulary
Word Formation
Processes
Yule Chap.18
Myth 21
Week 8 slides,
Assignment 2
Reading Quiz
2
4
Tues. October 30 Week 9 slides
Myth 5
Yule Chap. 5
Yule Chap. 16
5
Tues. November 6 Language Change
History of English
Tues. November 13
Tues. November 27
Language and
Gender
Tues. November 20 Language & Ethnicity
– AAVE
Language & Ethnicity
– AAVE
Week 10slides
Week 11 slides,
Myth 6
Yule Chap. 17
Myth 13
Yule Chap. 19
Week 13 slides,
Assignment #3
Assignment 2
Reading Quiz
3
6
Tues. December 4 Language & Social
Status
Week 14 slides Assignment 3
Tues. December 11
Language & Identity
Review Final review sheet
Final Examination will be available at 12:00 PM on Tuesday, December 18 and students will have 90 minutes to finish upon the start of the exam. Again, you should contact me by December 4, 2012 for any time conflicts you encounter with other final examinations.