English 769-001
Topics in Linguistics: Graduate Introduction to Linguistics II
Instr: Noonan, Mickey
Office: CRT 386; 229-4539
e-mail: noonan@uwm.edu, http://www.uwm.edu/~noonan
Office hours: By arrangement
Course Information: W; 4:30-7:10pm; CRT 466
Course Description
This course is a graduate introduction to linguistics. It is different from the usual sort of introduction to linguistics in two ways: the material is presented at a graduate level, which affects both pace and content, and the course extends over two semesters. We will cover a lot more material, and in more depth, than the usual introductory class. The current UWM introductory classes, English 400 and Linguistics 350, do not substitute for this course and it may be taken for credit by students who have had either course or a similar course at another university.
Students in the English Dept's Plan D are advised to take both semesters of English 769, fall and spring, which together constitute the entire graduate introductory sequence. Students who receive a 'B' or better grade in both semesters of English 769 will be exempted from taking the written portion of the MA exam. [MA candidates will still be required to do the MA project or MA practicum.]
Students in the MAFLL linguistics program are required only to take the first semester, which will cover the 'core' subdisciplines within linguistics: phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax. Ling/MAFLL 708 and the first semester of the English 769 sequence are the same course: we alternate between the two courses every other year. MAFLL students, of course, are invited to complete the sequence with English 769 in the spring.
Textbooks and Class Handouts:
There will be a number of books that will be used over the course of the two semesters:
First semester:
Peter Ladefoged: A Course in Phonetics [5th edition] (see Phonetics handout for discussion of 4th edition)
Thomas Payne: Describing Morphosyntax
Second semester:
William Croft & D. Alan Cruse: Cognitive Linguistics
Lyle Campbell: Historical Linguistics: An Introduction [2nd edition]
Peter Trudgill: Sociolinguistics [4th edition]
The texts are available at the UWM bookstore. All these texts can be bought used through Amazon.com. All of these books are useful references.
In addition to the textbooks, there will be a large number of handouts. If you misplace a handout, you can download a copy from my website, http://www.uwm.edu/~noonan/: navigate to CLASSES, then to your class.
Exams and Exercises:
There will be no exams for this course. Instead, the course grade will be based on take-home exercises and a few in-class exercises.
Grades:
The grades on the exercises will constitute the sole basis for the course grade.
