Syllabus - Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics

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Course Code/Title                                  : INTRODUCTION TO DESCRIPTIVE  LINGUISTICS

Prerequisite                                                                : ENG 1
Course Credit                                                             : 3 units

Course Description:

Provides an overview of linguistics as a discipline, its development, levels of structure, and its significance to English language teaching.

Course Objectives:

At the end of the semester, the students should be able to:

1. discuss the origin and nature of human language;
2. identify the different writing systems;
3. identify phones by their properties;
4. transcribe words using the International Phonetic Alphabet;
5. identify the different word formation processes;
6. diagram the structure of a sentence;
7. identify the types of word meaning;
8. give the meaning of expressions according to the context;
9. express their appreciation to the uniqueness of human language; and
10. to have integrated the PCU and CASTE values.

Course Outline:

TIME FRAME	CONTENT/SUBJECT MATTER
Week 1	I.    Introduction to the Course       A.  Getting to know the instructor, the students, and the course       B.   Distribution of course syllabus       C.   Introduction to Descriptive Linguistics
Week 2	II.   The origin of human language       --    Theories on the origin of human language
Week 3	III. The characteristics of human language       --    Human language vs. Animal communication Quiz 1
Week 4	IV. Graphology       --    Types of writing systems
Week 5	V.  Articulatory Phonetics       A.  The speech mechanism       B.   Places of articulation       C.   Manners of articulation   Quiz 2
Week 6	PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION
Week 7-8	VI. Phonology       A.  Phones, Phonemes, and Allophones       B.   Minimal pairs and sets       C.   Phonotactics and syllables       D. Co-articulation processes   Quiz 3
Week 8-9	VII. Morphology       A.  Word-formation processes       B.   Kinds of morphemes Quiz 4
Week 9-11	VIII. Syntax       A.  Traditional grammar analysis       B.   Immediate constituent analysis       C.   Structural analysis       D.  Phrase structure rules       E.   Tree diagramming Quiz 5
Week 12	MIDTERM EXAMINATION
Week 13-15	IX. Semantics       A.  Conceptual and associative meaning       B.   Semantic roles       C.   Lexical relations Quiz 6
Week 16-17	X.  Pragmatics       A.  Context       B.   Reference and inference       C.   Presupposition       D.  Speech acts       E.   Politeness Quiz 7
Week 18	FINAL EXAMINATION

Textbooks/Materials:

Yule, G. (2007). The study of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Crystal, D. (2005). How language works: How babies babble, words change meaning and languages love or die. Woodstock, NY: Overlook Press.

Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2010). Introduction to linguistics. Singapore: Cengage Learning Asia Pe. Ltd.

Guerrero, G. T. Instructional Minutes.  URL: http://instructionalminutes.blogspot.com. Label: “Linguistics”