Introduction:  Linguistics is the scientific study of human ( and to a much lesser extent, animal) communications.  Most linguistic study focuses on the languages of the world, (many of which are rapidly becoming extinct.)  When we succeed at doing linguistics in this class, we will start to apply the accumulated knowledge about language histories, sound systems, word and sentence structures, and meaning to inquire about persistent social and cognitive questions as society and cognition relate to language.  This kind of success would mean that scientific inquiry is an important learning method in the class.  It won't be the only one.  The "accumulated knowledge" mentioned above is a necessary base, requiring comprehension, application, and to a small extent, memorization.

Course Objectives
Course Description from the NMSU Catalog:  "Traditional fields of language study (sound, grammar, meaning) and newer ones (language as social behavior, language and cognition, language variation, animal communication).
    Specific Objectives include the following

• Students will gain an understanding of language in pre-history and history.
• Students will gain an understanding of the evolution of writing.
• Students will debate the various theories of language acquisition, especially biological and social theories of language acquisition.
  
• Students will be able to recognize important language sounds--phonemes-- and to record these sounds using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
• Students will be able to recognize language morphemes in written English, and will gain an understanding of how morphemes are used in other languages
• Students will recognize various systems of grammar, including grammatical surface structures and deep structure.
• Students will be acquainted with various, important sub-disciplines of linguistics:  Psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, comparative linguistics.
• Students will learn how to do research--both primary and secondary--in the general field of linguistics.
  

Assignments & Grading Values

Point Value	Assignments
10	Language Observation:  200-300 word written observation on language use, or symbolic representations, in your environment.
5	Quiz  #1:  May cover lecture points as well as textbook or handout material
5	Quiz #2:  May cover lecture points as well as textbook or handout material
5	Quiz #3:  May cover lecture points as well as textbook or handout material
5	Quiz #4:  May cover lecture points as well as textbook or handout material
30	Researched report, analyzing an issue in linguistics, using secondary sources.  Topic needs to be approved by me.  Four-Six pages of text.
10	Oral Report, based on the researched report.
20	Language observation:  400-500 word written observation on language use, or symbolic representation, in your environment.  Should include numeric data, or another data collection method used in linguistics (careful transcriptions, phonetic recordings, sentence structure representations, etc).
10	Final Exam
100	Total
	Bonus attendance points or negative attendance points
	Grand Semester Total

Attendance
For every class session you are on-time, stay the full time, and are prepared to participate, you will earn 0.2 bonus points, for a possible bonus total of  5.4 bonus points, based on a total of 27 possible class sessions (The first day, a research day, and the final exam period are excluded).  Preparation to participate may be measured on quiz questions administered at the beginning of class.
 For every class that you are late to, or leave early from, you will lose 1.0 point.  For every class that you miss, you will lose 2.0 points.  Note that if you are absent three times, you cannot get any bonus points, and start into negative points.  Also note that if you are frequently absent, you may accumulate substantial negative numbers.  Since there is a reward possibility of 5.4 points for just showing up ready to participate, there are no excused absences, except as provided for University functions in the Student Handbook.


Instructor Contact Information
Ron McNeel, Professor of English
Faculty Office Building #115
Office Hours:

• Mondays and Wednesdays: 2:30-4:30
• Tuesdays and Thursdays: 1:30-2:30 & 4:00-5:00

phone, including voice mail:  439-3742
email: mcneel@nmsua.nmsu.edu
website, including syllabi:  http://alamo.nmsu.edu/~rmcneel

Books & Materials

Required: Yule, George.  The Study of Language.  2nd ed. (or newer 3rd ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1996.
Optional:  Crystal, David.  The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language.  2nd ed. Cambridge:  Cambridge UP, 1997.

Bibliography from which I am building lectures, exercises, experiments.  (So, I have them checked out from our library, or I own them, but will make them available to you if you need them.)  Note the names of some important linguists in the list. Bolinger, Dwight.  Aspects of Language.  New York:  Harcourt, 1968. Chomsky, Noam.  Reflections on Language.  New York:  Pantheon/Random House,  1975. Kerr, Elizabeth M., and Ralph M. Aderman.  Aspects of American English.  2nd ed.  New York:  Harcourt, 1971. Miller, George A.  The Science of Words.  New York:  Scientific American Library, 1991. Pinker, Steven.  The Language Instinct:  How the Mind Creates Language.  New York:  Morrow, 1994. Potter, Robert R.  Making Sense:  Exploring Semantics and Critical Thinking.  New York:  Globe, 1974. Roman, Camille, Suzanne Juhasz, & Cristanne Miller, eds.  The Women & Language Debate:  A Sourcebook.  New    Brunswick, Rutgers UP, 1994. Silverman, Kaja.  The Subject of Semiotics.  Oxford:  Oxford UP, 1983. Tannen, Deborah, ed.  Gender and Conversational Interaction.  New York:  Oxford UP, 1993.

Course Schedule
I will try to stick to this schedule, but changes may occur.  In the case of minor scheduling changes, I will notify you in class.  In the case of major scheduling changes, I will notify you with an addendum to this syllabus.  Readings need to be completed by you before the day on which they are listed.  You can expect some other, required readings to be put on library reserve, or given to you as handouts throughout the semester.

Class Session & Date	Class Activities:  Lectures, Readings, Assignments, Experiments, Student Presentations
1. Th, Aug. 24	Introduction to the class.  Mime (Generally, I hate mimes, too, but I'll be trying to make a point) demonstration on the importance, or non-importance, of verbal language and body language.  Self-introductions.  Intro to the syllabus.
2. Tu., Aug. 29	Lecture and explorations for research.  Assignment of Language Observation, with guidelines.
3. Th, Aug. 31	Yule, Chapters 1 on origins &  Chapter 3 on properties.
	Labor Day Holiday: Monday, Sept. 4
4. Tu, Sept. 5	Yule, Chapter 5 on language sounds.  In-class practice with phonetic transcription
5. Th, Sept. 7	Yule, Chapter 6.  Maybe more in-class practice with phonetic transcription.

Class Session & Date	Class Activities:  Lectures, Readings, Assignments, Experiments, Student Presentations
6. Tu., Sept. 12	First Language Observations are due.  Informal Reports.  Quiz #1, covering Chapters 1, 3, 5, 6, plus lectures & handouts.
7. Th., Sept. 14	Yule, Chapter 4 on animal communication and human language.  Lecture on Chomsky
8. Tu., Sept. 19	Yule, Chapter 2 on development of writing, plus Lecture from Miller.
9. Th., Sept. 21	Yule, Chapter 7 on words and word-formation.  More lecture from Miller.
10. Tu., Sept. 26	Yule, Chapter 8 on morphology.  In class exercises, hypothesizing and predicting.
11. Th., Sept. 28	Quiz #2, covering Chapters 4, 2, 7, & 8, plus lecture material from Chomsky & Miller.  Assignment of Second Language Observation, with guidelines.
12. Tu., Oct. 3	Yule, Chapter 9, beginning grammar.  A little more Chomsky via lecture.
13. Th., Oct. 5	Yule, Chapter 10 on syntax.  In-class exercises.

Class Session & Date	Class Activities:  Lectures, Readings, Assignments, Experiments, Student Presentations
14. Tu., Oct. 10	Yule, Chapter 11 on Semantics.  Lecture from Potter, , and maybe Silverman on Semiotics
15. Th., Oct. 12	Yule, Chapter 12 on Pragmatics.  Lecture on Tannen, et al., and gender interactions in communication.  In-class exercises.
16. Tu., Oct. 17	Quiz #3, covering Chapters 9, 10, 11, 12.  Assignment of the Research Project, with guidelines.
17. Th., Oct. 19	Yule, Chapter 13 on Discourse Analysis.  More material from Tannen, et al.
18. Tu., Oct. 24	Yule, Chapter 14 on language and machines.  Students interact with Dragon-speak voice-recognition software, maybe the e-Write essay grading program.
19. Th., Oct. 26	Research Day
20. Tu., Oct. 31	Yule, Chapter 15 on Language and the brain.  Lecture from Pinker. Happy Halloween!  Costumes?
21. Th., Nov. 2	Yule, Chapter 16 on First language acquisition.  Possible guest lecture.

Class Session & Date	Class Activities:  Lectures, Readings, Assignments, Experiments, Student Presentations
22. Tu., Nov. 7	2nd, quantitative language observation is due.  Informal reports.  Yule, Chapter 19 on language history.  Film
23. Th., Nov. 9	Yule, Chapter 20 on Language Varieties. Film
24. Tu., Nov. 14	Yule, Chapter 21 on sociolinguistics.
25. Th., Nov. 16	Quiz #4 on Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, & 21.  Preparation for Presentations.
Nov. 20-26	Thanksgiving Holiday
26. Tu., Nov. 28	Researched Reports are due.  Begin Student Presentations on Research
27. Th., Nov. 30	Continue Student Presentations
28. Tu., Dec. 5	Finish Student Presentations
29. Th., Dec. 7	Final Exam
30. Th., Dec. 14	Final Exam Day:  Make-up Presentations.  We will meet!  12:30-2:30 p.m.

Plagiarism & Classroom Policies

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty
In an effort to fulfill our mission to “maintain active ties and continuity with the main campus at Las Cruces,” the following statement on plagiarism and academic dishonesty is taken from Paideia IV: A Course Guide for English 111 Composition and Rhetoric, edited by Rebecca Blackwell and Gina Hochhalter, published for the NMSU-Las Cruces Department of English by Outernet Publishing, 2002.

 It is academically dishonest, and often illegal, to present someone else’s ideas or writing as your own.  You cannot use even short phrases or parts of sentences obtained from other sources unless you properly document those sources.  Documentation includes marking quotations, as well as providing notes, citations, and a reference list.  If you receive assistance from a source other than your instructor, your colleagues in the class, or the Writing Center, then you must acknowledge that assistance.  Identify the source and the nature of the assistance in an acknowledgment note at the end of the assignment.  Failure to acknowledge constitutes academic misconduct.
 In addition, it is academically dishonest to submit your own previously written work for a current assignment or to submit an assignment in more than one class without the prior permission of the instructors.
 You will be held responsible for furnishing upon request all the sources and preliminary work (notes, rough drafts, etc.) that you use when preparing written assignments.  If you cannot produce that material upon request, the assignment will be considered unsatisfactory and given a failing grade.
 Plagiarism and academic misconduct of any kind may constitute grounds for failing the course and may result in further disciplinary action according to university policy.  Consult the . . . [NMSU-A] Student Handbook regarding your responsibilities and rights concerning plagiarism and academic dishonesty.  In addition, writing textbooks contain useful discussions of plagiarism.
 As a student, you are responsible for protecting your own work.  It is your responsibility to ensure that other students do not copy your work or submit your work as their own.  Allowing your work to be used inappropriately makes you guilty of academic misconduct and subject to sanctions. (xi)

Also, see the Policy Statement on Plagiarism  from the Council of Writing Program Administrators:  http://www.wpacouncil.org/positions/WPAplagiarism.pdf

Classroom Policies and grading penalties

•  You are responsible for the information presented at each class session.   
• Plagiarized papers will receive a grade of zero.  Disciplinary action may be initiated against students who engage in academic dishonesty.  You should familiarize yourselves with the Student Code of Conduct in the NMSU-A Student Handbook.  A plagiarized formal written report is sufficient cause for a failure grade for the entire course. In such a case, disciplinary action at the University level will be initiated. In case I have a question about whether or not your formal written report is indeed authored by you, keep all pre-final drafts, notes, bibliography cards, and other research and drafting materials. Be prepared to deliver these pre-final research materials by mail.
• The formal written report is a requirement for passing the course.
• ALL late papers will lose 10% of the possible points. Consider emailing assignments as attachments to get them to me on time.  I will not take late papers or revisions after Thursday, November 16.
• So that NMSU-A may engage in assessment activities, the instructor reserves the right to keep early drafts and final drafts of your assignment.

Americans with Disabilities Act & Emergency Information

If you have (or believe you have) a disability and would benefit from classroom accommodation(s), please contact the Office of Special Student Services located in the George Fettinger Student Services Building (phone: 439-3720). If you have a condition that may affect your ability to exit safely from the premises in an emergency or that may cause an emergency during class, you are encouraged to discuss any concerns with the instructor. Student Responsibilities: Register with Special Student Services and obtain accommodation documents early in the semester; Deliver the completed accommodation and testing form(s) to the instructor(s) within the first two weeks of beginning of classes (or within one week of the date services are to commence); Retrieve the signed form(s) from faculty and return to SSD within five (5) days of receipt from faculty and at least one week before any scheduled exam; and, Contact the Special Student Services Office if the services/accommodations requested are not being provided, not meeting your needs, or if additional accommodations are needed. Do not wait until you receive a failing grade. Retroactive accommodations cannot be considered. Faculty Responsibilities: Sign the ACCOMMODATION REQUEST FORM and TESTING ACCOMMODATION FORM (when presented), retain a copy, and return the original to the student within five (5) working days of receipt; Contact Special Student Services immediately if there are any questions or disputes regarding accommodation(s), disruptive behavior, etc.; and, Refer the student to Special Student Services for any additional accommodations. Contacts: Accommodations: Jeremy Patton(439-3720), Special Student Services Counselor (George Fettinger Student Services Building) ADA Coordinator:  Campus Student Services Officer (439-3716 (George Fettinger Student Services Building) Discrimination: Angela Velasco(646-3333), Interim Director EEO/ADA & Employee Relations (Hadley Hall, Room 15 NMSU) All medical information will be treated confidentially

In Case of Holloman Air Force Base Closure
National or international events may cause Holloman Air Force Base to close, keeping students from leaving the base to attend classes on campus, and keeping instructors from entering the base to teach classes there.  To alleviate the problems a closure would cause,
• the instructor may collect student phone numbers and email addresses;
• the instructor may use email addresses to create a distribution list to keep students up-to-date on assignments and activities;
• students should note the instructor’s email address and be adept at sending word-processed assignments as attachments via computer;
• instructors and students may need to mutually agree on a make-up class or classes, times, places, and modes of instruction (including email or chat room discussions), in order to abide by state requirements of 750 minutes of class time per credit hour.

Classroom Conduct
• You are not allowed to use tobacco products in classrooms at NMSU-A or HAFB.
• You are not allowed to eat or drink in computer classrooms at NMSU-A or HAFB.
• Any student engaging in disruptive behavior will be required to leave the class.  This may include harassment via email.