230520 Introduction to Linguistics (V) (WiSe 2007/2008)

Objectives and topics

The main objective of this lecture is to introduce systematic, scientific modes of thinking about language, and in particular about the English language and its use around the world.

Everyone is, in a way, an expert on language: everyone speaks a language. But knowing HOW to do something and knowing exactly WHAT one is doing are two quite different kinds of knowledge: it is much harder to explain what one is doing than to show it.

Language activities are no exception. Try to answer the following questions, and then explain your answers to a young relative or friend:

1. What do you do with your tongue when you pronounce the "th" sounds in English? And where is your tongue located in your mouth when you say "Ah!"
2. What is the difference in the position of the verb in English sentences and in German sentences?
3. What are the main dialects in English and in German, and how do they differ from each other?
4. Which language is English most closely related to, German or French? How would you justify this conclusion?
5. How has English influenced German and how has German influenced English?
6. Which languages in Asia are English and German distantly related to?
7. Which languages in Europe are English and German not related to at all?
8. Why is English often called a "world language"?
9. Which varieties of English (in addition to the traditional dialects) will you come across in Britain?
10. How do British and North American Englishes differ?

The topics to be covered will include the history of English and how English relates to other languages, the sounds of various Englishes in different parts of the world, the way in which words are invented in English, and how this differs from German, how it is possible to produce - literally - infinite numbers of sentences correctly and still understand them, and how doing this in English differ from the way it is done in German, literary English and how it differs from everyday English, and how social interaction in English works.
Organisation and qualification

The class will take place as a lecture, with an accompanying tutorial. The lecture will include presentation phases and group work with exercises for discussion during the lecture. In order to get the full qualification of 3 credit points, the following is expected of all participants:

1. Regular attendance.
2. Production of a "Learner Diary" or "Portfolio" on the web. Further details are contained in a separate link on my Teaching web page . One of the main functions of the portfolio is to help you with systematic preparation for the end of term test.
3. Successful end of term test performance.

For students requiring 3 LP:

• the recommended length of the portfolio corresponds to about 2 pages per week.
• the end of term test will be graded.

For students requiring 2 LP (e.g. MEd):

• the recommended length of the portfolio corresponds to about 1 page per week.
• the end of term test must be written and must demonstrate that you have acquired essential knowledge by active participation in the class, but it will not be graded.

See <http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/~gibbon/Classes/Classes2007WS/index.html>

Requirements for participation, required level

Recommended for 1st semester BA students and 1st semester MEd students, as the knowledge gained in this class will be required in later classes.

Bibliography

Many introductions to linguistics have been published, but none all fulfil the needs of this class exactly, so detailed materials will be provided on the class website. You will also find introductions on the websites of other Linguistics Departments.

The following book provides useful orientation in several areas of linguistics:

Andrew Radford, Martin Atkinson, David Britain, Harald Clahsen, Andrew Spencer (1999). Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.

External comments page

http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/~gibbon/Classes/Classes2007WS/IntroductionToLinguistics/