Syllabus For Introduction To Linguistics FINAL

Syllabus for Introduction to Linguistics
What is Linguistics?
Every human knows at least one language, spoken or signed. Linguistics is the science of
language, including the sounds, words, and grammar rules. Words in languages are finite, but
sentences are not. It is this creative aspect of human language that sets it apart from animal
languages, which are essentially responses to stimuli.
The rules of a language, also called grammar, are learned as one acquires a language. These
rules include phonology, the sound system, morphology, the structure of words, syntax, the
combination of words into sentences, semantics, the ways in which sounds and meanings are
related, and the lexicon, or mental dictionary of words. When you know a language, you know
words in that language, i.e. sound units that are related to specific meanings. However, the
sounds and meanings of words are arbitrary. For the most part, there is no relationship between
the way a word is pronounced (or signed) and its meaning.
Knowing a language encompasses this entire system, but this knowledge (called competence) is
different from behavior (called performance.) You may know a language, but you may also
choose to not speak it. Although you are not speaking the language, you still have the knowledge
of it. However, if you don't know a language, you cannot speak it at all.
There are two types of grammars: descriptive and prescriptive. Descriptive grammars represent
the unconscious knowledge of a language. English speakers, for example, know that "me likes
apples" is incorrect and "I like apples" is correct, although the speaker may not be able to explain
why. Descriptive grammars do not teach the rules of a language, but rather describe rules that are
already known. In contrast, prescriptive grammars dictate what a speaker's grammar should be
and they include teaching grammars, which are written to help teach a foreign language.
There are about 7,000 languages in the world right now (a rough estimate), and linguists have
discovered that these languages are more alike than different from each other. There are universal
concepts and properties that are shared by all languages, and these principles are contained in
the Universal Grammar, which forms the basis of all possible human languages.
Course Objectives: At the end of the semester, the student is expected to learn the basic concepts used in the
study of language.
While learning said concepts, students are also exposed to various linguistic phenomena, and are taught on how to
analyze these occurrences in scientific terms. Finally, the students are also presented ways on how linguistics, as a
social science, is related to various fields and disciplines of human knowledge.
Course Outline:
I. Introduction to the Study of Language
a. Defining Language
b. The Role of Linguistics

c. Linguistic Competence, Performance and Grammar
d. Linguistic Generalizations
e. The Subfields of Linguistics
II. Phonetics
a. Sound Production
b. Sound Classes
c. Consonantal Articulation
d. Vowel Articulation
e. Suprasegmentals
f. Phonetic Transcription
Activity1: IPA Reading: Philippine Language
Film: Archives of Babel
III. Phonology
a. Segmental Contrast
b. Phoneme and Allophone
c. Phonetic vs. Phonemic Transcription
d. Syllable
e. Distinctive Features
f. Phonological Processes
Activity 2: Examine the phonology of a Foreign/Philippine language other than Tagalog. Identify
phonemes, phonological conventions and patterns not present in Tagalog. Share findings in class.
IV. Morphology
a. Word Classes
b. Word Structure (Morpheme, Allomorph etc.)
c. Morphological Processes
d. Morphology Across Languages (Typology)

Activity 3: Examine instances of reduplication in Philippine languages. Identify the functions of the
forms of reduplication examined. Cite 10 instances, write down and submit.
Film: The Lorax
-------FIRST LONG EXAMINATION----------------
V. Syntax
a. The Need for a Grammatical Framework
b. The Language Faculty (The Minimalist Model)
c. The Universal Grammar and Parametric Variation
Activity 4: Research on any peculiar syntactic construction in any language. Post your observation in our
online board.
Film: The Human Baby: To Talk
VI. Semantics
a. The Nature of Meaning
b. The Human Conceptual System
c. Other factors that affect meaning
Acitivity 5: Look at any conceptual system indigenous to Philippine languages and discuss the complexity
of the concept from the perspective of the native speaker. Share your findings in class.
VII. Historical Linguistics
a. The Motivations for Language Change
b. Sound Change
c. Lexical Change
d. Syntactic and Semantic Changes
e. Comparative Method vs. Internal Reconstruction
f. Lexicostatistics and Glottochronology

Activity 6: Pick out four Philippine languages belonging to the same subgroup and determine the
approximate date of divergence of these languages using lexicostatistics and glottochronology. Write
down your findings and submit.
Film: (In Search of the First Language)
-------SECOND LONG EXAMINATION-----------------
Criteria for the Final Grade:
Long Examinations…….…………………………….……….……40%
Other Written Evaluations and activity points………30%
Oral Participation…………………………………………………..20%
Attendance………………….……………………………………….…10%
Reminders:
. Maximum no. of absences----6
. 3 instances of tardiness--------1 absence
. Late= arrival beyond the first 15 mins of the scheduled start of class session.
Major References*:
O’Grady, William et. al. 2001. Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction,
4th ed. New York: St. Martin’s.
Radford, Andrew et.al. 1999. Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Paz, Consuelo et.al. 2003. Ang Pag-aaral ng Wika. Quezon City:

University of the Philippines Press.
Additional References:
Crowley, Terry. 1997. Introduction to Historical Linguistics, 3rd ed.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Duranti, Alessandro. 1997. Linguistic Anthropology. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.
Salzmann, Zdenek. 2004. Language, Culture, and Society, 3rd ed. Oxford:
Westview Press.

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Syllabus for Introduction to Linguistics

I. Introduction to the Study of Language

b. The Role of Linguistics

e. The Subfields of Linguistics

Activity1: IPA Reading: Philippine Language

Film: Archives of Babel

b. Phoneme and Allophone

c. Phonetic vs. Phonemic Transcription

b. Word Structure (Morpheme, Allomorph etc.)

d. Morphology Across Languages (Typology)

Film: The Lorax

-------FIRST LONG EXAMINATION----------------

a. The Need for a Grammatical Framework

b. The Language Faculty (The Minimalist Model)

c. The Universal Grammar and Parametric Variation

Film: The Human Baby: To Talk

a. The Nature of Meaning

b. The Human Conceptual System

c. Other factors that affect meaning

VII. Historical Linguistics

a. The Motivations for Language Change

d. Syntactic and Semantic Changes

e. Comparative Method vs. Internal Reconstruction

f. Lexicostatistics and Glottochronology

Film: (In Search of the First Language)

-------SECOND LONG EXAMINATION-----------------

Criteria for the Final Grade:

Other Written Evaluations and activity points………30%

. Maximum no. of absences----6

. 3 instances of tardiness--------1 absence

Radford, Andrew et.al. 1999. Linguistics: An Introduction. Cambridge:

Paz, Consuelo et.al. 2003. Ang Pag-aaral ng Wika. Quezon City:

Duranti, Alessandro. 1997. Linguistic Anthropology. Cambridge:

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