Ling 431, Spring 2005
Linguistics 431: Investigations in an unfamiliar language*
Jose Camacho, Rutgers University
Location/Time:
Room 001, Department of Linguistics (on CAC), 18 Seminary Place, MTh 11:30-12:50
Contact info
Instructor: Jose Camacho
Office hours:
| CAC office (Language Lab, 109) | DC office (Carpender House, 303) |
| Time: M-Th: 10:00-11:00 | Time: by appointment |
| Phone: 732-932-3219 | Phone: 932-9412 x32 |
email: jcamacho@rutgers.edu
Class link: http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~jcamacho/
Course overview
This course will provide opportunities to develop and test linguistic hypotheses dynamically with a native speaker. It
builds on the results of other linguistics classes (syntax, phonology, etc.), in that the theories developed in those
classes provide the background for studying a particular language, which in this course is Polish. The basic
coverage of the first half of the class will be the phonemic system and foundations in morphosyntax, attempting to
describe the basic sound structures of Polish, identify how subjects and objects are marked, and the basic word
order of simple sentences. The second half of the class will be on focused research topics that arise out of the first
half.
Testing linguistic hypotheses .dynamically. means that much of the class time will involve stating the
predictions of some initial hypothesis, or set of hypotheses, and then going on to try to collect data that can confirm
or disconfirm these hypotheses and perhaps lead to new ones. The principal difference between this class and other
linguistics classes is therefore that the focus is on a particular language and that much of the data relevant for the
analyses given for Polish will be collected first hand.
Class procedures
The 2 linguistic consultants for the class will be working with us on Thursdays (marked with an * on the syllabus). They
will be available
from 11-1, working in the necessary breaks. Our general procedure will therefore be to prepare for data collectionsessions on Mondays, identifying the chief questions we are interested in and what methods we intend to use to answer them.
The class will be divided into 6 working groups, each of which will have weekly 25 minute sessions with one of the consultants.
Each student will be responsible for responsible for at least one elicitation session, and one of the requirements of the course is
to write an elicitation summary., which has both a statement of the goals of the data collection session and a follow-up summary of data
collected.
Materials
Articles will be available online through the library.
Workload
The essential work for the class will involve coming to class and participating actively in class discussions and
completing a set of assignments in a timely fashion. There are four types of assignments: three short
homeworksdesigned to hone your analytical skills in particular areas of linguistics, two small
projects (one on phonemics andanother on basic clause structure), a
research paper on a topic defined by the student, and an elicitation report thatdocuments the research questions and results of a student-direct elicitation session. Assignments should be turned in
on time. Only one assignment will be accepted beyond its deadline. All other late assignments will not receive
credit.
Basis for grading
Grades will be calculated as a simple average of the grades of individual assignments, according to the following
weighting:
-the homeworks receive a basic grade (on a 1-100 point value system),
-the two projects are each
worth two homeworks,-the research paper is worth three homeworks,
-and each of the 3 elicitation reports is worth one homework.
So, the basic formula is as follows: (3 homeworks * 1) + (2 projects * 2) + (1 paper * 3) + (3 elicitation reports * 1) = grade.
Schedule of topics and assignments
Part I. Foundations in sound structures
Jan. 27: Introduction to class goals and methods
Reading: Munro article
Jan. 31: Elicitation techniques, working with human subjects
Reading: Samarin chapter
Feb. 3*: Begin word list, phonemes of Polish Link to Lagefoded's A Course in Phonetics
Reading: Rothstein article (pp. 686-696)
Feb. 7, 10*: Refine transcriptions, elicitation techniques
Assignment 1: phonemic analysis homework (due Feb. 14) Session 2 recordings (mp3, large file!), and another file, and another one
Feb. 14, 17*: Focus on syllable structure. Finalize and analyze word list, compare with published materials (see, for example Schmidt and Marek
Assignment 2: phonemics of Polish project (due Feb. 24), first elicitation report due Feb. 21 Session file 1, 2 and 3, and another one (2/17)
Mid-semester course evaluation (anonymous)
Part II. Foundations in morpho-syntax
Feb. 21, 24*: Introduction to morpho-syntax. Morpheme inventory Session file 1, 2 and 3 and another one
Reading: Payne chapter 2 (pp. 20-31)
Feb. 28, March 3*: word classes and distributional properties Session file 1, 2 and 3 and another one
Reading: Payne chapter 3-4 (pp. 32-90)
Assignment 3: Word classes (due Mar.10)
Mar. 7, 10*: subjects and objects, constituent order part I. Session file 1, 2 and 3 Word order guidelines
Mar. 21, 24*: constituent order part II, clarifying further research problems. Session file 1 and 2 and another one
Reading: instructions for research paper. Think of a topic
Assignment 4: basic clause structure assignment (due Mar. 28), second elicitation report due March 24
N.b.: Mar. 14
th-17th is spring breakPart III. Focused research
Mar. 28, 31*: identifying research projects and the scope of the final paper, Session file 1, 2, 3 and 4
Assignment: statement of intent for final project (due Mar. 31)
Apr. 4, 7*: analytical elicitations I
Reading: Rice article
Apr. 11, 14*: analytical elicitations II
Assignment: elicitation reports due
Apr. 18, 21*: analytical elicitations III
Apr. 25, 28*: analytical elicitations IV, 3rd. elicitation report due April 28
May 2: analytical elicitations V
Assignment: final project due May 9th
*Thanks to prof. John Alderete for access to his 2003 syllabus and other materials.