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Convenor(s)	Dr Jennifer Peck Dr Rosalind Thornton
Quicklinks	Unit outline 2007 - pdf Notices Timetable - scheduling changes to the timetable, 13 August 2007 Lecture notes Handouts Tutorial Worksheets Assignments, Assessments items and information Tutors and Tutorials LING110 Experimental Participation Essay Essay guide - pfd, word Lecture room change - 6pm wed lecture to E7B163

Intended Students

LING110 is designed both for students who have never studied Linguistics and for those who have studied LING109 or LING120. While students who have studied LING109 Language, Culture and Communication or LING120 Living English will find that they can draw on their previous knowledge, LING110 is quite independent of these units. Students with no previous Linguistics experience should definitely not feel that they will be disadvantaged.

About the Unit

The unit teaches you interesting facts about language and languages, their place in the world around us, and how linguists investigate language. You already 'know' a lot about language, so our job will be to give you some specialist skills to help you bring this knowledge to the surface. Through your engagement with language data from a range of language families you will appreciate the universal and language specific aspects of human language and also discover something about your own language and how it functions.

LING110 introduces you to the analysis of syntax (sentence structure), morphology (word structure), and phonetics and phonology (sound patterns and structure). In addition you will learn to observe how these aspects of language function in the world around you. You will find out more about the everyday use of language, and how we use language in relationships of various kinds. You will learn about the ways language is used to encode membership of social and cultural groups, and to negotiate the ways people think and feel about us.

Many topics have links to other areas of study, or have practical applications in areas such as education or medicine. These include topics such as First and Second Language Acquisition, Brain and Language, Reading Development and Disorders. You will discover that topics such as Syntax, Morphology and Phonetics are also highly relevant to your study and work.

Topics such as Auslan and The Deaf and Non-sexist Language are perhaps more obviously applied topics. In these lectures we will look at the language use of diverse people: those from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds, people with disabilities, and how age, gender and sexual orientation influence language choice. We will discuss contexts such as business meetings, legal and medical situations, education and the media, and we will see how language is used to achieve various objectives.

We will also look at computer-mediated communication (CMC) such as we find in sms and chat-site talk. We will consider the impact that CMC is having on contemporary language.
By the end of this unit you will have a very broad range of linguistic skills, and you will be able to apply your skills in different situations: to advance your study; to undertake research, or in social or work contexts.

Generic Skills

In addition to obtaining skills in Linguistics, you will gain generic skills in:

• Analysis of data
• Analysis of communication in contexts
• Critical thinking
• Problem solving
• Argumentative writing

Lectures

The daytime lectures are held on Wednesdays at 10 a.m. in C5C T1 and Fridays at 12 noon in W5A T2. The evening lectures are on Wednesdays at 6 p.m. in E7B264 and Thursdays at 7 p.m. in C5A226. Lectures are also recorded on i-lecture. Tutorial times are organized to accommodate both day and evening students.

Website

The LING110 website contains information about the unit and organization of matters such as lectures, tutorials and assessment.

In addition, some lecturers will have their own handouts or slides, and these may be lodged on the website. Please note that lecturers are not obliged to put lecture notes, overheads or handouts on the website: you are expected to attend the lectures and collect material that is handed out there. Note that lecture notes will not be available before lectures.

Lecturing and Tutoring Staff

 

Convenors:	Dr Jennifer Peck (JJP)
	Dr Rosalind Thornton (RT)
Other lecturing	Dr Felicity Cox (FC)
and tutoring staff:	Associate Professor Linda Cupples (LC)
	Associate Professor Trevor Johnston (TJ)
	Ms Caroline Moir	hectorboy@unwired.com.au
	Mr Ramiro Padilla	ramiro.padilla.m@gmail.com
	Ms Jeanette Polley (JP)	jpolley@bigpond.com
	Dr Verna Rieschild (VR)
	Dr Peter Roger (PR)

Lecture Timetable

• Ling 110 Timetable

Tutorials

There are twelve weekly tutorials in the unit, beginning in Week 2. The tutorial lists are posted on the notice board opposite the lift at the Linguistics Office, C5A 5th floor. You are required to attend all tutorials, as it is there that you will work hands-on with language data and discuss issues that arise in the lectures.

Tutorial work for each week will be handed out in the lectures. The tutorial worksheets are to be completed before each tutorial, and worksheets are to be brought with you to the tutes. Spare copies of the handouts (if there are any spares) will be available outside the Undergraduate Linguistics Office, C5A 5th floor during the week after each lecture.

Tutorial Days, Times and Tutors

Day	Time	Tutor	Venue
Wednesday	11.00	Dr Jennifer Peck	E7B264
Wednesday	11.00	Ms. Jeanette Polley	X5B136
Wednesday	12.00	Ms. Caroline Moir	C5C236
Wednesday	12.00	Ms. Jeanette Polley	X5B136
Wednesday	12.00	Dr. Jennifer Peck	C5C236
Thursday	18.00	Ms Jeanette Polley	W6B338
Thursday	18.00	Ms. Caroline Moir	W6B286
Friday	11.00	Dr Rosalind Thornton	C5A404
Friday	11.00	Mr. Ramiro Padilla	W5A103
Friday	14.00	Mr. Ramiro Padilla	W5C312

Tutors will advise you of their Consultation Times in their tutorials. Consultation hours are times set aside by tutors to assist students: please feel free to see or phone your tutor during their allocated times. If you are unable to contact your tutor during their set hours, you may ask your tutor to make an appointment to talk to you.

Contacting Convenor

Dr Jennifer Peck, C3B 405, Consultation times: Wednesdays 3-4 pm.
Please call in or phone during these times (you don’t need to make an appointment).

Dr Rosalind Thornton C5C 491 Consultation time: Wednesday 11am-noon
(Please find Dr. Thornton after class or have Brooke from the Undergraduate office call;
access to C5C offices requires a swipe card)

STUDENTS IN JENNIFER PECK’S TUTORIALS: Please see the above times and comments.

Assessment

Your grade at the end of the unit will be based on the following items:

Assessment	Weighting	Due
Tutorial Worksheets Short Exercises	15%, 15%	Weekly, weeks 3-12 Friday 1pm weeks 8 & 12
Essay (1500 words)	25%	Monday 5pm week 13
Research Participation (1 hour)	5%	Participation times will be advised
Exam	40%	During exam period

In order to pass this unit you must submit each assessment task.

Short Exercises for Assessment

Given out	Handed in	Assignment weighting
Week 7b	Week 8	7.5%
Week 10b	Week 12	7.5%

 

Tutorial Worksheets

Fifteen (15) percent of the assessment for this unit is allocated to weekly worksheets. These relate to the topic for the week and will be handed out in lectures, in the second lecture each week. Each worksheet is to be completed before the tutorial of the following week. Worksheets will be marked for weeks 3-12 inclusive, and each worksheet for these weeks will be worth 1.5%. You are expected to attempt each question on the worksheet, and your worksheet will be marked as either a satisfactory attempt (1.5%) or as unsatisfactory (not demonstrating an adequate attempt) (0%).

Your tutor will tell you how they wish to handle submission and marking of the weekly worksheets, but you must ensure that you bring your completed worksheet to each tutorial so that you can work on it and correct your work. Some of the exam questions will be based on the weekly worksheets.

Short Exercises

Fifteen (15) percent of the assessment for this unit is allocated to two short exercises on syntax and phonetics (see above). These exercises will be given out in class and are to be handed in to the Linguistics Office (C5A Room 508) by 1pm on the Friday of the due week.

Essay

A list of essay topics will be handed out later in the course, together with a guide to help you with writing the essay. Your response to your chosen topic must be written in essay format, and must be a maximum of 1500 words in length.

Referencing

You must use academic references to support your ideas, using the correct conventions for referencing, and include a List of References that lists your sources. In Linguistics you are required to use either the Harvard or the APA referencing system. You must use one system consistently. We recommend that you use the APA system as this is required by a number of associated Departments. For guidance on referencing procedures,

Referencing

You must use academic references to support your ideas, using the correct conventions for referencing, and include a List of References that lists your sources. In Linguistics you are required to use either the Harvard or the APA referencing system. You must use one system consistently. We recommend that you use the APA system as this is required by a number of associated Departments. For guidance on referencing procedures,

• Referencing in Assignments
  
  
• APA Style Homepage

APA web links: Go to Linguistics Department Website and follow these links: Student Information; Generic Information; Information on Assignments; APA Style homepage.
APA further information: The APA Style homepage gives details of books that provide additional information about referencing.
I strongly advise you to check the referencing method that is required and make sure that you get it right from the start of your studies. One negative reason for this is that you will be marked down for incorrect referencing, or for omitting references in your work. On the positive side, you will find it easy to continue with your studies and to do well if you get into good habits early, and you will (I hope!) gain satisfaction from producing well-documented work.
(See below for notes about READING.)

Essay Format

Essays should be typed, double-spaced and there must be adequate space in the margins for the marker to make comments. Please staple your assignment at the top left-hand corner, (or use a butterfly clip). Put your name and page number on each page. Do not submit assignments in files or plastic folders.
You must keep a copy of the essay; you may be asked to produce the copy in case of any query about the essay.

ESSAY DUE DATE

The essay is due week 13 by 5pm Monday. It must be placed in the box outside the Linguistics Office, C5A Room 508, ext. 8740.

Copies of Your Assessment

Please note that you should keep copies of all the assessment tasks that you hand in. Please keep a photocopy of work that is handwritten.

Research Participation

Part of doing linguistics is observing language in use, and the frontiers of language research. Research participation is 5% of the credit for this unit. You participate in a total of one hour's experimental work. Evening times will be available for evening students.
The experiment is designed to accommodate for people from diverse backgrounds, such as people from different language backgrounds, and people with disabilities. This means that no student needs to feel that they will be disadvantaged in any way when participating.
Sign-up forms with your contact details will be made available and are to be handed in to the Linguistics Undergraduate Office. You will be contacted when a project becomes available for you. Please ensure that you attend when you have agreed to, as failure to attend will result in forfeit of the participation marks.
Alternative assessment will be provided for students who are unable to undertake the experiment, for instance for a particular ethical reason. Please note that part of doing Linguistics is undertaking research, and the experiment is in no way invasive or controversial. However, if you feel unable to undertake this assessment, please advise your tutor by week 5. Your tutor will give you details of an essay that you will be required to submit to the Linguistics Office by 5pm on Friday of week 13. Note that you must notify your tutor early of your decision. You will not be allowed to undertake the alternative assessment if, for instance, you have missed your allocated experiment appointment.
I do encourage you to do the experiment. It takes a very short amount of your time and you gain 5% for participating.

The contact person for enquiries about the research project is Dr Robert Mannell.

Examination

The examination will consist of 20 questions that require short answers, generally of about 1 or 2 sentences. The exam will cover all the topics in the unit. The duration will be 2 hours, plus 10 minutes reading time. We will talk about the exam towards the end of semester. If you do the work for each tutorial and study your lecture notes you should not have a problem with the exam.

Other Advice About Assignments!

Assignment Coversheets

The Linguistics Department has an official coversheet. You should attach a signed copy of this coversheet to all assignments submitted for assessment in LING 110. Hard copies of the coversheet are available from the Linguistics Office, C5A 508, or you can download copies by clicking on the following link: Assignment Coversheets.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is copying someone else's work and presenting it as your own. This includes copying the work of other students as well as copying from textbooks, journal articles, web sites or other source material. It is, of course, often appropriate to draw on the work of others when presenting your own work. You may, for instance, quote directly from relevant authors, or put their ideas into your own words (called paraphrasing). Whether quoting directly or paraphrasing, you must always give a reference to the source of the borrowed material, with the added requirement that direct quotation must be identified as such by use of quotation marks. Failure to reference borrowed material constitutes one form of plagiarism.

Another common form of plagiarism is when students work together on the assignment, handing in work that is substantially the same as each other. By all means talk the issues over with your friends, but, when doing individual assessment tasks, work alone on the actual assignment to avoid this type of plagiarism.
Macquarie University considers plagiarism to be a serious offence and students who plagiarise face a range of penalties. In cases of very serious plagiarism, students may not only fail the relevant unit, but may also be reported to the University for disciplinary action. For further information about the Linguistics Department's policy on plagiarism click on the following link: Department of Linguistics Policy on Plagarism

Don't submit work late

Late work may attract a penalty since it disadvantages other students and increases pressure on those of us who have to mark it. If, due to difficult circumstances (such as illness), you feel you may be unable to submit work on time, you need to talk to your tutor about an extension before the due date.

Requests for extensions should be accompanied by medical certificates or other documentation which explains the circumstances. Extensions are not automatically granted, so if you wish to avoid losing marks make sure you speak to your tutor in advance.

SET TEXT AND SUGGESTED READINGS

The set text is:
Fromkin, Victoria, Rodman, Robert, Hyams, Nina, Collins, Peter and Amberber, Mengistu. An Introduction to Language (5th ed.), Melbourne, Thomson, 2005.
Copies are available from the Co-op Bookshop on campus, and there are also copies in the library: 3 copies are in Reserve, 2 copies are on 3 day loan.

Other Books to Read

Apart from the set textbook you will find helpful discussions on linguistic topics in the following (available in the library):

Burridge, K. & Mulder, J. English in Australia and New Zealand, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language (2nd ed.), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997.

Finch, G. Linguistic Terms and Concepts, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 2000 Finegan, E., Blair, D. & Collins, P. Language, its Structure and Use (2nd ed.), Sydney: Harcourt Brace, 1997.

Holmes, J. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, New York: Longman, 2000

Articles and book chapters on e-reserve

A number of journal articles and chapters from books are available on e-reserve. These have been chosen either because they are of general use for this subject, or because they may relate to the essay topics that you will receive later in the semester.

Reading is a vital part of your study at university. You will discover new and interesting ideas through reading outside the texts that are set as essential reading for the course. This will not only advance your knowledge of Linguistics, but of other areas of study and of knowledge. Of course, you will also do much better in the formal assessment if you have read widely.

You will not only be able to make interesting points with references to authors’ works in your essay, (which markers always appreciate!), you will also find the weekly tasks and the exam easier. You will also find that the tutorials are more rewarding for you, and you will have interesting contributions to make.

Linguistics Office

The office for the Linguistics Department is located on the 5th floor of C5A, Room 508, ext. 8740.
Assignments must be placed in the assignment box located near the lift on level 5 C5A. Outside the office tutorial lists are posted and assignment cover sheets are available.

Spare copies of handouts, tutorial worksheets and other administration information that is handed out in lectures will be placed in the boxes in the corridor beside the Linguistics Office.

Collection times for Assignments:
The office is open for collection of essays and other assignments that are not handed back in tutorials. The opening times are posted on the office door and the office is not open at other times.

Marks and grades

The final letter grades that you acquire (such as P, C, D), have accompanying Standardised Numerical Grades (SNG) . As with any standardised grading system, scaling of numerical marks may take place when we come to assign final grades. The University website gives detailed information information on marking and grading.

LING110 Lecture Timetable 2007

Week	Lect.	Lecturer	Lecture Topic	Tutorial	Readings1
Week 1	1a	JJP	Introduction	No tutorial	Ch 1
July 30	1b	JJP	Language and Social Identity		Ch 10 pp 400-29
Week 2	2a	TJ	Auslan and The Deaf	Language &	No reading
Aug 6	2b	JJP	Australian English	social identity	No reading
Week 3	3a	PR	Brain and Language	Australian	Ch 2
Aug 13	3b	RT	Language Acquisition 1	English	Ch 8
Week 4	4a	RT	Language Acquisition 2	Language	Ch 8
Aug 20	4b	RT	Syntax 1	Acquisition	Ch 4
Week 5	5a	RT	Syntax 2	Syntax	Ch 4
Aug27	5b	RT	Syntax 3
Week 6	6a	LC	Psycholinguistics	Essay topics Syntax	Ch 9 pp 357-71
Sept 3	6b	LC	Reading Development and Disorders
Week 7	7a	RT	Syntax 4	Syntax	Ch 4
Sept 10	7b	RT	Syntax 5		Ch 4

MID-SEMESTER BREAK (Sept 17 – Sept 30)

Week	Lect.	Lecturer	Lecture Topic	Tutorial	Readings
Week 8	8a	JJP	Sexist language and the media	Exercise 1 due (Syntax)	Ch 10 pp 429-35
Oct 1	8b	JJP	Gender and talk
Week 9	9a	JJP	Morphology	Sexist language	Ch 11
Oct 8	9b	JJP	Morphology		Ch 11
Week 10	10a	FC	Sounds of Speech (Phonetics)	Morphology	Ch 6
Oct 15	10b	FC	Consonants		Ch 6
Week 11	11a	FC	Vowels	Phonetics	Ch 6
Oct 22	11b	FC	Phonology 1		Ch 7
Week 12	12a	FC	Phonology 2	Exercise 2 due	Ch 7
Oct 29	12b	VR	Language and Culture	(Phonetics) Phonology	No reading
Week 13	13a	JJP	Computer Mediated Communication	Essay due Revision &	No reading
Nov 5	13b	JJP & RT	Exam Preparation	Exam Prep

1 Please note chapter and page numbers are from Fromkin & Rodman, An Introduction to Language, 5th ed.