LING 112: Languages of the World
M,W,F 10:00-12:00; G168 Angell Hall
Instructor: David Medeiros
Email: [email protected]
Spring 2009
Office: 455C Lorch Hall
Office hours: Th, 10:00-12:00
Office phone: 734.763.9218
Course description: Language, a defining trait of humans, is arguably unique
among mammalian cognitive properties; all (normally developing) humans acquire a
linguistic system, yet linguistic systems come in many diverse forms. This course is
intended for students who are interested in the diversity of languages around the
world, but who have no formal training in linguistics.
During the first week of the course, tools for linguistic description will be
introduced, using data sets from a diverse set of languages when possible.
Following this first week, each week will contain a mix of activities. We will
generally talk about linguistic features on Monday, discuss linguistic regions of the
world on Wednesday, and discuss specific languages on Friday. On most
Wednesdays, facts about a particular language will be discovered through mock
‘field-work’ sessions, using native speaker guests when possible.
Although a review of all major topics of interest to linguists is not possible
during one semester, students will gain understanding of select topics from the
areas of syntax, semantics, phonetics, phonology, and socio-linguistics. In
addition, while it is not possible to cover all language groups, we will exam several
language areas in depth. All work in this class should be done with the following
underlying questions in mind: What differentiates one language from another?
What is the relationship between language and culture? What does the diversity of
languages tell us about the human mind?
Requirements and Grading (specifics appear below)
Participation – 5%
Reading quizzes – 25%
Weekly slides – 15%
Exams (3 + 1 homework) – 30%
Small Paper – 20%
The grading policy for this course is intended to reflect my teaching philosophy
that introductory courses should have many low-stakes opportunities for
evaluation, as opposed to one or two heavily weighted tests or papers.
Participation
Students are expected to be in class on time. Please do not populate the back
rows! Please also keep electronic distractions (cell phones, computers, etc.) to a
minimum. Following these two policies will make the class more enjoyable for all.
Participation will be especially crucial when native-speaker guests are present.
Reading Quizzes
There will often be a reading quiz on Mondays. These are to ensure that careful
reading was done – questions will not require in depth understanding, but rather
engagement with the reading. These quizzes will always be announced. The lowest
quiz grade will be dropped.
Weekly Slides
Each week students will be expected to prepare 3-5 slides to be included in
(typically Friday’s) lecture. These slides will be on a specific language within that
week’s geographic region. Research here doesn’t need to be in-depth and can be
done exclusively on the internet; valid sources include The World Atlas of Linguistic
Structures, the UCLA phonetics database, Wikipedia, and other such encyclopediatype websites. If you are doubtful of the authenticity of a claim online, email me
about it or simply present it with caveats.
Exams
Usually to occur on Friday, these will always be announced. They may be missed
and made-up only with an excused absence. These will occur generally every other
week. As the ‘final’ exam will be less that 20% of the grade, it will be given during
the last class meeting.
Small Paper
This paper will require you to examine the published grammar of a particular
language and compare it to your own native language and the linguistic features
discussed in class. A list of suggested grammars will be given; students may also
choose languages not listed with approval. The point here is to examine a language
you don’t know or may have never heard of before.
Readings
Text: Comrie, Bernard, Stephen Matthews and Maria Polinsky. (2003 rev. ed.): The
Atlas of Languages. New York: Facts on File.
Readings: All additional readings will be available on Ctools.
Students with special needs
If there are any religious holidays for which you need to miss class, please let me
know ahead of time, so that I can arrange for make-up work. Students with
disabilities (including learning disabilities) should let me know as soon as possible,
so that proper accommodations may be made.
Schedule
AL = Atlas of Languages
Date
General Topic
Week 1 – Introduction
4.May  Course introduction
 Linguistics introduction
6.May
Linguistic Sound and
Sound Systems
(phonetics and
phonology)
8.May  Word and Sentence
Structure (morphology
and syntax)

Linguistic concepts
 Language
 Dialect
 Grammar
 Phonetics
 IPA
 phonology
Morphology
 Syntax

Week 2 – Language 'life cycles' – Indo-European Langauges
11.May  Language Change
 Historical Linguistics
Reading (to be completed
before class unless
indicated)
LF 2.1-2.3, 3.1
 Review slides (after
class)

LF 4.1 & 5.1
 Review slides (after
class)

Diamond 1993
LF 12.1&12.2
 AL, 38-60


13.May
Indo-European
Language Demo:
Afrikkans
15.May  Indo-European (cont)


Field-work

Case
 HW 1 Assigned

Week 3 – Languages of Oceania and Australia
18.May  Languages of Australia
 Skin Names
 Presentation: Carmel
O'Shannessy
20.May
Oceanic Languages
 Hawaiian
22.May  Slides (Australia &
Oceania)


Case (last time)

EXAM

LF 4.1-4.3

AL 108-123
AL 90-108
 HW 1 DUE

Week 4 – East Asia - Tone
25.May  Memorial Day - No Class
27.May
East Asia
Language Demo:
Taiwanese (a dialect of
Chinese)
29.May  Slides (East Asia)





Tone
Paper Topic
Finalized (reference)
review for next
week's reading
Week 5 – Pidgins & Creoles - Language Universals
1.June  Language Universals
 Typology
3.June
Pidgins & Creoles
Language Demo: Cape
Verde Creole
 Slides (Any Creole)

AL, 61-71 AND
Li & Thompson 295-313


Finnegan 225-249
AL, 142-159

Acquisition (if time)


Exam


5.June
Week 6 – Africa and the Middle East – Writing systems
8.June  African Languages
 Clicks
10.June
Middle Eastern
 Writing systems
Languages
 Language Demo: Arabic Papers Due!!
or Tswana
12.June  Slides (Africa/Middle

Eastern)


AL 72 - 89

Finnegan 426-446

Week 7 – The Americas – Language Death and Revitalization - Quite Possibly something very
cool about Phonetics !This week subject to change! (Instructor - Kevin McGowan)
15.June  Language Death
 Irish in Ireland
 ??
17.June
The Americas
 Language Presentation:
Montana Salish
19.June  Slides (The Americas)


Phonetics

Exam

AL, 124-141