Language Myths and Realities
Summer 2008
MW 9-11.30
Harper 102 (weeks 1-2)
Harper 151 (weeks 3-6)


Chris Kennedy
Department of Linguistics
Classics 314D
834-1988
email


Jacqueline Bunting (CA)
Department of Linguistics
401-3456
email

Course description

Language is at the center of what it means to be human. With it, we understand others and make ourselves understood, we identify ourselves and others as members of particular groups, and we persuade, argue, reason, and think. Despite (or maybe because of) this, conceptions about the nature of language and its role in our lives vary wildly. The goal of this course is to examine such conceptions from the perspective of linguistics, the scientific study of language, with the goal of separating the myths from the realities. Through readings, discussion and classroom activities, we will investigate the following topics: the relation between human languages and animal communication systems, the relation between language and thought, whether some languages are harder than others, whether English is getting worse (or better), whether some languages are more primitive than others, the similarities and differences between signed and spoken languages, the nature of dialect variation and its role in shaping social classifications, and the role of language in politics.

Structure

The class will meet on Mondays and Wednesdays. The first part of the class will be primarily devoted to lecture (though discussion is encouraged!); we will then take a break and the second part will be devoted to discussion of the issues brought up in the first part.

Course requirements

  1. Reaction papers: Seven 1-page (maximum) reaction papers, which should pick out a single issue or question from one of the readings, explain why it is interesting and important, and provide an informed assessment of it based on what you have learned from the readings or in class. Reaction papers are due at the beginning of class on July 2, 7, 9, 14, 23, 28, and 30. In addition, all students must turn in a revision of one of their first four reaction papers on July 21.(50%)

  2. Participation: Students are expected to participate in the discussion, and each student will also be responsible for leading one discussion session. (25%)

  3. Final paper: For the final paper, students will choose one of their earlier reaction papers and revise and expand it, turning it into a three-page essay that addreses the topic in more detail. The final paper is due in class on Wednesday, August 6. (25%)

Readings and syllabus

The text for the course is Bauer, Laurie and Peter Trudgill (eds.), 1998, Language Myths, Penguin, New York. In addition, there will be a number of auxiliary readings, all of which can be downloaded from this website via the links posted below.