NPFL063 Introduction to General Linguistics

2026 Winter

 

E-mail for homework, etc:	Jirka.LastName@gmail.com (replace LastName with my last name) Start the email's subject with "NPFL063" followed by a space.
Language:	English
Office hours:	By appointment (via Zoom)
Time	Tue 15:40
Place	S11

1  Description and objectives of the course

The course will help students familiarize themselves with the fundamental features of human language, its structure and development, its place in society, etc. It also introduces linguistics as a science, its history, and methodology, with a focus on structural linguistics.

2  Language

The course is taught in English. I will repeat in Czech anything that you don't understand. All course materials (slides, readings, web pages, etc.) are in English. Homework and the final exam can be submitted in English, Czech, or Slovak.

3  Readings

Readings (when assigned) are to be read before class. Some of the readings will not be covered in class, but homework and exams will assume that you have read them all. 
In most cases, the assigned reading will be from the following (the Library has several copies of the books):

• V. Fromkin, R. Rodman, N. Hyams: An Introduction to Language. 8th edition or later; preferably the International edition of 8th edition, Heinle, 2006.
• D. Crystal: The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language. Cambridge University Press; 1997
• Reader (under development; 2020-10-05)

4  Assignments, Tests, and Grading

4.1  Homework

In some classes, homework will be assigned. Unless specified otherwise, assignments are due by midnight before the class. If it is reasonably easy to type it in a text processor, send it by e-mail as an attachment (use PDF, MS Word, Google Docs, or plain text). Otherwise, you can email a scan/photo (correctly rotated) or bring it to class. Please write legibly.

When emailing, use the following subject: "NPFL063 HW #", e.g., "NPFL063 HW 1" for the first homework assignment.

You can use English or Czech/Slovak.

It is a good idea to work on homework in a group of two or three people (write who you worked with at the top of the page). However, you have to write it up individually, in your own words. Each homework assignment will be graded on a scale of 0-100%. Incorrect answers are better than no answers.

You can ask an LLM to verify your answer, but you have to work on it on your own.

Homework assignment	Due
[HW 1 - Phonology]	Nov 1
[HW 2 - Trees]	Nov 29
[HW 3 - Dependency trees]	Dec 6
HW 4 - Ambiguity in news	Dec 13
[HW 5 - Imported NP clusters	Jan 3
HW 6 - Presupposition in ads	Jan 3
[HW 7 - Implicature in ads]	Before grade

 

Late submissions are automatically penalized in the following way:

Homework	up to one week late	20%
	more than one week late	80%

However, if you see you cannot meet a deadline, talk to me about it before the deadline, and most likely, we can find a later deadline when you can submit without any penalty.

4.2  Exam

There will be an in-class final exam. You can bring and use any paper-based notes or literature, but you have to work on your own. You cannot use laptops, readers, smartphones etc. during the exam.

You can use English or Czech/Slovak. Even mixing the languages is allowed (e.g., using English terminology in Czech sentences). 

4.3  Active class participation

"Active participation" refers to your comments and questions during class, your answers to my questions, etc. I do not keep track of whether your answers, etc., are correct, but only whether you participate. 

If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get reliable notes from a fellow student.

4.4  Grading

You need to submit all homework assignments, the article, and the final to get a zápočet. You need to get at least 60% (36 points) from the final exam.

5  Schedule and Handouts

The schedule below is preliminary and may change. If I update a handout, I will add the update date in parentheses.

Date	Topic	Handout	Reading	Other
Sep 29	Introduction	[slides] [handout]
Oct 6	Animal Communication	[handout]
Oct 13	Phonetics	[handout]	Fromkin Ch 6
Oct 20	NO CLASS  (I am at a conference)
Oct 27	Phonology	[handout]	Fromkin Ch 7
Nov 3	Morphology	[handout] [slides]	Fromkin Ch 3	HW 1 due (Nov 1)
Nov 10	Morphology
Nov 17	NO CLASS - National Holliday
Nov 24	Syntax	[handout] [slides]	Fromkin Ch 4
Dec 1	Syntax / Linguistic theories	[GB slides] [DG slides]		HW 2 due (Nov 29)
Dec 8	Semantics / Pragmatics	[handout] [handout] [slides]	Fromkin Ch 5	HW 3 due (Dec 6)
Dec 15	Historical Linguistics	[handout] [slides]	Fromkin Ch 11	HW 4 due (Dec 13)
Jan 5	Psycholinguistics	[slides]	Fromkin Ch 8, 9	HW 5 & 6 due (Jan 3)