Readings | Assignments, Tests and Grading | Schedule and Handouts



Instructor:Jirka Hana
e-mail for homeworks etc:  Jirka.LastName@gmail.com (start the email's subject with NPFL063)
Office hours: by appointment
Time & Place: Thu 9:50-12:10 in S1

1  Description and objectives of the course

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

2  Readings

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

3  Assignments, Tests and Grading

3.1  Homeworks
On some classes, a homework will be assigned. Unless specified otherwise, it will be due by the begining of the the following class. If it is reasonably easy to type it in a textprocesor, send it by e-mail as an attachment (use PDF, MS Word or plain text). Otherwise you can email a scan or bring it to class. Please write legibly.

When emailing, use the following subject "NPFL063 <YourFirstName>.<YourLastName> <AssignmentNumber>"

You can use English or Czech.

It is a good idea to work on homeworks 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 will be graded on a scale 0-100%. Incorrect answers are better than no answers.

Homework Due
[HW 1 - phonology] 22 Nov
[HW 2 - Trees] 20 Dec
[HW 3 - Imported NP clusters] 3 Jan
[HW 4 - Implicature in Adds] Before grade


3.2  Paper
You will create a wikipedia-like article on a selected linguistic topic. Consider writing about something that can be useful for your thesis.

Milestone Due How
Your selected topic for approval Nov 1 email
Half a page summary (can be bullets), 5+ reliable sources Dec 6 PDF/MS Word/plain text by email
Draft version - I will provide feedback Jan 10 wiki
Final version 10 days before you want a grade wiki

For details see this page.

3.3  Exam
There will be an in-class final exam. You can bring and use any notes or literature, but you have to work on your own.

You can use English or Czech.

3.4  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 simply whether or not you participate.
If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to get reliable notes from a fellow student.

3.5  Grading
Homeworks 0-20
Article 0-30
Final 0-40
Active class participation 0-10
Total: 0-100

Grade Points
1 90-100
2 76-89
3 60-75
4 0-59

4  Schedule and Handouts

The schedule below is preliminary and can slightly change. I post handouts usually a week before we need need them in class to help you with reading.
Date Topic Handout Reading Other
4 Oct Introduction [handout]    
11 Oct Animal Communication [handout]    
18 Oct Phonetics [handout] Fromkin Ch 6  
25 Oct Phonetics; Phonology   Fromkin Ch 7  
1 Nov Prague School - in Czech [handout]   paper topic deadline
8 Nov --      
15 Nov Phonology   Fromkin Ch 7  
22 Nov Morphology [handout], [slides] Fromkin Ch 5 HW 1 due
29 Nov Morphology    
6 Dec Syntax [slides] [handout] Fromkin Ch 4 paper summary deadline
13 Dec Linguistic Theories [GB slides], [DG slides]    
20 Dec Semantics, Pragmatics [handout], [slides], [handout]   HW 2 due
3 Jan Historical Linguistics [hadnout], [slides] Fromkin Ch 12 HW 3 due
10 Jan Psycholinguistics [slides]   paper draft deadline