Linguistics 201 provides essential training for all advanced
linguistics undergraduate classes; it is a prerequisite for all 300- and
400-level courses. It's very helpful, but not essential, to take
Linguistics 101 first. Several sections of 201 are taught every
semester. I usually teach 201 once a year. Class sizes are
usually around 30 to 35. I sometimes teach 201 Honors. It goes into more depth
than 201.
The aim of 201 is to provide a foundation in linguistic theory.
My course typically deals with four areas: morphology (structure of
words), syntax (structure of sentences), phonetics (physical realization
of speech sound), and phonology (mental representation of speech sound).
I use morphology to introduce fundamental ideas in linguistic
theories. Essentially, we work together to build up a theory of
English word structure. The aim is to provide a theory that will
allow words like anti-pro-war, but not *war-anti, and so
on. The same applies to syntax, where we come up with a theory to
explain why "the cat will sleep in the hat" is fine but *will
sleep the cat hat the in is not.
The aim in phonetics is to provide background to the International
Phonetic Alphabet and the concepts it embodies. For phonology, we
discuss principles that limit how speech sounds are restricted and
organized in languages.
You do not have to buy a textbook for the course. I provide one
for free.
I use a lot of problem sets and small group work in class. For
assessment, there are usually three homework assignments and two
in-class exams.
Here's a sample of a Ling201 syllabus from 2005: [PDF].
If you have questions it often helps to talk to someone who has
taken the course before. You can find them at the Rutgers
Undergraduate Linguistics Club (http://www.eden.rutgers.edu/~lingclub/)
or you can e-mail me:
delacy@rutgers.edu.
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