Republic of the Philippines

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS
Department of English, Foreign Languages, and Linguistics

Course Title : Introduction to Linguistics

Course Code : ENGL 2033

Course Credit : 3 Units

Pre-Requisite : None

Course Description : This course is specifically designed to orient students to the nature of linguistic inquiry, description and analysis, as well as the
methodologies employed for said purposes, as forming a discipline grounded on empirical evidence-based scientific study. Appropriate
focus is given on linguistics as a science and a specialization that is legitimately technically rich and whole on its own. This course
therefore does not treat linguistics as a mere pedagogical tool, nor simply as a subject attendant to the learning of other fields of interest,
such as education or literature. It introduces the sub-disciplines of linguistics, language universals, social and biological triggers in
language use, a range of synchronic and diachronic methods of analysis, and relevant and relatively up-to-date theories and structural
models. The course further develops in students a technical mastery of the accepted rule-writing conventions, as well as advanced critical
and logical thinking and problem-solving skills necessary for linguistic analysis, with mostly the students themselves doing the
investigation into language phenomena, guided by actual or artificial linguistic data.

Institutional Learning Outcomes Program Outcomes Course Outcomes

1. Creative and Critical Thinking At the end of the course, students will have a thorough:

2. Effective Communication  Knowledge of key linguistic concepts and

principles
3. Strong Service Orientation  Mastery of the methods and tools used in
linguistic analysis
4. Passion to Life-Long Learning  Understanding of the theoretical impetus for
linguistic work
5. Sense of Nationalism and Global Responsiveness  Understanding of both linguistic universals and
language-specific differences (in select
6. Community Engagement languages)

7. Adeptness in the Responsible Use of Technology
8. High Level of Leadership and Organizational Skills
9. Sense of Personal and Professional Ethics
COURSE PLAN
Week Topic
Week 1 Introduction to the course
contents, activities, and
requirements.
Introduction to the nature and
characteristics of language
Introduction to Linguistics as a
scientific enterprise
Learning Outcomes
Show interest in and appreciation for
the subject
Understand the nature and
characteristics of natural languages
Understand that linguistics is not an
education, literature, Filipino, or English
subject; it should instead be treated as
a science subject
Have preliminary knowledge of basic
linguistic concepts and principles
Methodology
Orientation (review of the
syllabus, required readings,
learning activities, grading
system, and class rules)
Interactive lecture and
discussion
Take-home required readings
Set class groupings
 Appreciation for research and empirical data
gathering
 Ability to investigate linguistic phenomena on
their own, following the scientific method, and
based on a sound linguistic framework
 Ability to describe and compare the systems
and structures of languages in terms of (at
least) their phonology, morphology, and syntax
 Ability to read and understand specialized and
technical linguistic research papers
 Awareness of the linguistic reasons for the
nuances of language use in everyday discourse
 Awareness of the connection between
language and society
Resources Assessment
Course syllabus None
Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., &
Hyams, N. (2011). Chapter 1,
What is Language?. In An
Introduction to Language, 9th ed.
Boston: Wadsworth.
O’Grady, W. (2011). Chapter 1,
Language: a preview. In
O’Grady, W., & Archibald, J.
(eds.). Contemporary Linguistic
Analysis: An Introduction, 7th ed.
Toronto: Pearson-Longman.
Week 2 Phonetics
Acoustic Phonetics
Articulatory Phonetics
Sound segments and their
features
Features of consonants:
Voice, Place and Manner of
Articulation
Features of vowels: Height
and Placement of the tongue,
Shape of the lips
Diphthongs
International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA)
Know the different sound segments and
their features
Able to articulate the common phonetic
sounds
Be familiar with IPA symbols
Interactive lecture and
discussion
Take-home required readings
Group competition (recorded
as graded recitation)
IPA Chart 2015 Scores in group competition
Dobrovolsky, M. (2011).
Chapter 2, Phonetics: The
sounds of language. In
O’Grady, W., & Archibald, J.
(eds.). Contemporary
Linguistic Analysis: An
Introduction, 7th ed. Toronto:
Pearson-Longman.
Akmaijan, A., et al. (2010).
Chapter 3, Phonetics and
Phonemic Transcription. In
Linguistics: An Introduction to
Language and
Communication, 6th ed.
Cambridge: The MIT Press.

Suprasegmentals

Week 3 Phonetics Have memorized the IPA symbols and Review, recapitulate, and Same as the ones used in Quiz (broad transcription;
the sound segment & features each reinforce the lessons Week 2, above features identification)
(cont.) symbol represents

Able to transcribe whole paragraphs

from natural languages into IPA and
vice versa
Week 4 Phonology Know and understand the structure of Interactive lecture and IPA Chart 2015 Scores in group competition
syllables discussion
Relation (and difference) Ohala, J. (2010). Chapter 17, Results of (students’ work on)
between Phonetics and Able to identify the natural class of a Take-home required readings The Relation between Phonetics the Problem sets
single sound segment or group of and Phonology. In Hardcastle,
Phonology
Work-along exercise W. et al. (eds.). The Handbook of
related segments
Distinctive features and Phonetic Sciences, 2nd Edition.
Minimal pairs Able to identify the phonetic Problem sets using artificial Blackwell Publishing Ltd.,
data Oxford, UK.
environment of target phones
Allophony
Group competition using Czaykowska-Higgins, E., &
Able to read and write phonological
Syllable (σ) structure: Onset, artificial data (recorded as Dobrovolsky, M. (2011). Chapter
rules 3, Phonology: The function and
Nucleus, Coda (Rhyme = N + graded recitation)
patterning of sounds. In O’Grady,
Co, so that: σ = O + Rh)
W., & Archibald, J. (eds.).
Phonotactics Contemporary Linguistic
Analysis: An Introduction, 7th ed.
Natural Class Toronto: Pearson-Longman.

Phonological rule-writing of the Akmaijan, A., et al. (2010).

Chapter 4, Phonology: The
type A → B / C_D
Study of Sound Structure. In
Linguistics: An Introduction to
Language and Communication,
6th ed. Cambridge: The MIT
Press.

Week 5 Phonology Proficient in identifying the natural class
of a single sound segment or group of
(cont.) related segments
Proficient in identifying the phonetic
environment of target phones
Proficient in reading and writing
phonological rules
Review, recapitulate, and Same as the ones used in Scores in group competition
reinforce the lessons Week 4, above
Results of (students’ work on)
Work-along exercise Data sets – Phonology (see the Problem sets
Appendix A)
Problem sets using data from Quiz (syllable structure;
Tagalog, Swampy Cree, and phonological rule-writing)
English
Group competition using data
from Tagalog, Swampy Cree,
and English (recorded as
graded recitation)
Week 6 Morphology
Lexeme, Word-form, Word-
form paradigm
Stems, roots, affixes, bases
Allomorphy
Principles for isolating
morphemes
Morphological structure
Morphological processes
Morphological typology:
Analytic, Isolating,
Agglutinative, Fusional,
Polysynthetic languages
Week 7 Morphology
(cont.)
Able to identify and define
morphological elements
Able to analyze word sets and
properly isolate constituent
morphemes
Know and be aware of
morphological processes in word
building
Able to distinguish between different
kinds of languages according to
their use of morphology
Proficient in isolating morphemes
and identifying the morphological
structure of words
Interactive lecture and
discussion
Take-home required readings
Work-along exercise
Problem sets using artificial
data
Group competition using
artificial data (recorded as
graded recitation)
Review, recapitulate, and
reinforce the lessons
Work-along exercise
Problem sets using data from
Veracruz, Zapotec, Persian,
Popoluca, Sudan Colloquial
Arabic, and English
Group competition using data
from Veracruz, Zapotec,
Persian, Popoluca, Sudan
Colloquial Arabic, and English
(recorded as graded
recitation)
Nida, E. (1949). Chapter 2, The Scores in group competition
Identification of Morphemes. In
Morphology: The Descriptive Results of (students’ work on)
Analysis of Words, 2nd ed. Ann the Problem sets
Arbor, Michigan: University of
Michigan Press.
O'Grady, W., & De Guzman, V.
(2011). Chapter 4, Morphology:
the analysis of word structure. In
O’Grady, W., & Archibald, J.
(eds.). Contemporary Linguistic
Analysis: An Introduction, 7th ed.
Toronto: Pearson-Longman.
Akmaijan, A., et al. (2010).
Chapter 2, Morphology: The
Study of the Structure of Words.
In Linguistics: An Introduction to
Language and Communication,
6th ed. Cambridge: The MIT
Press.
Same as the ones used in Scores in group competition
Week 6, above
Results of (students’ work on)
Data sets – Morphology (see the Problem sets
Appendix B)
Quiz (morphological structure,
isolating morphemes)
Week 8 Midterm examination
Week 9 Syntax
Properties of Verbs: Tense,
Mood, Aspect, Voice
Week 10 Syntax
Predicate – Argument
Structure
Subcategorization of verbs
(grammatical and thematic)
Lexical and functional
categories of words
Constituents and tests for
constituency
Identify the correct form of English verb
phrases
Learn all about the listed topics
Correctly analyze phrasal constituents
in an utterance
Correctly analyze grammatical and
ungrammatical phrases
Peer teaching
1 and a half hours for review,
1 and a half hours to take and
finish the test
Interactive lecture and
discussion
Interactive lecture and
discussion
Take-home required readings
Group competition using
artificial data (recorded as
graded recitation)
All the references so far Midterm exam scores
provided
Graded recitation
Quiz (English VP forms)
O’Grady, W. (2011). Chapter Scores in group competition
5, Syntax: The analysis of
sentence structure. In
O’Grady, W., & Archibald, J.
(eds.). Contemporary
Linguistic Analysis: An
Introduction, 7th ed. Toronto:
Pearson-Longman.
Akmaijan, A., et al. (2010).
Chapter 5, Syntax: The Study
of Sentence Structure. In
Linguistics: An Introduction to
Language and
Communication, 6th ed.
Cambridge: The MIT Press.
Numerous easily-accessible
online references on
constituency tests
Week 11 Syntax
Transformational Generative
Grammar (TG)
TG rule-writing:
Phrase Structure rules of the
type A → B + C or
XP → X + Y
Transformational rules of the
type A + B => A+ B + C or
A + B + C => A + B or
A + B => B + A
Morphophonemic rules of the
type A > B / C_D
(changing the operator in a
traditional phonological rule)
Week 12 Syntax
TG rule-writing
(cont.)
Introduce (at least) the
following transformations:
agreement, WH-,
topicalization, passivization,
coordination, embedding
Able to read and write syntactic rules
Proficient in reading and writing
syntactic rules
Familiar with the common T-rules
Interactive lecture and Same as the ones used in Week Scores in group competition
discussion 10, above
Results of (students’ work on)
Koutsoudas, A. (1966). Writing the Problem sets
Take-home required readings
Transformational Grammars: An
Introduction. New York: McGraw-
Work-along exercise Hill.
Problem sets using English Department of Linguistics, The
and artificial data Ohio State University. (2016).
Language Files: Materials for an
Group competition using Introduction to Language and
English and artificial data Linguistics, 12th ed. Columbus,
(recorded as graded Ohio: The Ohio State University
Press.
recitation)
Lyons, J. (1968). Introduction to
Theoretical Linguistics.
Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Review, recapitulate, and Same as the ones used in Scores in group competition
reinforce the lessons Week 11, above
Results of (students’ work on)
Work-along exercise Data sets – Syntax (see the Problem sets
Appendix C)
Problem sets using data from
Modern Greek, Rumanian,
Hungarian, Latin, Russian,
German, Indonesian,
Spanish, Swedish, and
Munduruku
Group competition using data
from Modern Greek,
Rumanian, Hungarian, Latin,
Russian, German,
Indonesian, Spanish,
Swedish, and Munduruku
(recorded as graded
recitation)
Week 13 Syntax Able to draw the correct corresponding
tree diagram of any given structure (or
Syntactic tree diagrams tree diagrams showing a
transformation)
First order relations:
Dominance and Precedence
Week 14 Syntax Proficient in drawing the correct
corresponding tree diagram of any
Syntactic tree diagrams given structure (or tree diagrams
showing a transformation)
(cont.)
Week 15 Government and Binding Able to update the linguistic parsing
Theory (GB) model used in the analysis of phrases
X-bar Theory Understand the theoretical motivations
for changing the model from that of
Endocentricity and recurrence Standard Theory and Extended
Standard Theory to that of the X-bar
Second order relations: Theory as used in GB
c-command, m-command, and
government Able to identify c-command, m-
command, and government boundaries.
Understand the relevance of such
boundaries in (at least) case theory
Learn the basic concepts of Minimalism
Interactive lecture and
discussion
Work-along exercise
Tree diagramming board work
as group competition. Data is
from English
Review, recapitulate, and
reinforce the lessons
Take-home required reading
Work-along exercise
Tree diagramming board work
as group competition. Data is
from Philippine languages
and English
Interactive lecture and
discussion
Take-home required reading
Work-along exercise
Board work as group
competition. Data is from
English
Same as the ones used in Scores in group competition
Week 12, above
Same as the ones used in Scores in group competition
Week 13, above
Quiz (TG rule-writing; tree
Constantino, E. (1965). The diagramming)
Sentence Patterns of Twenty-
six Philippine Languages.
Lingua 15: 71–124.
Same as the ones used in Scores in group competition
Week 14, above
Quiz (GB)
Haegeman, L. (1994).
Introduction to Government
and Binding Theory, 2nd ed.
Oxford, England: Blackwell
Publishers Ltd.
Week 16 Diachronic Linguistics
Comparative method
Internal reconstruction
Lexicostatistics
Proto-X and Pre-X
Language families
Week 17 Semantics and Pragmatics
(Neurolinguistics,
Sociolinguistics)1
1Ifthere are any class
interruptions, these are the
lessons that will be sacrificed
Week 18 Final examination
Learn the basics of diachronic
linguistics and historical reconstruction
Learn the basics of semantics and
pragmatics
(Learn the basics of neurolinguistics
and sociolinguistics)
Interactive lecture and
discussion
Take-home required reading
Work-along exercise
Board work as group
competition. Data is modern
reflexes of Proto-Indo-
European (PIE) and Proto-
Austronesian (PAN) forms
Interactive lecture and
discussion
Take-home required reading
Peer teaching
1 and a half hours for review,
1 and a half hours to take and
finish the test
Crowley, T. (1997). An Scores in group competition
Introduction to Historical
Linguistics, 3rd ed. New
Zealand: Oxford University
Press.
Akmaijan, A., et al. (2010).
Chapter 6, Semantics: The
Study of Linguistic Meaning &
Chapter 9, Pragmatics: The
Study of Language Use and
Communication. In
Linguistics: An Introduction to
Language and
Communication, 6th ed.
Cambridge: The MIT Press.
All the references provided Final exam scores
after the midterm exam
COURSE GRADING SYSTEM

Class Standing 70%

 Quizzes
 Class Participation/Graded Recitation/Attendance
 Worksheets/Assignments
 Projects/Special Report/Term Paper

Midterm / Final Examinations 30%

100%

Midterm Grade + Final Term Grade = FINAL GRADE

2

Prepared by: Noted by:

ATANACIO, ISAGANI MARK K. _______________________

Name of Faculty Chairperson

Approved by:

_______________________
Dean

_______________________________
Vice President for Academic Affairs