LING1000 Introduction to Language

Syllabus
Semester 1, 2022-2023

General Information
Time Location Credits
Wed 10:30 am - 12:20 pm MWT2 6

Instructor Email Office Location & Hours

Dr. Olivia LAM osclam@hku.hk CRT-9.17, Mondays 2-3

TAs Emails
Mr. Angus CHEUNG angus.cheung@hku.hk
Ms. EZEAMUZIE Onyinyechukwu Rhoda rhoda1@hku.hk
Mr. Wayne, Tak Wang LI twangli@hku.hk

Course Description
This course is an introduction to linguistics, the scientific study of language. The course begins with an
introduction to the field, and with a discussion of what ‘language’ is. We then learn how speakers use
language forms to convey meaning. This includes an introduction to the study of (i) sound patterns
(phonetics and phonology); (ii) word structure and sentence structure (morphology and syntax); and, (iii)
meaning (semantics and pragmatics). These are some of the more fundamental tools that linguists use
to analyze language. We also introduce you to the main areas of inquiry in the field, including language
variation, language and the brain, language acquisition and linguistic diversity. The aim is for students
to get an overview of the diverse field, as well as understand and appreciate the foundations of linguistics.

Note:
Note: This course is a prerequisite for the majors and minors in General Linguistics and all
Introductory and Advanced Linguistics courses.

Course Objectives
On completing the course, students will be able to:-
 appreciate the diversity of the field of linguistics
 demonstrate skills in the logical analysis of the phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic
and pragmatic structure of natural languages
 demonstrate strong analytical ability to understand language use in various contexts and media
 draw salient contrastive, comparative and typological distinctions between language structure and
use across different languages, language families, and language areas.
 demonstrate the ability to critically evaluate a piece of linguistic analysis.
 demonstrate skills of argument, debate and oral and written presentation.

1
Course Information
Assessment
There is no university-administered exam for this course (100% coursework). Students’ performance will
be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Coursework 100%
1. Tutorial attendance & participation 10%
a. Five tutorials
b. Attendance at tutorials
(i) Tutorials are to be held face-to-face, unless the University updates the
current teaching & learning arrangements.
attendance at tutorials: compulsory
participation in tutorials: based on your performance in class
(ii) If a tutorial needs to be held online,
attendance at online tutorials: NOT counted
participation in tutorials: based on completion of online participation
tickets. Each participation ticket is worth 2%.
Participation tickets have to be completed online within a given period.
Extensions will not be granted.
If T1 can be held face-to-face, while other tutorials need to be held online,
then T1 is worth 2%, while the remaining 8% goes to the 4 participation
tickets for the other tutorials, etc.
(ii)Tutorial assignments: NOT graded, but they are designed to help you
learn.
2. Three assignments (20% each) 60%
3. Final assessment 30%

Grade Expectations
Grade expectations for BA courses developed by the Faculty of Arts will be adopted in this course:
http://arts.hku.hk/grade_expectations.pdf.

Policy on Late Work

Unless otherwise specified, the penalty for late submission will be a deduction of 5 points per calendar
day, e.g. original mark = 67 points; 1 day late = 62 points; 2 days late = 57 points etc. Work more than 1
week late will not be accepted.

Accessibility and Accommodations

If you anticipate or experience physical or academic barriers based on disability, please let me know
immediately by email, providing the relevant documentation. Reasonable academic accommodations will
be made based on recommendations from CEDARS.

2
Course Schedule
Dates Topics Readings* Tutorials Assignments
(Chapters)
Sept. 7 Introduction; What is linguistics?
Sept. 14 What is language? 2
Sept. 21 Phonetics 3 T1
Sept. 28 Phonology 4
Oct. 5 Morphology 5-6 T2 A1 due
Oct. 12 No class (Reading Week)
Oct. 19 Syntax 7-8 T3
Oct. 26 Semantics 9
Nov. 2 Pragmatics 10 A2 due
Nov. 9 Language & the brain 12
Nov. 16 Language development 13-14 T4
Nov. 23 Language & society 18-19 T5 A3 due
Nov. 30 Language & culture 20
Dec. 6 Final assessment
(Tues)

*All are chapters from Yule (2020).

**Changes may be made to the course schedule, depending on the University’s updates on health-related
arrangements.

Final Assessment Schedule

The final assessment will be a proctored face-to-face assessment, to be held at from HKT 10:00 a.m. to
HKT 12 noon on Dec. 6, 2022 (Tues). Details will be provided later.

Delivery Modes and Recordings

All lectures and tutorials will be conducted face-to-face. Recordings will not be provided.

Tutorial Sign-up
Tutorial sign-up will begin at 9 a.m. on Sept. 8 (tomorrow) and end at 4:00 p.m. on Sept. 15 (next
Thurs).

This will be done via Moodle, or by using the ‘HKU Tutorial Sign-up’ app.
Details: http://moodle-support.hku.hk/tutorial-sign-application-student

If there are problems, please send an email to ling1000.hku@gmail.com, stating clearly (i) your full name,
(ii) your UID, (iii) your mobile no., and (iv) the problem(s).

3
Learning Resources
Electronic Resources
Moodle
 HKU portal, login -> ‘My e-learning’ -> ‘LING1000_1A_2022’

Class Handouts
 The handout(s) for each lecture will be made available on Moodle on the day before that lecture.
 Always check Moodle for the latest information.

Emails
Please use your hku email account when corresponding with us.

Required Textbook
Yule, G., 2020. The study of language, 7th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

References
The following references are also useful.
Akmajian, A., Demers, R., Farmer, A., & Harnish, R. (2017). Linguistics: An Introduction to Language
and Communication. MIT Press.
Baker, M. C. (2008). The Atoms of Language: The Mind's Hidden Rules of Grammar. Basic books.
Brown, K. (2005). Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics: 14-Volume Set (2nd ed.). Elsevier Science.
Crystal, D. (2008). A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics (6th ed). Blackwell.
Crystal, D. (2010). The Cambridge encyclopedia of language (3rd ed). Cambridge University Press.
Fromkin, V., Rodman, R., & Hyams, N. (2018). An Introduction to Language. Thomson Wadsworth.
Matthews, P. (2014). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford University Press.
McGregor, W. B. (2015). Linguistics: an Introduction. Bloomsbury Publishing.
O'Grady, William, John Archibald, et al. (2009). Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. 6th ed. St.
Martin's.
Trask, R., & Stockwell, P. (2007). Language and Linguistics: the Key Concepts (2nd ed). Routledge.

4
Copyright and plagiarism
Lectures
‘You are warned that notes taken in lectures, and course materials supplied to you by
departments, are to be used by you only for the purposes of research or private study.
Similarly, lectures may not be recorded without the permission of the lecturer. […] The
copyright of each lecture delivered in the University is vested in the lecturer delivering it
and/or the University. Failure to heed this warning may result in an infringement of the copyright
laws.’
(HKU, http://www.handbook.hku.hk/ug/full-time-2019-20/important-policies/copyright-and-plagiarism)

o ‘Course materials’ include printed materials and online materials made available on Moodle,
including handouts, recordings of lectures and other online resources.
o Course materials may not be copied, modified or distributed.

Academic honesty and avoiding plagiarism

‘Plagiarism: direct copying of textual material or wilful use of other people’s data and ideas,
and presenting them as one’s own without acknowledgement, whether or not such materials,
data and ideas have been published.
o Self-plagiarism: the reuse of one’s own work without acknowledging that such work has been
submitted elsewhere.
o Plagiarism is a very serious offense. Coursework or dissertations submitted for assessment and
examination purposes must be the student’s own work and properly acknowledge all sources.’
(HKU, http://arts.hku.hk/current-students/undergraduate/assessment/plagiarism)

How to avoid plagiarism: https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/

Collusion: ‘the active cooperation of two or more students to deceive examiners.’

o ‘Guilty of collusion if you knowingly allow any of your academic work to be acquired by another
person for presentation as if it were that person’s own work.’
(University of Leicester, https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/sas2/assessments/plagiarism)

Consequences
1. An assignment found to contain plagiarized material will be penalized or even failed.
2. ‘In this University, plagiarism is a disciplinary offence. Any student who commits the offence may
face disciplinary action.’ (HKU, https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/?vcode=1d2S1)
‘Disciplinary action – There may also be disciplinary action, such as a reprimand, fine, withdrawal,
suspension, and even expulsion from the University. Disciplinary action may be taken even after
graduation and may lead to the deprivation of an academic qualification already awarded.’
(HKU, https://tl.hku.hk/plagiarism/consequences-of-plagiarism/)