Course Goals:

1. create AWARENESS of stylistic variation in your own and others' speech What contexts? What things change?
2. understand WHY people might change their speech style in various contexts:

A. what it is about PEOPLE that they do this?
B. what is it about LANGUAGE that makes it vulnerable to such `distortions'?

3. learn to READ CRITICALLY

A. Finding the essence of the argument
B. Locating the evidence
C. Are there unmentioned assumptions?

4. how to WRITE about your ideas clearly.
5. Consider how all human behavior reflects SPECIFICALLY HUMAN properties.

General Procedures

1. Be prepared to discuss readings in class. All students will participate in discussions.
2. Bring the relevant text materials to class.
3. The 7 essays will be posted for the class to read using Annotate (explained below).
4. The syllabus will be updated on the course webpage from time to time.

Basis for Grade

Text Materials

Gary Goshgarian `Exploring Language, 8th Edtn' (Longman,1998).
Steven Pinker `The Language Instinct: How the Mind Creates Language.' (Harper, 1994).
Readings Packet, assorted Handouts and Webpages.

Essay Assignments

Writing Assignments (about 7 of them in the semester)

1. Pick one of the questions supplied by the instructor to comment on. Or, if you have another topic of your own you'd like to comment on, that is fine.

2. Write an essay with an informative title, under 200 wds (for the first one at least) using Annotate submitted by a certain date and hour.

3. Read at least the next 5 essays down the alphabetical list within the next 3 days. Write a critical comment on each of the 5. Make comments that are constructive and substantial. You might ask a content question or try to restate their point more clearly or even disagree. I promise to read most of them but may not comment on every essay every time. I will be checking the comments as well as the essays.

Students will write 7 essays and comments on 5 others for each of the 7 essays. We will use the Annotate software for writing and sharing essays using the web.

WHAT IS LANGUAGE? WHAT IS AN INSTINCT?

Wk 1. Jan 11, 13.

Read for Thurs: Exploring; Suzanne Langer `Language and thought' (pp. 5-10).
Main Issue: Distinguish Symbols from Signs.
Topical Questions. (p. 9-10), 1-6.

First Essay Topic. Choose one of the following topics. Write your essay and submit to our Annotate page by Thursday midnight, Jan 20.

(1) Comment on where Suzanne Langer would probably stand on the issue of innateness of language (as formulated by Pinker), based on her reading.

(2) Explain Langer's distinction between a Sign and a Symbol in your own words. Why does she say that ``nothing properly called thought'' is possible without language?

UNIVERSALITY and LINGUISTIC DETERMINISM

Wk 2 (Jan 18, 20)

Read for Tues: Pinker, Chap 1, 2 (pp. 15 - bottom of 35 only).
Read: Port's list of possible human instincts
and the Rationale for his choices.
Read Port's Defining Sign and Symbol
.

Week 3 (Jan 25, 27)

Read: Pinker, Chap 3 (55-67 only).
Read excerpt from Edward Sapir on linguistic determinism, 1931

LANGUAGE AND POLITICS

Week 4. (Feb 1,3)

Read: Exploring Language, Inst't for Propaganda Analysis (p. 186-191); George Orwell (pp. 194-204).
Read: Lewis (p. 206-207), Yoakum (p. 210-211)
Second Essay. Find an example of propaganda text on the internet (for example, on issues like abortion, public health, sex education, religion, political candidates or your choice). Write a 200-300 word essay demonstrating the presence of as many of the 7 `Devices' mentioned in the reading as possible. At the bottom include your direct quotes from your source text indexed as (1), (2) or a, b, c. Post the essay to our Annotate list by midnight (or so) Monday, Feb 7. Write critical comments on the 5 essays PRECEDING yours on the list of students (assume the beginning wraps around to the end, of course). Your comments should focus on whether the quotes DO illustrate these specific `devices'

Week 5 (Feb 8, 10)

Read: Haig Bosmajian (215-220); Carol Cohn (222-232)
Read: Bella English (235-237).
COMMUNITY IDENTITY

Week 6 (Feb 15, 17)

Read: G. Smitherman (text, pp. 293-304); Rachel Jones (pp. 305-308)
Read: Intro (pp 247-250) Hayakawa (p. 251-258); Fallows (259-265);
Third Essay: Due March 7, midnight. Write an essay of 200-300 words describing specific changes you have noticed in your own speech (especially those which others have commented on) since coming to college. These could include change in: (1) LEXICAL CHOICES (eg words you have stopped using or avoided, or words you have picked up -slang and otherwise), (2) GRAMMATICAL CONSTRUCTIONS you have picked up from friends or instructors (or are now avoiding), or (3) PRONUNCIATIONS you have recently acquired or are avoiding - either in specific words or more generally. I encourage you to read others essays but no written responses are required this time.
Recommended for a look: Intl Clearing House for Endangered Languages
Teaching Native American Languages
Basics of Indigenous Language Revitalization.

Week 7 (Feb 22, 24)

Read: Rodriguez (266-276) (on bilingualism)
Something about the Yiddish Language
Martha's Vineyard Study (handout) by William Labov

APACHE JOKES

Week 8 (Feb 29, Mar 2)

Reading packet: The master is in a folder in 318 Memorial Hall (the Ling Dept reading room, open 9-5 only). The folder, labelled `L205', is in a hanging file cart along the right wall . Borrow it, copy it and return it as quickly as possible.

Read: Keith Basso (1979) Portraits of the Whiteman: Linguistic Play and Cultural Symbols among the Western Apache (Cambridge). Chap 1, (pp. 3-18.)
Read: Chapt 2 (21-33)
Recommended: Web pages on the Apache Wars 1862-1886 || East Central Arizona History

Week 9 (Mar 7, 9)

Midterm Exam. The question list is available here. Submit your exam to Annotate here on March 9.
Read: Basso, Chap 3.
Read: Basso, Chap 4 (65-76).

[SPRING BREAK]

RELGION, LANGUAGE AND EMOTION

Week 10. (Mar 21, 23)

Thursday: Guest lecture by Prof. Samuel Gyasi Obeng `Speaking in tongues and other linguistic wonders in Ghana.
Reading Packet: (1) `What is Santeria?' Read this page and all linked pages. RP picked these pages up from a websight set up by practitioners. Santeria is the traditional Yoruba religion as transplanted to Cuba - and spread somewhat from there in recent years.
(2) Read Jonathan Edwards Account of Revivals in Northhampton Massachusetts.
Recommended: J. Edwards sermon: `Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God'

Week 11 (Mar 28, 30)

Guest lecture: Prof. Paul Newman `Language, feminism and the law'
Read: from reading packet: Jeff Todd Titon `Powerhouse for God' (Univ Texas P, 1988) pp. i, ii; 1-7; 23-48 (a church service: `Homecoming Day'); and pp. 48-57 (Brother Sherfey's sermon)
.

Week 12 (April 4, 6)

PRAYER AND SPECIAL SPEECH

Read:Titon pp. 257-264, 278-288 (on prayer of several types)
Read: J. Titon (1978) `Some recent Pentecostal revivals: A report in words and photographs.' Georgia Review 32, 578-590.
Prepare materials for a religious service on `Tozomelism'

SEX AND LANGUAGE

Week 13 (April 11, 13)

Read: Nilsen `Sexism in English: a 1990s update' (pp. 398-408)
Read: S. Agnew `English anyone?' (pp. 409-413) and Jack Rosenthal `Gender benders' (pp. 414-417); Eugene. August (pp. 424-433) `Real men don't: Anti-male bias in English'
Recommended: Some Guidelines for Non-sexist Language (from an Australia university)

Week 14 (April 18, 20)

Read: Doug Hofstadter (1991) ``You've come a long way, Guys!, Or generic `man' and generic `he' in a new guise'' (unpublished mspt).
Writing assignment on `guys'
Read: D. Tannen ` `I'll explain it to you': Lecturing and listening' (pp 443-457).

Week 15 (April 25, 27)

Read: Pinker `Language Instinct', pp. 404-421 on the `Standard Social Science Model' and human instincts.
Final Lecture Outline
Final Exam Question List. The exam is on Tues, 5-7pm in Sycamore 006.

Final Examination in the regular classroom.

RFP . Copyright Indiana University.